Constellation, a frigate launched in 1797, famous for its part in the naval operations of the Quasi-War with France and the Tripolitan War. In the 1840-1844, the Constellation circumnavigated the globe as flagship of Lawrence Kearny and the East India Squadron, with the mission to safeguard American interests in China during the Opium War. Kearny's orders were to assist American traders while preventing smuggling of opium, illegal in China, under American flag vessels. Kearny then stayed in China negotiating terms of the commercial treaties between China and the United States and handling the claims of American merchants. The Constellation departed Chinese waters in May 1843, bound for Hawaii where Kearny thwarted an attempt by the British Navy captains to pressure King Kamehameha III to cede his islands to the British crown. The Constellation departed Oahu on Aug. 22, 1843 for Monterrey, then to Valparaiso, Rio-de-Janeiro, reaching Hampton Roads on May 9, 1844.
Isaac Howe served onboard of the Constellation as a clerk and, according to the attached letter signed by the 1st Lieutenant Henry Pinkney, "improved his leisure hours by making himself an excellent practical Navigator."
From the description of An abstract of a cruise in the U.S. Frigate Constellation in the Years of 1840, 41, 42, 43, & 44, Commodore Laurence Kearny Commanding, 1840-1844. (Huntington Library, Art Collections & Botanical Gardens). WorldCat record id: 85180652
