Louis Goldsborough
*On this date, in 1805, Louis Goldsborough was born. He was a white-American rear admiral in the United States Navy noted for contributions to nautical scientific research.
Louis Malesherbes Goldsborough was born in Washington, D.C., the son of a chief clerk at the United States Department of the Navy. He was appointed midshipman in the United States Navy on June 28, 1812. At the time of his appointment, he was seven years old, and Goldsborough did not begin serving until February 13, 1816, when he reported for duty at the Washington Navy Yard.
In 1831, Goldsborough married Elizabeth Wirt, daughter of William Wirt, U.S. Attorney General. Together, they had three children: William, Louis, and Elizabeth.
In 1833, after helping lead German emigrants to Wirt's Estates near Monticello, Florida, Goldsborough took leave from the Navy to command a steamboat expedition and later mounted volunteers in the Seminole War. Goldsborough was given command of the Atlantic Blockading Squadron in September 1861, early in the American Civil War. In October of that year, the Atlantic Squadron was split into the North Atlantic Blockading Squadron and South Atlantic Blockading Squadron; Goldsborough took command of the North Squadron. During his command of the North Atlantic Blockading Squadron, which he commanded from its inception to September 1862, he led his fleet off North Carolina. In cooperation with troops under General Ambrose Burnside, he captured Roanoke Island and destroyed a small Confederate fleet.
During this time, he supported Black education by donating books to Susan King Taylor's teaching in the area. In June 1865, Goldsborough became the first commander of the European Squadron, formerly the Mediterranean Squadron. In 1868, Goldsborough returned to Washington and took command of the Washington Navy Yard, a position he held until he retired in 1873. Rear Admiral Louis M. Goldsborough died on February 20, 1877.
