Porter reaches the Pacific with combat experience but little command support

Porter had fought in the Quasi-War, been wounded in action, commanded at New Orleans, and captured HMS Alert before sailing into the Pacific. Essex was nevertheless his first major independent seagoing command, and his failure to rendezvous with Bainbridge left him as his own command structure. He approached British whalers under British colors and sometimes waited until invited aboard before revealing his purpose, a method closer to privateering than conventional challenge and response. Porter also rested in the Marquesas Islands and renamed them for President Madison, extending self-promotion into his handling of the cruise. He was a capable and ambitious raider operating far beyond reliable American intelligence, reinforcement, or supervision.