The often forgotten War of 1812,
produced several well-known heroes such as Captain Oliver H. Perry
and two future presidents of the United States, Andrew Jackson and
William H. Harrison. However, there was another equal, if not
superior leader that few know - Commodore Thomas Macdonough of
Delaware was the hero of the Battle on Lake Champlain. But, the
founders of McDonough remembered this hero's efforts (although they
used a variation of his name) and named this Town after their new
hero.
By the summer of 1814, it was
believed that the British wished to make the northern lakes British
waters, to which the Americans should have only commercial access.
This was an attempt to weaken any American advantage toward future
attempts to invade Canada. Napoleon had fallen, for the first time,
and the British government was deciding if they should continue
aggression toward the United States to prevent further expansion of
the newly formed country.
They decided that was the path to
follow, but the hope of success dimmed when Thomas Macdonough
destroyed the British fleet on Lake Champlain. Except at Baltimore
and New Orleans (the other major battles near the close of the war),
which were more defensive successes, nothing but misfortune followed
the American troops.
It was MacDonough's victory at the
Battle of Lake Champlain that made the Duke of Wellington advise
that the British cease their conquest efforts.
Thomas Macdonough was born on
December 31, 1783 at The Trap, Delaware, which the Post office
Department in 1844 changed to Macdonough. He was sixth of the ten
children born to Mary Vance Macdonough and Major Thomas Macdonough,
physician, military officer in the Revolutionary War, and judge of
the State of Delaware.
The military tradition was carried on
in the family when an older brother, James, enlisted in the Navy and
served on the USS Constellation prior to 1800. Through the influence
of Senator Latimer of Delaware, Thomas received an appointment as
midshipman from President John Adams on February 5, 1800. Although
soon after the ship Macdonough served on was sold, the Navy reduced,
and many officers dismissed, through the influence of C.A. Rodney of
Delaware Thomas continued in the service.
Macdonough served about the USS
Constellation and Philadelphia in the Mediterranean where he was
noted for his gallantry during battles at Tripoli. He was then
ordered to Middletown, Conn., to help supervise the construction of
naval vessels. Later on he served on such ships as the USS Wasp,
John Adams, and the Essex. In 1810 he was given a type of furlough
and ordered to make a voyage in the Merchant Marine. It was on this
voyage that the future hero had a run-in with the British. In
Liverpool a British pressgang seized Macdonough and tried to impress
him in the British Navy, which was a rather common practice during
this period, and one of the reasons the US soon declared war on
Great Britain.
Despite Macdonough’s protests that he
was an officer of the American Navy, the British meant to keep him.
However, he was able to escape and rejoin his ship. The next morning
as Macdonough sailed by the British ship he is supposed to have
remarked to himself: "If I live, I’ll make England remember the day
she impressed an American sailor." When the war was declared two
years later, the rallying, "No Impressment," had special
significance to Macdonough.
Shortly after the war was declared in
1812, Macdonough returned to active duty and was ordered to take
command of the fleet on Lake Champlain in upper New York State. He
had the difficult task of outfitting a small fleet and maintaining
superiority of naval strength over the enemy. It was not an easy
task when it necessitated moving most of the materials and seamen
from the sea coast to the interior, several hundred miles distance.
At the beginning of the hostilities
the balance of naval power on Lake Champlain rested with the
Americans and this remained true until about June 1813. The forces
of both sides were rather small and neither made a serious attempt
to alter the balance of power. However, in June 1813 the British
caught the Americans in a "trap" and superiority on the lake passed
to the British, and remained so until May 1814.
 In
January 1814 orders were given to construct a new ship. The brothers
Adam & Noah Brown of New York promised to construct a ship within 60
days, however, they managed to completed the task in 40. On April
11, 1814, Lucy Ann Macdonough, Thomas' wife, christened the 26-gun
ship USS Saratoga. Macdonough was not ready to do battle with the
enemy.
Commodore Macdonough anchored his
fleet in Plattsburg Bay in a line northeast to southwest. The USS
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.
Macdonough fired and his fleet opened fire. British Captain Downey
was killed during the battle. At 11:20 a.m. the British ships struck
their colors. Victory belonged to the Americans! However the ships
were torn and burning and held many that parished during the
horrific battle. It was obvious that Macdonough's foresight, valor,
ingenuity and perseverance won the day.
The entire country praised Macdonough's victory as equal to
Commodore Perry's on Lake Erie September 10, 1813. The Battle of
Plattsburgh is one of the decisive battles in American history. It
prevented the invasion and conquest of New York State as effectively
in 1814 as the surrender of the British under Burgoyne in 1777.
Commodore Macdonough continued in the service of his country after
the war of 1812 ended. On October 20, 1824, Macdonough, commanding
the frigate USS 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, Lucy Ann 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 and his wife are interred in the Riverside Cemetery in
Middletown, Connecticut. Together they had 5 children: James,
Charles Shaler, Augustus Rodney, Thomas, and Charlotte. |
