Jump to content

John R. Goldsborough

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
John R. Goldsborough
Born(1809-07-02)2 July 1809
Washington, D.C.
Died22 June 1877(1877-06-22)(aged 67)
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Buried
Church of St. James the Less,Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
AllegianceUnited States of America
Service/branchUnited States Navy
Years of service1824–1870
RankCommodore
Commands
Battles/wars
RelationsLouis M. Goldsborough(brother)

CommodoreJohn R. Goldsborough(2 July 1809 – 22 June 1877) was anofficerin theUnited States Navy.Goldsborough was made a cadet-midshipman in 1824 and as such saw action in the Mediterranean against pirates. In one incident, while in charge of 18 men he attacked and captured a Greek pirate ship with a 58-man crew.

Promoted to lieutenant in 1837 he was involved in charting the United States East Coast and in 1847 introduced the standardized system of markings forbuoysand navigational markers ashore still in use in the United States today.

Goldsborough was a commodore at the outbreak of theAmerican Civil Warin April 1861, commanding thescrew steamerUSSUnion.That year theUnioncaptured several Confederate blockade runners and engaged and destroyed the ConfederateprivateerYork.He was promoted to captain in 1862. During the rest of the war he was successful in several commands, capturing further Confederate ships.

After the war he voyaged widely in the Atlantic, Indian Ocean and China Sea. In 1868 he was briefly Commander-in-Chief of the Asiatic Squadron. He retired in 1870.

[edit]

Early career

[edit]

Goldsborough was born in Washington, D.C., on 2 July 1809, the son of a chief clerk in theUnited States Department of the Navy.He was acadet-midshipman aboard thefrigateUSSJohn Adams,theflagshipof CommodoreDavid Porterin theWest Indies Squadron,before being appointed as amidshipmanon 6[1]or 16[2]November 1824 (sources vary). His older brother wasRear AdmiralLouis M. Goldsborough(18 February 1805 – 20 February 1877).[3]As a midshipman, he was attached to theship-of-the-lineUSSNorth Carolinaand thesloop-of-warUSSWarrenin theMediterranean Squadronfrom November 1824 to June 1830. During his time aboardWarren,he took part in actions againstGreekpirateswhich had attacked Americanmerchant shipsin theMediterranean Sea,highlighted byWarren's bombardment ofMiconiand an action in which Goldsborough, in command ofWarren'slaunchwith 18 men aboard, engaged and captured the Greek pirateschoonerHeleneof four guns and 58 men.Warren'scommanding officer,Master CommandantLawrence Kearny,personally thanked him for the manner in which he carried out the capture ofHelene.[1][2]

Coast Survey duty

[edit]

Goldsborough was promoted topassed midshipmanon 28 April 1832 and to lieutenant on 6 September 1837. From 1844 to 1850 he was assigned to theUnited States Coast Surveyand was involved in charting theUnited States East Coast,commanding the schoonerUSSWavefor at least part of that time. Prior to Goldsborough's Coast Survey tour, U.S. Navy LieutenantGeorge M. Bache,while attached to the Survey in 1838, had suggested standardizing the markings of buoys and navigational markers ashore by painting those on the right when entering a harbor red and those on the left black, and Goldsborough instituted this system in 1847. Known as the "red right return" system, it has been in use in the United States ever since.[4]

Promoted tocommanderon 14 September 1855, Goldsborough commanded theNaval RendezvousatPhiladelphia, Pennsylvania,from 1855 to 1859, then spent 1860 awaiting orders.[3][1][2][5]

American Civil War

[edit]

After the outbreak of theAmerican Civil Warin April 1861, on May 17, 1861, Goldsborough was in command of the newlycommissionedscrew steamerUSSUnionin the newly re-designatedAtlantic Blockading Squadron,and initiated theUnion blockadeofSavannah, Georgia,on 28 May 1861. On 1 June 1861,Unioncaptured aConfederateblockade runner,the schoonerC. W. Johnsonwith a cargo of railroad iron, off the coast ofNorth Carolina;she also captured the blockade runnerAmelia,carrying a cargo ofcontrabandfromLiverpool,England, offCharleston, South Carolina,on 18 June 1861. On 28 July 1861,Uniondestroyed the formerUnionbrigB. T. Martin,which had been captured by the ConfederateprivateerYorkand then run aground by the Confederates, north ofCape Hatteras,North Carolina. On 9 August 1861,Yorkcaptured the Union schoonerGeorge G. BakerandUnionintervened, recapturingGeorge G. Bakerand forcing the crew ofYorkto setYorkon fire and abandon her off Cape Hatteras.[1][6]Unionthen was transferred to thePotomac Flotillain August 1861.[7]

