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Commodore Sylvanus William Godon 1 As Portrayed by Nick Korolev

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Commodore Sylvanus William Godon 1 As Portrayed by Nick Korolev 1Commodore Sylvanus William Godon 1 As Portrayed by Nick Korolev Commodore Sylvanus William Godon November 1861. He placed the Mohican in a position Godon was born in Philadelphia June 18. 1809. He entered to secure an enfilading fire on the fort on Hilton Head the navy at age ten as a ship’s boy to avoid being placed in an and materially assisted in silencing the batteries of the orphanage when his father was institutionalized with a complete enemy. He took part in the placing of the “stone fleet” nervous breakdown. After serving at sea, he was promoted to and other operations along the coasts of South Carolina, passed midshipman in 1827 and to lieutenant in 1836. He Georgia and Florida. With the decommisioning of the served on Commodore Isaac Hulls flag- Mohican for overdue refit and repairs he ship USS Ohio in the Mediterranean was transferred to command the sidewheel Squadron from 1839 to 1841. During steam frigate USS Powhatan and was the Mexican War he commanded the bomb senior officer present for the blockade vessel USS Vesuvius at the reduction of of Charleston Harbor in 1862. Shortly Veracruz in 1847. after promotion to commodore in January 1863 he became seriously ill with malaria He was promoted to commander in 1855. and was forced to take an extended sick In 1860 he was given command of the leave. newly commissioned steam sloop-of-war USS Mohican and was assigned to the Godon returned to take command of the African Squadron to protect US merchant sidewheel steam frigate USS Susquehansa vessels and capture slavers. In August of and was put in command of Admiral 1860 he captured the slaver Erie com- David D. Porter’s fleet 4th Division manded by Captain Nathaniel Gordon, for the first and second Battle of Fort off the Congo and forced that ship to un- Fisher, NC which resulted in the closing load its captives at Monrovia, Liberia for of the last Confederate major port. In the resettlement. Captain Gordon became the report of the latter action he was specially only slaver hung for the crime of piracy as commended for the support rendered the per the never strongly enforced Piracy Act commander-in-chief, and for the good of 1820 that declared all slavers to be discipline and accurate firing of his ship, pirates. Godon remained on station until the Susquehanna. sailing for home in August of 1861. At the close of the war, he was promoted to He was promoted to captain and immediately rear admiral and commanded the Brazil after arriving home was sent to join Admiral Squadron from 1866-1867. His last Samuel Du Pont’s newly formed South At- navy assignment was as commandant of the lantic Blockading Squadron for the attack on Brooklyn Navy Yard from May 1868 until and securing of Port Royal for the Union in retiring in Oct of 1871 to Blois, France where he died in 1879. He is buried in Laurel Hill Cemetery, Philadelphia. Raised in a boating family, author/artist Nick Korolev has been interested in the Civil War since age twelve. He presently resides in Fisher, WV..
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