Sylvanus William Godon (June 18, 1809 – May 17, 1879) was an American naval officer who served in the Mexican–American and

American Civil War The American Civil War (April 12, 1861May 26, 1865; also known by Names of the American Civil War, other names) was a civil war in the United States between the Union (American Civil War), Union ("the North") and the Confederate States of A ...

. Born in

Philadelphia Philadelphia ( ), colloquially referred to as Philly, is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania, most populous city in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania and the List of United States cities by population, sixth-most populous city in the Unit ...

Pennsylvania Pennsylvania, officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a U.S. state, state spanning the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern United States, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes region, Great Lakes regions o ...

, Godon entered the

United States Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the naval warfare, maritime military branch, service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is the world's most powerful navy with the largest Displacement (ship), displacement, at 4.5 millio ...

in 1819 as a

midshipman A midshipman is an officer of the lowest Military rank#Subordinate/student officer, rank in the Royal Navy, United States Navy, and many Commonwealth of Nations, Commonwealth navies. Commonwealth countries which use the rank include Royal Cana ...

. He joined the Navy at an early age as a way to receive an education after his father, a noted French mineralogist, went insane and became destitute. He served at sea in various parts of the world and was promoted passed midshipman in 1827, and to lieutenant on December 17, 1836. He served on the as flag lieutenant to

Commodore Commodore may refer to: Ranks * Commodore (rank), a naval rank ** Commodore (Royal Navy), in the United Kingdom ** Commodore (India), in India ** Commodore (United States) ** Commodore (Canada) ** Commodore (Finland) ** Commodore (Germany) or ' ...

Isaac Hull Commodore (rank), Commodore Isaac Hull (March 9, 1773 – February 13, 1843) was a United States Navy officer who served in the Quasi-War, Barbary Wars and War of 1812. During his military career, he commanded the warships , , , and . During the ...

of the Mediterranean Squadron from 1839 to 1841. Godon was accused of insubordination by Hull and sent back to the Navy Department for reassignment. He was found guilty of disobedience of orders and neglect of duty and sentenced to two years suspension from duty but the conviction was reversed by the Secretary of the Navy and no punishment occurred. Godon served during the

Mexican–American War The Mexican–American War (Spanish language, Spanish: ''guerra de Estados Unidos-México, guerra mexicano-estadounidense''), also known in the United States as the Mexican War, and in Mexico as the United States intervention in Mexico, ...

and commanded the

bomb vessel A bomb vessel, bomb ship, bomb ketch, or simply bomb was a type of wooden sailing naval ship. Its primary armament was not cannons (Naval long gun, long guns or carronades) – although bomb vessels carried a few cannons for self-defence – but ...

at the

Siege of Veracruz On 9 March 1847, during the Mexican–American War, the United States military made an amphibious landing and besieged the key Mexican seaport of Veracruz. The port surrendered twenty days later. The U.S. forces then marched inland to Mexico ...

in 1847. He was made

commander Commander (commonly abbreviated as Cmdr.) is a common naval officer rank as well as a job title in many army, armies. Commander is also used as a rank or title in other formal organizations, including several police forces. In several countri ...

on September 14, 1855. In 1860 Godon, in command of the steam

sloop of war During the 18th and 19th centuries, a sloop-of-war was a warship of the Royal Navy with a single gun deck that carried up to 18 guns. The rating system of the Royal Navy covered all vessels with 20 or more guns; thus, the term encompassed all ...

, was assigned to the

Africa Squadron The Africa Squadron was a unit of the United States Navy that operated from 1819 to 1861 in the Blockade of Africa to suppress the slave trade along the coast of West Africa. However, the term was often ascribed generally to anti-slavery oper ...

. On August 8, 1860, he captured the slaver ''Erie'', commanded by Nathaniel Gordon, off the mouth of the

Congo River The Congo River, formerly also known as the Zaire River, is the second-longest river in Africa, shorter only than the Nile, as well as the third-largest river in the world list of rivers by discharge, by discharge volume, following the Amazon Ri ...

and forced that ship to unload its captive cargo at

Monrovia Monrovia () is the administrative capital city, capital and largest city of Liberia. Founded in 1822, it is located on Cape Mesurado on the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic coast and as of the 2022 census had 1,761,032 residents, home to 33.5% of Liber ...

