William F. Lynch
William Francis Lynch | |
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Captain (USN)  Captain (CSN) | |
| Battles/wars | American Civil War Battle of Aquia Creek Battle of Roanoke Island Battle of Fort Fisher |
Captain William Francis Lynch (1 April 1801 – 17 October 1865) was a naval officer who served first in the United States Navy and later in the Confederate States Navy.
Personal life
William F. Lynch was born in
He was appointed a
Middle East operations
Lynch had his first command, the
Using the triangulation method, Lynch's expedition was the first to determine that the Dead Sea was below sea level, something that the scientific community had inferred but not previously determined conclusively, though several other expeditions by Europeans had attempted to do so. The American expedition's measurement showed the Dead Sea to be 1312.7 ft. (400 metres) below sea level.[3]
He published his travels in 1849, Narrative of the United States' Expedition to the River Jordan and the Dead Sea.
In 1849 he was commissioned commander and in 1850 was promoted to captain. In 1852, he requested permission to explore the interior of Africa for purposes of possible colonization. In his exploration in west central Africa, he caught a fever, and was forced to return to the United States. Lynch believed that explorers who "remove the obstruction to Commerce, Civilization and Christianity will become the benefactors of mankind."[1]
American Civil War
After
Later in command of ships in North Carolina waters, he commanded southern naval forces during the Union attack on Fort Fisher, in December 1864 and January 1865.
Post-war retirement
After the defeat of the Confederacy, he was paroled 3 May 1865 in Richmond, Virginia. He died in Baltimore, Maryland, on 17 October of the same year.[3]
Namesake
The
See also
- Christopher Costigan – explored the River Jordan and the Dead Sea in 1835
- John MacGregor – explored the River Jordan and the Dead Sea in 1869
Footnotes
- ^ a b c d e "Map of the River Jordan and Dead Sea: And the Route of the Party Under the Command of Lieutenant W.F. Lynch, United States Navy". World Digital Library. 1849–1852. Retrieved 12 June 2013.
- ISBN 9781591144137.
- ^ ISBN 978-0762778423
- ^ Office of Naval War Records, Navy Department (1898). "Officers in the Confederate States Navy, 1861-1865" (PDF). ibiblio.org. Government Printing Office. Retrieved 26 December 2016.
References
- This article incorporates text from the public domain Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships. The entry can be found here.
- Bain, David Haward (2011). Bitter Waters. New York, NY: The Overlook Press. p. 384. ISBN 978-1-59020-352-1. An account of Lynch's expedition to the Jordan River and the Dead Sea.
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