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The George Foster Emmons Papers have been organized in four sections. The first section (WA MSS 166) consists of three manuscript journals (931 pages long) which Emmons kept while attached to the U.S. Exploring Expedition under the command of Charles Wilkes. Emmons wrote the journals while on board the U.S. Sloop of War Peacock, W. L. Hudson, Commander, August 12, 1838 to June 10, 1842. The journals contain an account of the expedition with detailed descriptions of the special surveys made by the Peacock, original drawings of the harbors, and a number of small drawings and diagrams. They are further illustrated by the insertion of portraits, engravings, maps, and extracts from Charles Wilkes' Narrative. Journal No. 3 contains a detailed account of the overland expedition that Emmons commanded from Vancouver to San Francisco, August to October, 1841. Emmons' account of the overland expedition is supplemented by that of Henry Eld (WA MSS 161). A number of letters and documents are inserted chronologically in the journals.