Abigail Seaberg, History
(Faculty Mentor: Dr. Gary Lord)

This research shed light upon the details of a largely forgotten voyage, The North Pacific Exploring Expedition of 1853-56, and the artist, William Brenton Boggs (Norwich, 1828).  Thanks to the discovery of Lt Robert Randolph Carter’s correspondence at Colonial Williamsburg’s Rockefeller Library, the North Pacific Exploring Expedition became more than an historical footnote.  Notable clarifications included fleshing out Boggs’s personality and habits, the positive identification and context (through contemporary writings) of several pieces of art held by Norwich University’s Sullivan Museum and History Center, and the particulars of the mysterious illness that cost Captain Ringgold his command of the expedition.