"Craven, Tunis Augustus Macdonough, naval officer, b., in Portsmouth, N.H., 11 Jan., 1813; d. in Mobile bay, Ala., 5 Aug., 1864. He entered the U.S. Navy as a midshipman in February 1829, and until 1837 served in different vessels, after which he was at his own request attached to the coast survey. In 1841 he was made a lieutenant and served in the "Falmouth" until 1843, when he was transferred to the "North Carolina." Three years later he was connected with the Pacific squadron as lieutenant of the "Dale,"and participated in the conquest of California. In 1849 he returned east, and for some time afterward was associated in the work of the coast-survey, having command of various vessels attached to this bureau. He commanded the Altrato expedition which left New York in October, 1857, for the purpose of surveying the isthmus of Darien by way of the Atrato river for a ship0canal. Later he commanded the "Mohawk," stationed off the coast of Cuba to intercept slavers. On one occasion he captured a brig containing 500 negroes, who were afterward sent to Africa and liberated. He also saved the crew of a Spanish merchant vessel, for which he was presented by the queen of Spain with a gold medal and a diploma. About the same time the New York board of underwriters presented Mrs. Craven with a silver service of plate for the efficient services rendered to merchant vessels while at sea by her husband. At the beginning of the civil war he was placed in command of the 'Crusader,' and was instrumental in preserving for the Union the fortress at Key West. In April 1861, he was made a commander, and ordered to the charge of the "Tuscarora," in search of Confederate cruisers. While so occupied he succeeded in blockading the "Sumter," so that, after it had been kept a close prisoner for two months in Gibraltar, the officers and crew deserted her. On his return home, he was given command of the monitor "Tecumseh," and directed to join the James river flotilla. A few months later he was attached to Admiral Farragut's squadron, then collected for the attack on Mobile. In the subsequent battle the "Tecumseh" was given the post of honor, and on the morning of 5 Aug., leading the fleet, she fired the first shot at 6:47 A.M. The general orders to the various commanders directed them, in order to avoid the line of torpedoes at the entrance of the bay, to pass eastward of a certain red buoy and directly under the guns of Fort Morgan. The Confederate ram 'Tennessee" was on the port-beam of the "Tecumseh," inside of the line of torpedoes, and Craven, in his eagerness to engage the ram, passed to the west of the buoy, when suddenly the monitor reeled and sank with almost every one on board, destroyed by a torpedo. As the "Tecumseh: was going down, Com. Craven and his pilot, John Collins, met at the foot of hte ladder leading to the top of the turret. Craven, knowing it was through no fault of the pilot, but by his own command, that the fatal change in her course had been made, stepped back, saying: "After you, pilot.' There was no "after" for him. When the pilot reached the top round, the vessel seemed "to drop from under him," and no one followed. A buoy that swings to and fro with the ebb and flow of the tide marks the scene of Com. Craven's bravery and of his death, and beneath, only a few fathoms deep, lies the "Tecumseh." He has been called the "Sydney" of the American navy.

"Appletons' cyclopaedia of American biography, Vol. II, New York, D. Appleton and Company, 1887"

"Tunis Augustus MacDonough Craven

Commander T.A.M. Craven U.S.N. died in command of the U.S.S. Tecumseh, Battle of Mobile Bay, Alabama.~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~[Commander Craven] never made it past that rank but certainly would have had he not been killed in the battle of Mobile Bay under extraordinary circumstances that should have gotten him a Medal of Honor. He was born on 11 January 1813 to Tunis Craven and Hanna Tingey at the Portsmouth, NH Shipyard where his father was stationed as a navy purser and storekeeper. His mother was a daughter of Navy Commodore Thomas Tingey (1750-1820) for whom there may be a record of burial in the Mt. Hope Cemetery at Lambertville, NJ. Tunis' brother, Thomas T. Craven, would make Rear Admiral in 1866 and go on the retired list three years later. Tunis' paternal grandfather, Dr. Gershom Craven, had been a Revolutionary War surgeon in the Hunterdon County (NJ) militia. The doctor nursed French General Lafayette back to health at Ringoes within the county. Tunis himself graduated in 1829 from the Partridge School that would become Norwich University and entered the Navy as a midshipman that same year. He served the usual apprenticeship, saw extensive duty on coastal surveys, took part as a Lieutenant in the conquest of the California coast during the War with Mexico, and by 1859 was commanding the steamer Mohawk on patrol off Florida. On the ship he captured four slavers in 1859 and 1860. The most notable of these was the bark Wildfire that had sailed from the Congo with 650 slaves aboard and lost over 100 to death by the time he intercepted and brought them into Key West. In that same year he saved the crew of the foundering Spanish ship Bella for which he received honors from both the Spanish Crown and its insurance firm.~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Tunis Augustus MacDonough Craven was born on 11 January 1813, in Portsmouth, Rockingham County, New Hampshire. He was the son of Tunis Quick Craven and Hannah Tingey. He married Mary Carter on 16 April 1838, in Flushing, Queens, New York. They were the parents of three children. He lived in Franklin Township, Somerset County, New Jersey in 1850. He died on 5 August 1864, at sea, at the age of 51.