, Liberia. He remained on station until sailing for home on August 13, 1861. Promoted to

captain Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader or highest rank officer of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police depa ...

effective July 16, 1862, he took part in the

Battle of Port Royal The Battle of Port Royal was one of the earliest amphibious operations of the American Civil War, in which a United States Navy fleet and United States Army expeditionary force captured Port Royal Sound, South Carolina, between Savannah, Geo ...

under Admiral

Samuel Francis Du Pont Samuel Francis Du Pont (September 27, 1803 – June 23, 1865) was a rear admiral in the United States Navy, and a member of the prominent Du Pont family. In the Mexican–American War, Du Pont captured San Diego, and was made commander of the Ca ...

. Although not part of Du Pont's plan, he placed in position to secure an enfilading fire on

Fort Walker Fort Anderson-Pinn-Hill, commonly known as Fort A.P. Hill (formerly Fort Walker)MDW USARM(25 August 2023) Fort Walker Redesignation Ceremony59:22, Ceremony sponsored by MG Trevor Bredencamp, commander of Military District of Washington; additio ...

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, and materially assisted in silencing the batteries of the enemy. In 1863 he was promoted to

commodore Commodore may refer to: Ranks * Commodore (rank), a naval rank ** Commodore (Royal Navy), in the United Kingdom ** Commodore (India), in India ** Commodore (United States) ** Commodore (Canada) ** Commodore (Finland) ** Commodore (Germany) or ' ...

; and commanded the 4th Division of Admiral

David Dixon Porter David Dixon Porter (June 8, 1813 – February 13, 1891) was a United States Navy admiral (United States), admiral and a member of one of the most distinguished families in the history of the U.S. Navy. Promoted as the second U.S. Navy officer ...

's fleet at the

first First most commonly refers to: * First, the ordinal form of the number 1 First or 1st may also refer to: Acronyms * Faint Images of the Radio Sky at Twenty-Centimeters, an astronomical survey carried out by the Very Large Array * Far Infrared a ...

and second battles of Fort Fisher, North Carolina, in December 1864 and January 1865. In the report of the latter action he was specially commended for the support rendered the commander-in-chief, and for the good discipline and accurate firing of his ship, the . At the close of the war he was made rear admiral, and commanded the South Atlantic or

Brazil Squadron The Brazil Squadron, the Brazil Station, or the South Atlantic Squadron was an overseas military station established by the United States in 1826 to protect American commerce in the South Atlantic during a war between Brazil and Argentina. When t ...

in 1866-1867. His last active employment was as

commandant Commandant ( or ; ) is a title often given to the officer in charge of a military (or other uniformed service) training establishment or academy. This usage is common in English-speaking nations. In some countries it may be a military or police ...

of the

Brooklyn Navy Yard The Brooklyn Navy Yard (originally known as the New York Navy Yard) is a shipyard and industrial complex in northwest Brooklyn in New York City, New York (state), New York, U.S. The Navy Yard is located on the East River in Wallabout Bay, a se ...

from May 1, 1868, until October 15, 1870. He retired from the Navy on June 18, 1871. Godon died on May 17, 1879 at his ancestral home in

Blois Blois ( ; ) is a commune and the capital city of Loir-et-Cher Departments of France, department, in Centre-Val de Loire, France, on the banks of the lower Loire river between Orléans and Tours. With 45,898 inhabitants by 2019, Blois is the mos ...

, France. He was buried in

Laurel Hill Cemetery Laurel Hill Cemetery, also called Laurel Hill East to distinguish it from the affiliated West Laurel Hill Cemetery in Bala Cynwyd, Pennsylvania, Bala Cynwyd, is a historic rural cemetery in the East Falls, Philadelphia, East Falls neighborhood ...

, Section F, Lot 14, Philadelphia.

Citations

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Godon, Sylvanus William 1809 births 1879 deaths 19th-century American naval officers Burials at Laurel Hill Cemetery (Philadelphia) Military personnel from Philadelphia People of Pennsylvania in the American Civil War Union Navy officers United States Navy rear admirals United States Navy personnel of the Mexican–American War United States Navy personnel who were court-martialed