Already developing a reputation for stubbornness, however, Wilkes decided that instead of attending college he preferred to learn about the world of work as a clerk in his father's office and then secure an appointment as a midshipman in the navy.
After months of what one might suppose was inspired wheedling from Wilkes, his father wrote the secretary of the navy to inquire about the possibility of his son's being accepted as a midshipman. The secretary replied that no slots were available at that time, but if the young man would serve an apprenticeship in the merchant marine the Navy Department would look on that time favorably when it considered its next round of applicants. Thinking that a strong taste of what Charles most wanted would cure him of his taste for the sea, his father secured a berth for him aboard the Hibernia. In 1815 Wilkes sailed from New York for La Havre, France.
In his autobiography (1978) Wilkes, looking back on these early years, would recall that "Humanity did not exist on the great deep and petty tyranny was Rampant." Despite the hardships and maltreatment, Wilkes remained determined to enter naval service.
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