"America's Most Decorated Man"
"Pathfinder Of The Seas"
Confederate States Navy
General Robert Edward Lee born 19 January 1807 and Lieutenant General Thomas Jonathan "Stonewall" Jackson born 21 January 1824... That these Men had Distinguished Military records of service to their country before the War Between The States... Ladies and Gentleman, I say NO !!!
These Southern Icons, as well a others, were true to the Cause of the South. Leaders ahead of their time still studied to-day and worthy of our Humble Praise.
Matthew Fontaine Maury was raised in the State of Tennessee and at the age of five fell from a forty-five foot tree almost killing him, but resulted in the prolonging of his education which later elevated his interest in learning. In 1825, at the age of nineteen, he received, through Sam Houston, an appointment as a Midshipman in the U.S. Navy and rode a borrowed horse seven-hundred miles to report for duty. It was on this journey near Fredericksburg, Virginia he met Miss Ann Herndon, his blue-eyed cousin, who would become his Beloved Wife.
His nine years of sea duty began on the "Brandywine," which carried Lafayette back to France after his triumphant tour of America, and continued on the "Vincennes", which took young Maury around the world. It was ended by a midnight stagecoach accident in Ohio in 1836, which left him lame for life. Prior to entering the U.S. Navy, Maury had already published his "A New Theoretical and Practical Treatise on Navigaton", so after the 1836 accident, again he turned to his studies of the sea and publishing his findings. His works included... "A Scheme for Rebuilding Southern Commerce", "Sailing Directions" and "The Physical Geography of the Sea".
Matthew Fontaine Maury was the first fighting advocate for the establishment of the U.S. Naval Academy in Annapolis, Maryland and conceived the Panama Canal with his publications, which led in 1849, to the exploring of the Darien Expedition to the Isthmus of Panama.
In 1861, Maury was the head of the U.S. Naval Observatory in Washington, D.C. and had been Knighted and / or Honored by no less than six Emperors and Kings. When Virginia seceded from the Union on the 17th of April 1861, Maury left the U.S. Naval Observatory with these words to the Secretary of the U.S. Navy: "I Desire To Go To My Own People And With Them Share The Fortunes Of Our State Together". The United States' retaliation was swift... his name was expunged from the record of many of the enterprises he had originated. On the 10th of June 1861, Maury was appointed as a Commander in the Confederate Navy. Early in the War Between The States he lived with his family in the "Georgian Brick House" which still stands to-day at 214 Caroline Street here in Fredericksburg, Virginia. His research for safety at sea changed to research for destruction of enemy ships. He helped fit out the iron-clad "Virginia" and while living in Richmond, Virginia he invented electric mines or "Torpedoes", as they were called during the War Between The States, by experimenting first in the bathtub of his apartment and then in the James River. During the War his electric "Torpedoes" long kept enemy craft from entering the James River approaches to Richmond, Virginia. Unfortunately for Matthew Fontaine Maury and that of the Confederacy, his talents were not fully utilized because of an old nemesis and rival, Stephen R. Mallory, that became the Secretary of the Navy for the Confederacy.
After the War, Matthew Fontaine Maury served briefly with Maximilliam in Mexico and turned down numerous other offers worldwide, including the command of several European Navies. The last five years of his life were spent as a Professor of Physics at the Virginia Military Institute in Lexington, Virginia and with the philosophy, "Do Not Strive To Be Content... But Be Content To Strive".
When Matthew Fontaine Maury died on Tuesday, 1 February 1873, the VMI Cadets formed the "Guard Of Honor" when his body Lay In State in VMI's old Library. Matthew Fontaine Maury had requested that his body be borne through "Goshen Pass" when the mountain laurel was in bloom, but circumstances prevented this and it was in the fall, amid the color of the autumn foliage he loved so well that the "Bier" passed through this mountain gorge en-route to Hollywood Cemetery in Richmond, Virginia. Matthew Fontaine Maury was buried on Saturday, 27 December 1873 in Hollywood Cemetery Richmond, Virginia between Presidents James Monroe and John Tyler.
Today a monument "Honoring" Matthew Fontaine Maury stands in "Goshen Pass", fourteen miles from Lexington, Virginia "Honoring One Of Virginia's Own" and yet another monument honoring Matthew Fontaine Maury stands on Monument Avenue in Richmond, Virginia "In His Honor".
"The Pathfinder Of The Seas" by John W. Wayland - 1930
"Who Was Who In The Civil War" by Stewart Sifakis - 1988
"Hollywood Cemetery, A Tour" by James E. DuPriest, Jr. - 1989
"Matthew Fontaine Maury" by Charles Lewis - 1927 Reprinted 1980
"Matthew Fontaine Maury - Scientist Of The Sea" by Frances Williams - 1963
"Matthew Fontaine Maury Pathfinder Of The Seas" by Barbara Crookshanks
For The Fredericksburg Times - January 1987
"Cdr. Matthew Fontaine Maury Pathfinder Of The Seas and Forgotten Hero"
by United Daughter of the Confederacy Martha M. Boltz - 1999
"Matthew Fontiane Maury Web Pages"
by Matthew Fonatine Maury Compatriot W. Maury Morris, II - 1988
How the "Pathfinder of The Seas" Found the Pathway to Heaven...
~ Commodore Mathew Fontaine Maury's Prayer ~
"Lord Jesus, Thou Son Of God And Redemmer Of The World, Have Mercy Upon Me !
Pardon My Ofenses, And Teach Me The Error Of My Ways; Give Me A New Heart And A Right Mind.
Teach Me And Mine To Do Thy Will, And In All Things To Keep Thy Law.
Teach Me Also To Ask Those Things Necessary For Eternal Life.
Lord, Pardon Me For All My Sins, For Thine Is The Kingdon And The Power And The Glory, For Ever And Ever.
Amen."
Sic Semper Tyrannis
"In Their Honor And Our Proud Heritage"
Confederate States of America
"Resting At Peace"
Fredericksburg Confederate Cemetery
The Nephew Of Matthew Fontaine Maury
Fredericksburg Confederate Cemetery
Headstone Vandalism Images
More Headstone Vandalism
Page 3 Vandalism Images
Recent Damage To Fredericksburg City Cemetery Wall
City Wall Damage Repairs
NEW --> Confederate Cross Of Honor <-- NEW
NEW --> History Pages <--NEW
E-Mail Camp #1722
RAMSr - 2000 ~ 2002
Fredericksburg, Virginia