than they would have been at sea? I make this request in connection with the proceedings of the late Naval Board, and hope that in this circumstance you will excuse the liberty, and oblige.
Yours truly,
| Sir, | Hillsboro, North Carolina, April 7th, 1856. |
I regret that my absence from home has delayed a reply to your letter of the 26th ultimo so long after its receipt by my family. In answer to your inquiry, why you were not ordered to sea during my connection with the Navy Department, I have to state that I considered your services at the National Observatory of far more importance and value to the country and the Navy than any that could be rendered by an officer of your grade at sea in time of peace. Indeed, I doubt whether the triumphs of navigation and of the knowledge of the sea achieved under your superintendence of the Observatory will not contribute as much to an effective Naval Service and to the national fame as the brilliant trophies of our arms.
I remain, very respectfully, your obediant servant,
| To Lieutenant M. F. Maury, | |
| United States Navy, &c. | |
| My Dear Sir, | Baltimore, March 28th, 1856. |
I have received yours of the 26th, asking me to state why, when I was at the head of the Navy Department, I did not order you to sea. You ask further, was it because you did not apply, or because I considered your services on shore of more value to the country than they would have been at sea.
I have no recollection of your having applied for sea service, though you may have done so, and I, after this lapse of time, have forgotten it. From my knowledge of the nature of your scientific pursuits, their usefulness to the country, and your devotion to them, I can say that nothing but such an emergency as left me no alternative, would have induced me to withdraw you from your labours at the Observatory by
