Background
Thomas Macdonough, Jr. was born on December 30, 1783, in New Castle County, Delaware, to Thomas Macdonough, Sr. and Mary Macdonough. He was the sixth child from a family of ten siblings and was raised in the countryside.
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Thomas Macdonough, Jr. was born on December 30, 1783, in New Castle County, Delaware, to Thomas Macdonough, Sr. and Mary Macdonough. He was the sixth child from a family of ten siblings and was raised in the countryside.
He received a contemporary education but it remains uncertain if he attended any sort of formal schools or was taught by family members or a tutor.
On May 27, 1800, at the age of sixteen, Macdonough secured a warrant and served as a midshipman aboard the 24-gun USS Ganges, a corvette class ship, converted over from a merchantman vessel and outfitted as a man-of-war. They sailed to the West Indies, where the U. S. and France were fighting. The "Ganges" crew captured three French ships and sent them all back to the U. S. Thomas was assigned to the "Constellation" on October 20, 1801, for its cruise of the Mediterranean sea. During this cruise they fought with Tripolitanian gunboats at Tripoli. He later served in 1803 on the new ship "Philadelphia", a 38-gun frigate. In October of 1803, the "Philadelphia" was captured and taken to Tripoli. Luckily, Thomas was on shore leave at the time of capture.
On December 14, 1803, he was assigned to the "Enterprise", a 12-gun schooner. The "Enterprise" along with the "Constitution" was sent out to either retake the "Philadelphia" or destroy it so that Tripoli could not use her against the U. S. They decided it was to risky of an operation too retake her so they set her a fire. Thomas, along with others, volunteered to sail to the "Philadelphia" and set her on fire.
They sailed up to the "Philadelphia" and stated to the Tripolitanian crew that they were a merchant ship having trouble and requested to tie up to the "Philadelphia". They did exactly that boarded the ship and after fighting with the Tripolitanian crew, set her on fire and quickly left. This was the last action in which he was involved during the war with Tripoli. In 1805 or 1806, Thomas was appointed a lieutenant of the "Enterprise".
During the coming years the British began impressing American sailors. This act, of course, helped lead the United States into the war of 1812. While in Liverpool, England Thomas Macdoungh was impressed into the English Navy. The story is related that he was taken on board a British Ship and assigned sleeping quarters with the corporal of the guard. Once the corporal fell asleep Macdonough put on his clothes and went out onto the deck. Shortly thereafter, he saw the corporal poke his head out of the hatchway. Macdonough immediately knocked him down, jumped into a small boat, broke loose and was on his way. The sentry shot at Macdonough but he safely made his way to shore.
In October of 1806, Macdonough was ordered to Middletown, Connecticut, to work under Captain Isaac Hull superintending the construction of gunboats.
For the next three years, Macdonough served on a number of ships, developing a reputation as a forceful leader and earning the respect and admiration of his men. When he took command of the gunboats stationed on Long Island Sound, he established his headquarters back in Middletown. In 1811 he applied for a furlough—a common practice at the time—and captained the merchant brig "Gulliver" on a successful voyage to Europe and the East Indies. In spite of the growing tension with Great Britain, he pressed for another furlough, and when it was refused, tendered his resignation. The declaration of war against Britain on June 18, 1812, changed everything.
Informing the Navy Department that he was ready to return to active service, 28-year-old Lieutenant Macdonough was ordered to take command of all naval forces on Lake Champlain in October 1812. When he first arrived on Lake Champlain to see the vessels, he saw the gunboats "one was partly sunk and the seams of both were so open as almost to admit the hand. " He immediately hired carpenters to prepare the vessels for war. After repairs he took his converted, patched-up warships down the lake to the Plattsburgh, NY area to start patrols of Lake Champlain.
On June 2, 1813, Macdonough ordered Lt. Sidney Smith with the sloop "Growler" and Sailing Master Loomis with the "Eagle" to sail north to the Canadian border. There they were to block the mouth of the Richelieu River to prevent British warships from entering Lake Champlain. Macdonough gave specific orders not to cross the border. However, Lt. Smith deliberately sailed into British territory where they met up with British warships. After a four hour battle the British captured both sloops and sent all the men to prison. Now that the British could add two more sloops to their fleet, they had complete control of the Lake. At this point Macdonough moved his fleet farther down the lake to Burlington, Vermont.
