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Creator
Goldsborough, Louis Malesherbes, 1805-1877
Call number
MssCol 1169
Physical description
1 linear foot (4 boxes); 2 microfilm reels
Language
Materials in English
Preferred Citation

Louis M. Goldsborough papers, Manuscripts and Archives Division, The New York Public Library

Repository
Manuscripts and Archives Division
Access to materials
Request an in-person research appointment.

Louis Malesherbes Goldsborough (1805-1877), U.S. naval officer, was Superintendent of the United States Naval Academy. Collection consists of general incoming correspondence, 1821-1873, and official reports and letters received while Goldsborough commanded the USS Congress during the Civil War, and while commanding the European Squadron, 1866-1867. Also, correspondence concerning the American ships Congress, Frolic, Kearsarge, Canandaigua, Augusta, Colorado, Shamrock, Swatara, and Ticonderoga; and personal and family correspondence of his wife, Elizabeth Gamble Wirt, 1830-1873.

Biographical/historical information

  • February 15, 1805 Born, Washington, D. C.
  • June 18, 1812 Midshipman.
  • January 13, 1825 Lieutenant.
  • 1827-1829 Porpoise, Mediterranean Squadron.
  • 1840 United States Pacific Squadron.
  • September 8, 1841 Commander.
  • 1847 Ohio, at Vera Cruz.
  • 1852-1853 Levant. Mediterranean Squadron.
  • September 14, 1855 Captain.
  • 1854-1857 Superintendent Naval Academy, Annapolis.
  • 1859-1860 Congress, Brazil Squadron.
  • 1862 Command of expedition for operations in waters of North Carolina.
  • July 16, 1862 Rear Admiral.
  • 1865-1868 Command European Squadron.
  • 1868-1877 Special duty, Washington, D. C.
  • February 20, 1877 Died, Washington, D. C.

From "Confidential Correspondence of Gustavus Vasa Fox, Assistant Secretary of the Navy 1861-1865". Edited by Robert Means Thompson and Richard Wainwright. 1918. New York. Printed for the Naval History Society by the De Vinne Press. Vol. 1, P. 200

Scope and arrangement

This collection of the papers of Rear Admiral Louis Malesherbes Goldsborough, U. S. N., dates from 1821 to 1573 and consists of two volumes and about 550 pieces of unbound manuscripts. It includes about sixty-five letters written to Mrs. Goldsborough, a daughter of William Wirt of Virginia, by members of her family for the most part.

Only about eighteen of the letters to Admiral Goldsborough were written prior to 1360. The remainder form a record of his service as commander of the frigate "Congress", flagship of the U. S. Brazil Squadron during a cruise in South American waters, 1859-1861; his Civil War service; and his service as commander of the European Squadron, 1865-1868. The papers contain very little, if any material, in regard to the joint army and navy expedition to the sounds of North Carolina, which Admiral Goldsborough planned and executed during the latter, part of 1861.

Admiral Goldsborough's correspondents included naval officers and officials as well as many other persons who were prominent during the Civil War period. Among the writers were Gideon Welles, Secretary of the Navy; Gustavus V. Fox, Assistant Secretary of the Navy; Salmon P. Chase, Secretary of the Treasury; Admirals David D. Porter, Percy Drayton, Thornton A. Jenkins, J. R. Sands, Theodorus Bailey, A. Ludlow Case, Daniel Lawrence Braine, Thomas Oliver Selfridge, and Frederick Engle; and R. B. Forbes, leader of the Massachusetts Whig party.

The papers have been arranged in chronological order except those referring to the operations of ships which have been grouped around the names of the ships as follows; the "Congress", "Frolic", "Kearsarge", "Canandaigua", "Augusta", "Colorado", "Shamrock", and "Swatara".

Using the collection

Location

Manuscripts and Archives Division
Stephen A. Schwarzman Building
Fifth Avenue at 42nd Street, New York, NY 10018-2788
Brooke Russell Astor Reading Room, Third Floor, Room 328

Alternative form available

Entire collection available on microfilm; New York Public Library