The Henry B. Seely logbook, "Journal of a cruise in the U.S. Steam Frigate 'Minnesota'" (333 pages), documents the Minnesota's voyage from Hampton Roads, Virginia, around the Cape of Good Hope to East Asia and back to Boston between 1857 and 1859.
The volume begins with a list of the ship's officers under the command of Captain Samuel Francis Du Pont. Seely began writing daily entries on June 24, 1857, and the Minnesota departed for Asia on July 1, 1857. Entries focus primarily on topics such as rigging, encounters with other vessels, and crew deaths. While in port at the Cape of Good Hope and in the Far East, the Minnesota received ambassadors and other dignitaries and frequently met with friendly ships, usually from the United States and Great Britain. Seely also mentioned provisions taken on in different ports and witnessed a military action by British and French vessels against forts on the Pei-ho (Hai) River on May 20, 1858. He sometimes mentioned American diplomat William B. Reed. Captain Du Pont regularly inspected the log and entered his signature at the end of each month.
Minnesota itinerary
- June 25, 1857-July 1, 1857: Hampton Roads, Virginia
- September 7, 1857-September 20, 1857: Table Bay, Cape of Good Hope, South Africa
- October 17, 1857-October 23, 1857: "New Bay," Sunda Strait
- November 5, 1857-February 26, 1858: Hong Kong and Canton (Pearl) River, China
- March 2, 1858-March 13, 1858: Manila, Philippines
- March 23, 1858-April 22, 1858: Yangtze River, China
- April 25, 1858-July 6, 1858: Gulf of Pechili (Bohai Sea), China
- July 12, 1858-August 6, 1858: Woosung River, Shanghai, China
- August 11, 1858-August 31, 1858: Nagasaki Harbor, Japan
- September 3, 1858-September 16, 1858: Yangtze River, China
- September 20, 1858-October 7, 1858: Nagasaki Harbor, Japan
- October 10, 1858-November 9, 1858: Woosung River, Shanghai, China
- November 10, 1858-November 11, 1858: Yangtze River, China
- November 15, 1858-December 8, 1858: Hong Kong, China
- December 16, 1858-December 20, 1858: Singapore
- December 20, 1858-December 22, 1858: Straits of Malacca
- December 23, 1858-December 29, 1858: Penang Harbor, Malaysia
- January 4, 1859-January 11, 1859: Ceylon (Sri Lanka)
- January 16, 1859-February 14, 1859: Bombay (Mumbai), India
- February 19, 1859-February 21, 1859: Muscat, Oman
- April 3, 1859-April 21, 1859: Table Bay, Cape of Good Hope, South Africa
- May 29, 1859-June 2, 1859: Boston, Massachusetts
Henry B. Seely was born in Seneca Falls, New York, on July 7, 1838. After graduating from the United States Naval Academy in 1857, he was a midshipman on the steam frigate Minnesota for a voyage to East Asia. During the Civil War, Seely participated in the blockade of the South on the Sumter and traveled to the Pacific Ocean onboard the Saranac. After his promotion to commander in 1873, he became a lighthouse inspector, commanded several ships, and served as head of two navy yards. Henry B. Seely died on May 23, 1901.
