Thomas Harmon Patterson (May 10, 1820 – April 9, 1889) was a rear admiral in the United States Navy.
Early life
Patterson was born in New Orleans, Louisiana, on May 10, 1820. He was the second son of Commodore Daniel Todd Patterson (1786–1839), a War of 1812 U.S. Navy hero, and George Ann (née Pollock) Patterson (1787–1851). Among his siblings were Carlile Pollock Patterson (superintendent of the United States Coast Survey); Eliza Catherine Patterson, who married George Mifflin Bache Sr. (brother of Alexander Dallas Bache), and George Ann Patterson, who married fellow Naval officer David Dixon Porter.
Career
Patterson saw action in the American Civil War and later served as commander of the Asiatic Squadron (1877–1880). While in this latter post, he participated in the lengthy 1879 visit of former president and general Ulysses S. Grant to Japan at the conclusion of Grant's around-the-world tour that started in 1878.
Personal life
On June 5, 1847, Patterson was married to Maria Montresor Wainwright (1823–1881). Maria was the daughter of U.S. Marine Corps Colonel Robert Dewar Wainwright and Maria Montresor (née Auchmuty) Wainwright, the sister of U.S. Naval officer Richard Wainwright, and cousin of Commander Jonathan Mayhew Wainwright. They were the parents of one daughter and three sons who survived to adulthood, including:
- Robert Harmon Patterson.
- Georgeanne Pollock Patterson. Patterson died on April 9, 1889, at his residence, 2100 G Street in Washington, D.C. His remains were interred in the Wainwright vault of Congressional Cemetery, with his wife, father-in-law, and other Wainwright relatives. His father and mother are also buried in Congressional Cemetery but under a separate Patterson monument.