★★★ Memorial Monday ★★★
Passed Midshipman Sylvanus Bliss, USNA 1847, is one of the earliest alumni in Memorial Hall. We know very little about him, unfortunately, except that he was born in Brookfield, Massachusetts in 1825 and was appointed to the Naval Academy a few days before his 16th birthday. He served initially for several years in the frigate Columbia, then a sloop prior to attending the Naval School. A "Passed Midshipman" in 1947, he served aboard a series of ships until he was assigned to the brig Porpoise sometime before 1854.
In late September 1854, Porpoise disappeared while enroute from Formosa to China. No trace of her or her crew was ever found.
To Honor! ⚓
https://usnamemorialhall.org/index.php/SYLVANUS_J._BLISS,_PASSED_MIDN,_USN