Micajah G.L. Claiborne served on the United States Exploring Expedition, 1838-1842 (Senior commander Charles Wilkes), as first lieutenant on board the brig Porpoise from February 1839 to March 1839. Part of a fleet of six vessels, the expedition was commissioned on a world voyage of hydrography and exploration that included forays into the Southern Ocean. Porpoise, accompanied by the schooner Sea Gull, went south and east to the South Shetland Islands and Antarctic Peninsula. During April 1839, the six ships of the fleet left southern waters for Valparaiso, Chile, sailing to Callao shortly afterwards. Transferring to the store ship Relief on arrival at Callao, Claiborne left the expedition and returned home to the United States, arriving in New York on 28 March 1840.
From the guide to the Micajah Claiborne collection, 1838-1842, (Scott Polar Research Institute, University of Cambridge)
