Edward Gilchrist joined the Navy in 1832 and took part in the United States Exploring Expedition, 1838-1842 (Senior commander Charles Wilkes). He served as acting surgeon on board the sloop of war Vincennes from December 1839 to February 1840, he also served onboard Relief, the store ship for the expedition. The expedition was commissioned on a world voyage of hydrography and exploration that included forays into the Southern Ocean. The expedition was the first to delineate a substantial length of Antarctic coastline, enough to establish that immediately behind lay a landmass of continental size. Gilchrist did not serve for the entire expedition. In the 1850s he became fleet surgeon and prior to his death in 1869 was Inspector of Hospitals.
From the guide to the Edward Gilchrist collection, 1838-1840, (Scott Polar Research Institute, University of Cambridge)