On July 24, 1813, Lt. Thomas Macdonough was designated Master Commandant. He was there after called "Commodore" out of respect or courtesy even though that rank did not exist at that time.
The last of July 1813, a British flotilla landed at Plattsburgh's wharf with 1, 000 soldiers. They promised the frightened citizens that they would not destroy private property. However, they started burning public property and stole the contents of many of the private homes in the area. They then sailed south and attacked Macdonough at Burlington. After a small battle they sailed on and continued to raid villages. The American fleet was no where near ready to battle on the open lake at this time.
After repairs were completed on his fleet, he moved the fleet to Vergennes, Vermont for the winter. There he received authorization in January, 1814 from Secretary Jones to construct a new ship. The brothers Adam & Noah Brown of New York promised to construct a ship within 60 days. To everyone's delight the Browns completed the new ship in 40 days. On April 11, 1814, the 26-gun ship was christened "Saratoga". Macdonough was now ready to do battle with the enemy.
Commodore Macdonough anchored his fleet in Plattsburg Bay in a line northeast to southwest. The "Eagle" was at that north end, then Macdonough's flagship "Saratoga"; next the "Ticonderoga" and last the "Preble" at the south end. While Macdonough prepared his fleet, General Alexander Macomb prepared his small army to defend Plattsburgh from the British Army.
About nine o'clock Sunday morning, September 11, 1814, British Captain George Downie brought his fleet around Cumberland Head into Plattsburgh Bay. Since his ships had to tack into the north wind, Downie had trouble lining up his vessels between Macdonough's ships and Cumberland Head as Macdonough had expected. The British ships were now in a trapped position.
Macdonough fired and his fleet opened fire. The British Captain Downey was killed during the battle. Macdonough was knocked down twice due to explosions, once remaining senseless for a few minutes. Another shot cut off the head of the captain of the gun and drove it against Macdonough with such force that he was knocked across the deck and fell between two guns. The "Saratoga" caught fire twice during the battle.
At 11:20 a. m. the British ships struck their colors, victory belonged to the Americans. However the decks of all ships had torn hulls, masts and spars and they held those that had parished in this terrific battle. It was obvious that Macdonough's foresight, valor, ingenuity and perserverance won the day.
Commodore Macdonough continued in the service of his country after the war of 1812 finally ended. On October 20, 1824, Macdonough, commanding the frigate "Constitution", set sail for the Mediterranean to take charge of the United States naval force. There in the fall of 1825, he received the news that his wife had died. However, Thomas was sick as well with tuberculosis, weighing only sixty pounds. The news devastated him. Thomas was carried from the "Constitution" to the "Edwin" for the long journey home, one journey he was not to complete. On November 10, 1825, Commodore Thomas Macdonough, the hero of Lake Champlain, died six hundred miles from his homeland. He was forty-one years old.
Thomas Macdonough, Jr. was a remarkable American naval officer who won one of the most important victories in the War of 1812 at the Battle of Plattsburg (or Lake Champlain) against the British.
In 1812 he was awarded the Congressional Gold Medal.
He was also awarded by the State of New York a thousand acres of land in Cayuga county, with another hundred acres awarded to him from the State of Vermont, making the once modest commodore a wealthy man.
Besides several U. S. Navy ships, the New York State University, two elementary schools (one in St. Georges, Delaware and one in Middletown, Connecticut) are named in his honor.
Quotations: "The Almighty has been pleased to grant us a signal victory on Lake Champlain in the capture of one Frigate, one Brig and two sloops of war of the enemy. "
Thomas Macdonough was a tall, dignified man with a commanding character which suited him well for military service.
On December 12, 1812, Thomas Macdonough, Jr. married Lucy Anne Shaler at the Christ Church in Middletown by Bishop Abraham Jarvis. They had several children.
Thomas Macdonough, Sr. was a revolutionary officer.
