Vancouver Expedition
Gardner arranged for Barrie to serve as a midshipman aboard HMS Discovery from December 1790 until 1795, during George Vancouver's voyage of diplomacy and exploration along the Pacific coast of North America. Many of his letters home survive, describing his experiences of adventure, punctuated by periods of boredom after he exhausted the books on the ships. Barrie gained an acting promotion to Lieutenant on the expedition, and commanded a survey party on the northern coast of what is now British Columbia. He was formally promoted to Lieutenant upon the return to England in October 1795. In 1800 Barrie served in the West Indies under Thomas Manby, who had also taken part in the Vancouver expedition. On 23 October 1801 Barrie received a promotion to commander, and seven months later was advanced to post-captain while commanding the 16-gun sloop Calypso.
Read more about this topic: Robert Barrie
Famous quotes containing the word expedition:
“It is a sort of ranger service. Arnold’s expedition is a daily experience with these settlers. They can prove that they were out at almost any time; and I think that all the first generation of them deserve a pension more than any that went to the Mexican war.”
—Henry David Thoreau (1817–1862)