Maury, Matthew Fontaine (1806-1873) to Dr. Guernsey
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Gilder Lehrman Collection #: GLC03479.26 Author/Creator: Maury, Matthew Fontaine (1806-1873) Place Written: Washington, D.C. Type: Autograph letter signed Date: 18 October 1860 Pagination: 1 p. ; 20.3 x 12.7 cm. Order a Copy
Written by Maury as Superintendent of the Naval Observatory. References Guernsey's's letter of 17 October. The handwriting is hard to read, but he seems to be requesting that a copy of a map or a book be returned to him. The recipient could possibly be Alfred Hudson Guernsey, the editor of Harper's Weekly magazine, but this could not be confirmed.
In 1825, at the age of 19, thanks to Samuel Houston's influence, Maury joined the Navy as a midshipman on board the frigate Brandywine which was carrying the Marquis de Lafayette home to France. Almost immediately, he began to study the seas and record methods of navigation. When a leg injury left him unfit for sea duty, Maury devoted his time to the study of naval meteorology, navigation, charting the winds, and currents, seeking the "Paths of the Seas" mentioned in Psalm 8 in the Bible. From then until it was done Maury advocated naval reform, as well as a school for the Navy, land and sea, that would out-rival that of the army's West Point and an international weather service. He had charted the seas and currents and worked on charting land weather forecasting. His hard work on and love of plotting the oceans paid off when he became superintendent of the Department of Charts and Instruments in 1842, although this was mostly due to his articles on United States Naval reform published in newspapers. Upon the establishment of the United States Naval Observatory in 1844 thanks to President John Q. Adams in his last months of office, Lieutenant Maury became its first superintendent, holding that position until his resignation in April 1861. During the Civil War Maury joined the Confederacy and became a Commodore (often a title of courtesy) in the Virginia Provisional Navy, and a Commander in the Confederacy. Maury was mostly abroad as ordered in England, Ireland, and France, acquiring ships and attempting, through speeches and newspaper publications, to get other nations to stop the Civil War. Following the war, after serving Maximilian in Mexico as Imperial Commissioner of Immigration and building Carlotta and New Virginia Colonies for displaced Confederates and immigrants, Maury accepted a teaching position at the Virginia Military Institute (V.M.I.), holding the chair of physics. He had many offers including one as president of the College of William and Mary in Virginia but, from statements Maury made in letters, it seems he preferred being close to General Lee in Lexington while working at V.M.I. Maury also served as a pall bearer for General Robert Edward Lee.
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