John R . Goldsborough Commodore John R . Goldsborough ( 2 July 1809 – 22 June 1877 ) was an officer in the United States Navy . During his long naval career , he fought against pirates in the Mediterranean Sea and in the American Civil War and rose to command of the Asiatic Squadron . He was the brother of U . S . Navy Rear Admiral Louis M . Goldsborough ( 18 February 1805 – 20 February 1877 ) . Naval career . Goldsborough was born in Washington , D . C . , on 2 July 1809 , the son of a chief clerk in the United States Department of the Navy . He was a cadet - midshipman aboard the frigate , the flagship of Commodore David Porter in the West Indies Squadron , before being appointed as a midshipman on 6 or 16 November 1824 ( sources vary ) . As a midshipman , he was attached to the ship - of - the - line and the sloop - of - war in the Mediterranean Squadron from November 1824 to June 1830 . During his time aboard " Warren " , he took part in actions against Greek pirates which had attacked American merchant ships in the Mediterranean Sea , highlighted by " Warren " s bombardment of Miconi and an action in which Goldsborough , in command of " Warren " s launch with 18 men aboard , engaged and captured the Greek pirate schooner " Helene " of four guns and 58 men . " Warren " s commanding officer , Master Commandant Lawrence Kearny , personally thanked him for the manner in which he carried out the capture of " Helene " . Goldsborough was promoted to passed midshipman on 28 April 1832 and to lieutenant on 6 September 1837 . From 1844 to 1850 he was assigned to the United States Coast Survey and was involved in charting the United States East Coast , commanding the schooner for at least part of that time . Promoted to commander on 14 September 1855 , he commanded the Naval Rendezvous at Philadelphia , Pennsylvania , from 1855 to 1859 , then spent 1860 awaiting orders . At the outbreak of the American Civil War in April 1861 , Goldsborough was in command of the newly commissioned screw steamer in the Atlantic Blockading Squadron , and initiated the Union blockade of Savannah , Georgia , on 28 May 1861 . On 1 June 1861 , " Union " captured a Confederate blockade runner , the schooner " C . W . Johnson " with a cargo of railroad iron , off the coast of North Carolina ; she also captured the blockade runner " Amelia " , carrying a cargo of contraband from Liverpool , England , off Charleston , South Carolina , on 18 June 1861 . On 28 July 1861 , " Union " destroyed the former Union brig " B . T . Martin " , which had been captured by the Confederate privateer " York " and then run aground by the Confederates , north of Cape Hatteras , North Carolina . On 9 August 1861 , " York " captured the Union schooner " George G . Baker " and " Union " intervened , recapturing " George G . Baker " and forcing the crew of " York " to set " York " on fire and abandon her off Cape Hatteras . " Union " then was transferred to the Potomac Flotilla in August 1861 . Goldsborough took command of the newly commissioned sidewheel steamer in the South Atlantic Blockading Squadron on 5 October 1861 , was again successful in capturing blockade runners , and participated in the capture of Fernandina , Florida , on 3 March 1862 . He was promoted to captain on 16 July 1862 and that summer took command of a settlement of former slaves at St . Simons Island , Georgia . In March 1863 he became commanding officer of the steam frigate in the Western Gulf Blockading Squadron and took charge of the blockade of Mobile , Alabama , with " Colorado " capturing the schooner " Hunter " on 17 May 1863 . He left " Colorado " in November 1863 and took up ordnance duty at Portsmouth Navy Yard in Kittery , Maine , remaining in that position through the end of the war in April 1865 . From 1865 to 1868 , Goldsborough commanded the screw sloop - of - war , voyaging to the Azores and Brazil in late 1865 for service in the South Atlantic Squadron . In 1866 , " Shenandoah " was transferred to the Asiatic Squadron and steamed from South America around Africas Cape of Good Hope in July 1866 to Mauritius in August 1866 , then on to India , Siam , Hong Kong ( calling there in March 1867 ) , and Japan , calling at Yokohama in August 1867 . Goldsborough was promoted to commodore on 13 April 1867 while aboard " Shenandoah " . The Commander - in - Chief of the Asiatic Squadron , Rear Admiral Henry H . Bell , drowned along with 11 of the other 14 men aboard when his boat capsized while crossing the bar at Osaka , Japan , while attempting to take him ashore from the squadron s flagship , the sloop - of - war , on the morning of 11 January 1868 . Transferring from " Shenandoah " to " Hartford " , Goldsborough as senior surviving officer took temporary command of the squadron that day , remaining in command until relieved by Rear Admiral Stephen C . Rowan on 18 April 1868 . Goldsborough retired from the Navy on 2 July 1870 . Personal life . Around 1833 , Goldsborough married the former Mary Lawrence Pennington ( 29 August 1825 – 8 May 1869 ) , who resided in Philadelphia during his Navy service . Goldsborough was a Freemason during his lifetime , but later withdrew from both Masonic Lodges of which he was a member . Retirement and death . Goldsborough died in Philadelphia on 22 June 1877 . He is buried with his wife at the Church of St . James the Less in Philadelphia .