 The findings of the Whipple expedition along with the other transcontinental survey parties were published by the government in a massive twelve-volume report, the "Pacific Railroad Reports".In addition to reports on topography, geology, botany and zoology, Whipple wrote a lengthy essay on the southwestern Indian tribes that the expedition had encountered.Whipple was promoted to captain in 1855 and then assigned to supervise efforts to open the Great Lakes to navigation by larger vessels, deepening channels through the St. Clair flats and the St. Mary's River.