Ship to Shore: Correspondence of Louis M. Goldsborough, U.S.N.

Louis M. Goldsborough’s long career in the U. S. Navy (1816-1873) took him to duty stations around the United States and around the world, necessitating frequent absences from family and friends. His letters from ship to shore contain observations of the domestic and international locations in which he was stationed and his life in the navy generally, as well as the domestic news and interactions that provided a lifeline with those at home. The women in his family, especially his wife Elizabeth Wirt Goldsborough (daughter of former Attorney General William Wirt) and his daughter Lizzie Goldsborough, are particularly visible in the correspondence as they navigated the everyday activities of life in Goldsborough’s absence and steered through the triumphs and tragedies brought on by the American Civil War.