Isaac G. Strain was born March 4, 1821, in Roxbury, Pennsylvania, of Scots-Irish origin and died May 14, 1857, in Aspinwall, Columbia. In 1838 he joined the U.S. Navy to apprentice at sea and become a midshipman. His inclination toward exploration culminated in 1853 when as a lieutenant he received orders from Secretary of the Navy James C. Dobbin to command a U.S. Darién Exploring Expedition. Leading a country at peace and in exercise of a manifest destiny to expand, U. S. President Franklin Pierce envisioned a survey and mapping of an Atlantic-to-Pacific ship canal route through the Isthmus of Darién, in Panama, Central America, a region also known as the Darién Gap. March 4 is the 63rd day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar (64th in leap years). ... 1821 was a common year starting on Monday (see link for calendar). ... State nickname: The Keystone State Official languages None Capital Harrisburg Largest city Philadelphia Governor Ed Rendell (D) Senators Arlen Specter (R) Rick Santorum (R) Area  - Total  - % water Ranked 33rd 119,283 km² 2. ... Ulster-Scots is a term mainly used in Ireland and Britain (Scotch-Irish or Scots-Irishis commonly used in North America) primarily to refer to Presbyterian Scots, or their descendents, who migrated from the Scottish Lowlands to Ulster (the northern province of Ireland), largely across the 17th century. ... May 14 is the 134th day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar (135th in leap years). ... 1857 was a common year starting on Thursday (see link for calendar). ... 1838 was a common year starting on Monday (see link for calendar). ... The United States Navy (USN) is the branch of the United States armed forces responsible for naval operations. ... For the fishes called midshipman, see Midshipman fish In the navies of English-speaking countries, a midshipman is a subordinate officer, or a commissioned officer of the lowest rank. ... 1853 was a common year starting on Saturday (see link for calendar). ... James Cochrane Dobbin (1814-1857) was a United States political figure. ... Franklin Pierce (November 23, 1804 – October 8, 1869) was an American politician and the 14th President of the United States, serving from 1853 to 1857. ... Darien is the name of several places in the United States of America: Darien, Connecticut Darien, Georgia Darien, Illinois - a suburb of Chicago Darien, New York Darien, Wisconsin Darien (town), Wisconsin Darién can also refer to places in Panama: Darién Province The town of Darién, founded by... Commonly, Central America is the region of North America located between the southern border of Mexico and the northwest border of Colombia, in South America. ... The Darién Gap is a large swath of undeveloped swampland and forest separating Panama and Colombia. ...

His expedition was depreciated by malnourishment, footsores, flesh-embedding parasites and infectious tropical diseases resulting in the deaths of six of his party of twenty-seven. Strain's exploration of the topography and geography of the area contributed to the 1914 linking of the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans via the Panama Canal. 1914 (MCMXIV) is a common year starting on Thursday. ... A canal tug making its way down to the Caribbean end of the canal waits to be joined by a ship in the uppermost chamber of the Gatun Locks. ...

References

Todd Balf, The Darkest Jungle: The True Story of The Darien Expedition and America's Ill-Fated Race to Connect The Seas, 2003, Crown Publishers, New York, ISBN 0-609-60989-0

External links

• Virtual American Biographies, Book I: Continental Discovery to 1899