The Pathfinder of the Seas

Matthew Fontaine Maury (who, when I was growing up, was known by every Virginia school boy as The Pathfinder of the Seas) was born on 14 January 1806. Yesterday marked his 201^st birthday. A brilliant man and prolific author, this Virginian remains the most decorated citizen in American history. One must wonder why he is not more widely known. Could it be ignorance, or something more “sinister” – political correctness, maybe?

Maury was an astronomer, astrophysicist, historian, oceanographer, meteorologist, cartographer, author, geologist, and educator. Though honored by Kings & Emperors, his fellow Americans have, in recent years, ignored his contributions and greatness. His accomplishments are staggering to consider. A partial listing gives us some clue as to his greatness:

• In 1825, at the age of 19, Maury was appointed as a Midshipman in the United States Navy by Sam Houston.
• He was the first fighting advocate for the establishment of the U.S. Naval Academy in Annapolis, Maryland and can be credited with conceiving the Panama Canal with one of his publications.
• By 1861, Maury was the head of the U.S. Naval Observatory in Washington, D.C. and had been Knighted and / or Honored by no less than six Emperors and Kings.
• On the 10th of June 1861, Maury was appointed as a Commander in the Confederate Navy.
• Maury published his Wind and Current Chart of the North Atlantic, which showed sailors how to use the ocean's currents and winds to their advantage which drastically reduced the length of ocean voyages.
• His Sailing Directions and Physical Geography of the Seas and Its Meteorology remain standard.
• Maury's uniform system of recording synoptic oceanographic data was adopted by navies and merchant marines around the world and was used to develop charts for all the major trade routes.
• He assisted in the outfitting of the iron-clad Virginia “and while living in Richmond, Virginia he invented electric mines or ‘Torpedoes’, as they were called during the War Between The States, by experimenting first in the bathtub of his apartment and then in the James River.”
• After Civil War ended, Maury “served briefly with Maximilliam in Mexico and turned down numerous other offers worldwide, including the command of several European Navies.”
• In 1868 Maury accepted the position of professor of meterology at Virginia Military Institute in Lexington, Virginia.

In 1839, at age thirty-three, Maury was seriously injured in a stagecoach accident which led Maury to a scientific breakthrough. (No, this is not a myth and was recounted in a journal in Maury's own handwriting) While recovering at home, Maury's wife read to her husband daily out of the Bible. One afternoon Mrs. Maury was reading the eighth Psalm which describes the works and creation of God. Maury's attention was arrested by verse eight, as his wife read, “The fowl of the air, and the fish of the sea, and whatsoever passeth through the paths of the sea.” Maury believed that the Bible, though not a scientific book, was accurate and reliable whenever it addressed a scientific subject. Maury stopped his wife and requested, “Read that again.” She dutifully repeated the words and Maury stated with confidence: “It is enough. If the Word of God says there are paths in the sea, they must be there, and I am going to find them!”

When Virginia seceded from the Union, Maury left the U.S. Naval Observatory. He told the Secretary of the U.S. Navy: "I Desire To Go To My Own People And With Them Share The Fortunes Of Our State Together" – pretty much the same sentiments of Robert E. Lee (Maury would serve as a pallbearer at General Lee’s funeral.) and so many other Virginians who, while opposing secession, could not violate what they saw as the superior duty – home and kin.

The federal government wasted no time in retribution. “His name was expunged from the record of many of the enterprises he had originated.” Maury spent the last 5 years of his life in Lexington where he worked as a Professor at the Virginia Military Institute. Matthew Fontaine Maury died on Tuesday, 1 February 1873, and the VMI Cadets formed the "Guard Of Honor" when his body ay in state in VMI's library.

A dynamic Christian, Maury had the habit of saying the following prayer every night for 34 years:

"Lord Jesus, Thou Son Of God And Redeemer Of The World, Have Mercy Upon Me ! Pardon My Offenses, And Teach Me The Error Of My Ways; Give Me A New Heart And A Right Mind. Teach Me And Mine To Do Thy Will, And In All Things To Keep Thy Law. Teach Me Also To Ask Those Things Necessary For Eternal Life. Lord, Pardon Me For All My Sins, For Thine Is The Kingdom And The Power And The Glory, For Ever And Ever. Amen."

Honoring Maury's request, his body was carried through Goshen Pass when the color of the Virgina autumn foliage was in all its glory. He was buried on 27 December 1873 in Hollywood Cemetery in Richmond between Presidents James Monroe and John Tyler.

Monuments honoring The Pathfinder of the Seas stand in Goshen Pass and on Monument Avenue in Richmond.