Dabney Herndon Maury was born in
Fredericksburg, Virginia. His descent is from the old Virginia families of Brooke and Minor, and the Huguenot emigrees, the Fontaines and Maurys. Dabney was the son of Naval Lieutenant
John Minor Maury, who died of
yellow fever in the
West Indies when Dabney was two years old. He was brought up by his uncle,
Matthew Fontaine Maury, who is noted as "Father of Modern Oceanography and Naval Meteorology". He studied law in Fredericksburg and graduated from the
University of Virginia in the class of 1841 and then finished his studies at the
United States Military Academy in 1846 and was
brevetted as a
second lieutenant in the
Regiment of Mounted Rifles. Maury served in the
Mexican–American War at the
Battle of Cerro Gordo, and suffered a painful wound that almost resulted in the amputation of his arm. He was soon sent home to recuperate and was brevetted to
first lieutenant for bravery. His gallantry in this event prompted the citizens of Fredericksburg and the Legislature of Virginia to honor him with a special presentation sword. After further convalescence in
White Sulphur Springs, he was reassigned to West Point as an instructor, serving in that capacity from 1847 until 1852. He married Nannie Rose Mason on 10 March 1852 in Stafford County, Virginia. Maury then returned to active field duty with the Mounted Rifles, serving in the
Oregon Territory, then on the
Texas frontier. He returned East and commanded the Cavalry School at the
Carlisle Barracks in 1858. He authored a book,
Tactics for Mounted Rifles, which became the standard textbook. He also wrote
Recollections of a Virginian in the Indian, Mexican, and the Civil Wars. == American Civil War ==