Louis Malesherbes Goldsborough (February 18, 1805 – February 20, 1877) was a rear admiral in the United States Navy during the American Civil War. He held several sea commands during the Civil War, including that of the North Atlantic Blockading Squadron. He was also noted for contributions to nautical scientific research. His younger brother, John R. Goldsborough, was also a U.S. Navy officer who served during the Civil War and who later became a commodore. Biography Louis Malesherbes Goldsborough was born in Washington, D.C., in 1805, the son of a chief clerk at the United States Department of the Navy. He was appointed midshipman in the United States Navy by Secretary of the Navy Paul Hamilton on June 28, 1812. At the time of his appointment, he was seven years old, and Goldsborough did not actually begin serving until February 13, 1816, when he reported for duty at the Washington Navy Yard. In 1831 Goldsborough married Elizabeth Wirt, daughter of William Wirt, U.S. Attorney General from 1817 to 1829. Together, they had three children: William, Louis, and Elizabeth. In 1833, after helping lead German emigrants to Wirt's Estates near Monticello, Florida, Goldsborough took leave from the Navy to command a steamboat expedition, and later mounted volunteers in the Seminole War. Naval service During the Aegean Anti-Piracy Campaign, Goldsborough led a four-boat night expedition from Porpoise in October 1827 to rescue British merchant brig Comet from Mediterranean pirates. In 1830 he was appointed first officer in charge of the newly created Depot of Charts and Instruments at Washington, the crude beginning of the United States Hydrographic Office. Goldsborough suggested creation of the depot and initiated the collection and centralization of the instruments, books and charts that were scattered among several Navy yards. After two years he was relieved by Lieutenant Charles Wilkes. After cruising the Pacific in the frigate United States, he participated in the bombardment of Veracruz in Ohio during the Mexican–American War. He served consecutively as: commander of a detachment in the expedition against Tuxpan; senior officer of a commission which explored California and Oregon (1849–1850); superintendent of the United States Naval Academy (1853–1857); and commander of the Brazil Squadron (1859–1861). Civil War service Goldsborough was given command of the Atlantic Blockading Squadron in September 1861, relieving Flag Officer Silas H. Stringham. In October of that year the Atlantic squadron was split into the North Atlantic Blockading Squadron and