William Francis Lynch (April 1, 1801 – October 17, 1865), was an American naval officer.

Personal life

On June 2, 1828 Lieutenant William Francis Lynch, USN, married Virginia Shaw, the youngest daughter of a senior navy officer and sister-in-law of another. They were married in New Haven, Connecticut. The wedding was held just one month after Lynch was promoted to lieutenant in the United States Navy and they had two children.

U.S. Navy service

He was appointed a midshipman

Midshipman

A midshipman is an officer cadet, or a commissioned officer of the lowest rank, in the Royal Navy, United States Navy, and many Commonwealth navies. Commonwealth countries which use the rank include Australia, New Zealand, South Africa, India, Pakistan, Singapore, Sri Lanka and Kenya...

 26 January 1819, and first saw service in Congress

USS Congress (1799)

USS Congress was a nominally rated 38-gun wooden-hulled, three-masted heavy frigate of the United States Navy. She was named by George Washington to reflect a principal of the United States Constitution. James Hackett built her in Portsmouth New Hampshire and she was launched on 15 August 1799...

 and next in U.S. schooner

Schooner

A schooner is a type of sailing vessel characterized by the use of fore-and-aft sails on two or more masts with the forward mast being no taller than the rear masts....

 Shark

USS Shark (1821)

The first USS Shark was a schooner in the United States Navy. Built in the Washington Navy Yard, Shark was launched on 17 May 1821. On 11 May 1821, Matthew C. Perry was ordered to take command of Shark, and the ship was ready to receive her crew on 2 June 1821.-History:Shark sailed from the...

 under Lt. Mathew Perry. Subsequent service included duty with Commodore Porter

David Porter (naval officer)

David Porter was an officer in the United States Navy in a rank of commodore and later the commander-in-chief of the Mexican Navy.-Life:...

’s “Mosquito Squadron” in the West Indies and in the Mediterranean.

Middle East Operations

William Francis Lynch had his first command, the Poinsett

USS Poinsett (1840)

USS Poinsett was a gunboat acquired by the U.S. Navy from the U.S. War Department for use during the Second Seminole War. Post-war she performed survey duties before being returned to the War Department.-Service in the Second Seminole War:...

, from 3 March to 30 December 1839. In 1847, he proceeded to the Jordan river, transportating overland, by camels, a copper and a galvanized iron boat, each boat "assembled" and then placed on a carriage. His expedition ended with the successful exploration of the Dead Sea

Dead Sea

The Dead Sea , also called the Salt Sea, is a salt lake bordering Jordan to the east and Israel and the West Bank to the west. Its surface and shores are below sea level, the lowest elevation on the Earth's surface. The Dead Sea is deep, the deepest hypersaline lake in the world...

.

He published in 1847 (and again in 1849 an enhanced version of) his travels, "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

Africa

Africa is the world's second largest and second most populous continent, after Asia. At about 30.2 million km² including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of the Earth's total surface area and 20.4% of the total land area...

 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

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

.

Joining the Confederate cause

On 21 April 1861, he resigned from the U.S. Navy. He was initially appointed captain in the Virginia Navy and on 10 June 1861, captain in the Confederate States Navy

Confederate States Navy

The Confederate States Navy was the naval branch of the Confederate States armed forces established by an act of the Confederate Congress on February 21, 1861. It was responsible for Confederate naval operations during the American Civil War...

. He commanded naval batteries at Aquia Creek

Aquia Creek

Aquia Creek is a tributary of the tidal segment of the Potomac River and is located in northern Virginia. The creek's headwaters lie in southeastern Fauquier County, and it empties into the Potomac at Brent Point in Stafford County, south of Washington, D.C....

, Virginia

Virginia

The Commonwealth of Virginia , is a U.S. state on the Atlantic Coast of the Southern United States. Virginia is nicknamed the "Old Dominion" and sometimes the "Mother of Presidents" after the eight U.S. presidents born there...

, during their shelling by Union gunboats in May 1861, was in charge of the defense of Roanoke Island

Roanoke Island

Roanoke Island is an island in Dare County near the coast of North Carolina, United States. It was named after the historical Roanoke Carolina Algonquian people who inhabited the area in the 16th century at the time of English exploration....

 in February 1862, and led Confederate naval forces at Vicksburg, Mississippi

Vicksburg, Mississippi

Vicksburg is a city in Warren County, Mississippi, United States. It is the only city in Warren County. It is located northwest of New Orleans on the Mississippi and Yazoo rivers, and due west of Jackson, the state capital. In 1900, 14,834 people lived in Vicksburg; in 1910, 20,814; in 1920,...

 from March to October 1862.

Later in command of ships in North Carolina

North Carolina

North Carolina is a state located in the southeastern United States. The state borders South Carolina and Georgia to the south, Tennessee to the west and Virginia to the north. North Carolina contains 100 counties. Its capital is Raleigh, and its largest city is Charlotte...

 waters, he commanded southern forces during the Union attack on Fort Fisher, North Carolina, in December 1864 and January 1865.

Post-war retirement

After the defeat of the Confederacy, he was paroled 3 May 1865 in Richmond, Virginia

Richmond, Virginia

Richmond is the capital of the Commonwealth of Virginia, in the United States. It is an independent city and not part of any county. Richmond is the center of the Richmond Metropolitan Statistical Area and the Greater Richmond area...

. He died in Baltimore, Maryland, on 17 October of the same year.