Kammala jumla mai zuwa: An haife shi a Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, Godon ya shiga Navy a 1819 a matsayin mai kula da jirgin ruwa, kuma, bayan ya yi aiki a teku a sassa daban-daban na duniya, ya ci gaba da wucewa a shekara ta 1827, kuma ya zama laftanar a 1836. Ya yi aiki a cikin jirgin ruwa na Commodore Isaac Hull na Mediterranean Squadron daga 1839 zuwa 1841. An yi amfani da Godon sosai a lokacin Yakin Mexico da Amurka, a matsayin kwamandan jirgin ruwa na bam a
rage Veracruz a cikin 1847.