"Blood is thicker than water" was coined by....

... the same Commodore Josiah Tatnall III who brought the Japanese Embassy in 1860 from Japan to Honolulu, and subsequently to San Francisco. This historical fact comes courtesy of the Bonaventure Historical Society near Savannah, Georgia. In 1859 Tatnall was in command of the American East India Squadron. On June 25, 1859 the Commodore violated American neutrality by coming to the aid of the British during an attack on Taku forts at the mouth of the Pei Ho River in China. This phrase was stated by him in the investigation afterward.

Interestingly, when the Civil War started in 1861 Tatnall resigned to "assume Confederate naval defenses 1861-1864." He was also responsible for the burning of the ironclad ship Merrimack to prevent its capture by Union forces.