Simon F. Blunt

Wilkes Expedition

In 1838, Blunt joined the Wilkes Expedition at Orange Bay as a midshipman. He was promoted to Lieutenant ^[1] and left the expedition in April, 1841 in Honolulu, possibly due to sickness from participating in the trip to the summit of Mauna Loa Volcano.^[2]

USS Truxtun

in 1844-45, Blunt was assigned to the USS Truxtun in activities off the coast of Liberia.

Marriage

On January 27, 1846, Blunt married Ellen Lloyd Key, daughter of Francis Scott Key, in Washington D.C. They had three children: Alice Key (1847–1927); John Yell Mason (1848- ); and Mary Lloyd (1850- ).^[3]

Pacific Coast Survey

In 1849, Blunt was appointed to the Pacific Coast Survey.^[4] During this duty, he created a series of charts:^[5]

• Chart of the Farallones and entrance to the Bay of San Francisco, California (1850)
• Chart of the Bay of San Pablo, Straits of Carquines, and part of the Bay of San Francisco (1850)
• View of Benicia from the anchorage east of Seal Island (1852)

Winfield Scott

On December 1, 1853, Blunt was the Captain of the SS Winfield Scott when it ran aground off the shores of Anacapa Island. After seeing to the rescue of the passengers and salvage of the mail and cargo, he continued to "Atlantic States on a visit to his family and for the purpose of representing in person, the loss of the steamer of which he formerly had commanded." While there, he died in Baltimore on April 27, 1854. A collection of his letters are archived at the Virginia Historical Society^[6]

References