Goldsborough took command of the newly commissionedsidewheelsteamerUSSFloridain theSouth Atlantic Blockading Squadronon 5 October 1861, was again successful in capturing blockade runners, and participated in the capture ofFernandina,Florida, on 3 March 1862. He was promoted tocaptainon 16 July 1862 and that summer took command of a settlement of formerslavesatSt. Simons Island,Georgia. In March 1863 he became commanding officer of thesteam frigateUSSColoradoin theWestern Gulf Blockading Squadronand took charge of the blockade ofMobile, Alabama,withColoradocapturing the schoonerHunteron 17 May 1863. He leftColoradoin November 1863 and took up ordnance duty atPortsmouth Navy YardinKittery, Maine,remaining in that position through the end of the war in April 1865.[3][8]

Later career

[edit]

From 1865 to 1868, Goldsborough commanded thescrewsloop-of-warUSSShenandoah,voyaging to theAzoresandBrazilin late 1865 for service in theSouth Atlantic Squadron.In 1866,Shenandoahwas transferred to the Asiatic Squadron and steamed from South America around Africa'sCape of Good Hopein July 1866 toMauritiusin August 1866, then on toIndia,Siam,Hong Kong (calling there in March 1867), and Japan, calling atYokohamain August 1867. Goldsborough was promoted tocommodoreon 13 April 1867 while aboardShenandoah.[3]

The commander-in-chief of the Asiatic Squadron, Rear AdmiralHenry H. Bell,drowned along with 11 of the other 14 men aboard when his boat capsized while crossing the bar atOsaka,Japan, while attempting to take him ashore from thesquadron'sflagship,thesloop-of-warUSSHartford,on the morning of 11 January 1868. Transferring fromShenandoahtoHartford,Goldsborough as senior surviving officer took temporary command of the squadron that day, remaining in command until relieved by Rear AdmiralStephen C. Rowanon 18 April 1868.[1][9][10]

Goldsborough retired from the Navy on 2 July 1870.[1]

Personal life

[edit]

Around 1833, Goldsborough married the former Mary Lawrence Pennington (29 August 1825 – 8 May 1869), who resided in Philadelphia during his Navy service.[3]

Goldsborough was aFreemasonduring his lifetime, but later withdrew from bothMasonic Lodgesof which he was a member.[11]

Death

[edit]

Goldsborough died in Philadelphia on 22 June 1877.[2]He is buried with his wife at theChurch of St. James the Lessin Philadelphia.

See also

[edit]

Notes

[edit]
  1. ^abcdefLewis Randolph Hamersly (1890).The Records of Living Officers of the U.S. Navy and Marine Corps(4th ed.). L. R. Hamersly & Co. p. 441.
  2. ^abcdNaval History and Heritage Command: Officers of the Continental and U.S. Navy and Marine Corps, 1775–1900.Archived2010-07-07 at theWayback Machine
  3. ^abcdeWilliam L. Clements Library: John R. Goldsborough Papers (1861–1867)
  4. ^"Theberge, Captain Albert E.,The Coast Survey 1807–1867: Volume I of the History of the Commissioned Corps of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration,"THE HASSLER LEGACY: FERDINAND RUDOLPH HASSLER and the UNITED STATES COAST SURVEY: THE REBIRTH OF THE SURVEY," no publisher listed, NOAA History, 1998 ".Archived fromthe originalon 2014-11-09.Retrieved2014-10-30.
  5. ^"Wave".Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships.Naval History & Heritage Command.Archived fromthe originalon 24 September 2012.Retrieved16 July2012.
  6. ^coastalguide.com Southern Expedition, 1861
  7. ^"Union III".Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships.Naval History & Heritage Command.Archived fromthe originalon 23 October 2012.Retrieved16 July2012.
  8. ^"Colorado I".Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships.Naval History & Heritage Command.Retrieved16 July2012.
  9. ^"Shenandoah".Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships.Naval History & Heritage Command.Retrieved16 July2012.
  10. ^Kemp Tolley (2000).Yangtze Patrol: the U.S. Navy in China.Bluejacket Books.Naval Institute Press.ISBN978-1-55750-883-6.
  11. ^William R. Denslow & Harry S. Truman (2004).10,000 Famous Freemasons from A to J, part one.Kessinger Publishing.p. 124.ISBN9781417975785.
[edit]
Military offices
Preceded by Commander,Asiatic Squadron
11 January 1868–18 April 1868 		Succeeded by
Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=John_R._Goldsborough&oldid=1191680981"