GUTHRIE, John Julius, naval officer, born in Washington, North Carolina, in 1814; died at sea, near Cape Hatteras, in November, 1877. He became a midshipman in 1834, passed midshipman in 1838, and lieutenant in 1842. He served in the Mexican war and in the attack on the barrier forts in Canton river, China, in November, 1856, where he displayed gallantry. He pulled down the Chinese flag, which he presented to North Carolina as a trophy, and received the thanks of the legislature, in 1861, at the beginning of the civil war, he resigned his commission and entered the Confederate service. He was on active duty in New Orleans, and also commanded the "Advance," running the blockade between Wilmington and the Bermudas. At the close of the war he removed to Portsmouth, Virginia, and in 1865 was the first officer of the regular service who had joined the Confederates to be pardoned by the president. His disabilities were removed by a unanimous vote of congress. He was appointed in 1870 superintendent of the lifesaving stations from Cape Henry to Cape Hatteras, and was drowned while endeavoring to succor the passengers and crew of the United States steamship "Huron" in a storm off Cape Hatteras.