Henry Myers (1827 – March 20, 1901) was a lieutenant-commander in the United States Navy.

Life and career

Myers was born in 1827 to

Mordecai Myers Mordecai Myers (November 9, 1794 – February 21, 1865) was an American politician and landowner in Savannah, Georgia, in the 19th century. Life and career Named for his paternal grandfather, Myers was born in South Carolina to physician Dr. ...

and Sarah Henrietta Cohen. His father was the only survivor from his family of fifteen after their home was swept into the ocean in

Georgetown, South Carolina Georgetown is the third oldest city in the U.S. state of South Carolina and the county seat of Georgetown County, South Carolina, Georgetown County, in the South Carolina Lowcountry, Lowcountry. As of the 2010 United States Census, 2010 census ...

, during a hurricane on September 27, 1822. His father buried the victims, which included his parents. He was appointed paymaster in the United States Navy early in his life. When Georgia seceded in the Civil War, he joined the Confederate States Navy. He was ordered to the CSS ''Sumter'', commanded by Raphael Semmes. When he died, he was one of the last surviving members of the vessel. Myers was captured in Tangier in 1862. The ''Sumter'' was not seaworthy at the time, and was in dock at Cádiz. Myers had travelled to Tangier on a leave of absence to visit an English officer friend who was ill. He was seized by the acting U.S. Consul in Tangier and put on board the USS ''Ino''.''Cultural Ambassador: On diplomacy's front lines in Morocco and elsewhere with Albert L. Gihon, U.S. Navy'', Ronald S. Coddington (2019), pp. 40-45 He was then transferred to the merchantman ''Harvest Home'', on which he was subjected to cruel treatment; he bore the marks of the shackles he wore for the rest of his life. He was imprisoned at Fort Warren. "The entire proceedings were deemed at the time as partaking in the character of an outrage," wrote '' The New York Times'' in Myers' obituary. His experience was discussed in the House of Commons. At the end of the war, in 1865, Myers went to Jacksonville, Florida, where he was employed in the city's waterworks. Myers married Jane Eliza Green, daughter of Benjamin Green and Martha Elizabeth Marvin, in 1867. He was an occasional contributor to ''The New York Times''.

Death

Myers died on March 20, 1901, aged 73 or 74. He was buried in St. James Episcopal Cemetery in Marietta, Georgia. His wife joined him there upon her death 22 years later.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Myers, Henry 1827 births 1901 deaths Confederate States Navy officers United States Navy officers Military personnel from Savannah, Georgia