Taylor's personal journal was forbidden to enlisted sailors aboard the ship. Only officers were allowed to record the events of the fleet patrol and that was expected to be done officially. A private journal among sailors might incite mutiny.
As the journal editors researched and pieced the referenced events, personalities, and occasions, they not only realized the rarity of the journal but also discovered the very real power wielded by a US Navy admiral in the 1840s. It was the period of imperialism practiced by major nations of the world.
Corporal Taylor gives a remarkable account of the unprecedented seizure of California in 1843 and the embarrassment experienced by the Marines when they were ordered to surrender the fort to the Mexican Government. Through consular sources such as Thomas O. Larkin, Admiral Jones learned that the American President and political parties had changed, and he was to be relieved of his station. Jones fled with the U.S. fleet to the Hawaiian Islands to buy more powerful time at the helm.
More surprises awaited the men in the Islands. King Kamehameha III ordered a grand celebration the week they arrived. Admiral Thomas of the British Fleet had arrived less than ten days earlier to restore the native king to power. Three rowdy American merchant sailors caused difficulties in Honolulu. King Kamehameha asked Admiral Jones to remove the men from the islands when they sailed for home. A well-educated man, Corporal Taylor befriended one of the derelict sailors who envied the scholarly marine’s opportunity to write a journal aboard ship. In 1849, safely home and away from the stern eyes of naval officers, Taylor’s friend, Herman Melville, also wrote about the voyage. The marine poet and journal-keeper who served in the after-guard of the frigate is a character in Melville’s first novel, White-Jacket.
The voyage proved the importance of international relations and the need for strong communications. Language, customs, and national intent were influential factors, just as they are today. Many changes within the US Navy were provoked by this voyage, including the end of flogging-through-the-fleet and no more rations of rum for the crew ( and strictly limiting alcohol to the officers). The greatest influence was Congressional realization of the powers weilded by admirals great distances from their respective homelands and the need to exercise greater control over their sovereignty at sea.
