Samuel B Elliot took part in the United States Exploring Expedition, 1838-1842 (Senior commander Charles Wilkes). He served onboard the sloop of war Vincennes and Porpoise as a midshipman. With a fleet of six vessels, 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. On his return from the expedition Elliot continued to serve in the Navy attaining the rank of passed midshipman in 1846 and resigning in 1852.
From the guide to the Samuel Elliot collection, 1838-1842, (Scott Polar Research Institute, University of Cambridge)
