Thomas Macdonough, Jr. (December 31, 1783 – November 10, 1825) was a United States Navy officer noted for his roles in the First Barbary War and the War of 1812. He was the son of a revolutionary officer, Thomas Macdonough, Sr. who lived near Middletown, Delaware.
He was the sixth child from a family of ten siblings and was raised in the countryside. He entered naval life at an early age, receiving a midshipman's commission at the age of sixteen.Lewis, 1924 p.163
Serving with Stephen Decatur at Tripoli, he was a member of "Preble's Boys", a select group of U.S. naval officers who served under the command of Commodore Preble during the First Barbary War. Macdonough achieved fame during the War of 1812, commanding the American naval forces that overpowered a British squadron at the Battle of Lake Champlain, part of the larger Battle of Plattsburgh.Skaggs, 2006 pp.62-64
Early life Major Thomas Macdonough Sr., Captain Thomas Macdonough's father, lived at a farm referred to as "The Trap" (also spelled 'Trapp'), in the county of New Castle, Delaware.
Macdonough's great-grandfather, also named Thomas Macdonough, lived in Leinster, Ireland in the Salmon Leap district not far from Dublin. His surname derives from the Gaelic Mac Donnchadha meaning son of donnachada- brown warrior. Traditionally the surname is very common among Gaelic Irish, who before The American Revolution, fought against William of Orange and Oliver Cromwell to free Ireland from Protestant British occupation. https://surnamedb.com/Surname/McDonough He was of the Protestant faith and succeeding generations were connected with the Episcopal Church in the United States.Macdonough, 1909 p.11
Thomas Macdonough Jr. was born in a small town near Odessa, which later was named MacDonough, Delaware, in his honor.
He was a major in the Continental Army.Barnes, 1896 pp.209Skaggs, 2006 pp.128 He was employed in Middletown as a clerk upon the return of his brother James, who lost a leg in a naval battle with a French vessel in 1799 during the Quasi-War with France.Skaggs, 2006 p.27 Shortly after, Macdonough requested a commission with the United States Navy with the assistance of Senator Latimer from the state of Delaware.
Macdonough was a tall, dignified man with a commanding character which suited him well for military service. He was a devoutly religious man of Episcopal faith, as were his parents and greater family. He was known to adhere to a set of steadfast principles in his personal and military life.Frost, 1845 p.304Macdonough, 1909 p.11. He received a contemporary education here but it remains uncertain if he attended any sort of formal schools or was taught by family members or a tutor.
Before joining the Navy, Thomas, Jr., for unknown reasons, changed the spelling of his last name from "McDonough" to "Macdonough.Frost, 1845 pp.293-294
On May 27, 1800, at the age of sixteen, Macdonough secured a warrant and served as a midshipman aboard the 24-gun , a corvette class ship, converted over from a merchantman vessel and outfitted as a man-of-war.Skaggs, 2006 pp.22-30
Under the command of Captain John Mullowny, Ganges then set sail for the West Indies. During operations there she captured three French merchant ships between May and September. When hostilities between the United States and France had finally ended the following year on October 20, 1801, Macdonough was assigned to , a 38-gun frigate.
Commanded by Alexander Murray, Constellation was about to embark on its mission in the Mediterranean sea. While serving aboard Constellation he received a thorough education from Murray in seamanship, navigation, gunnery, and other nautical sciences towards improving his service as a junior officer.Skaggs, 2006 p.39
First Barbary War
Aboard Constellation in January 1802, Macdonough served with distinction in naval operations against Tripoli during the First Barbary War. This was the same ship that his brother James had served on a few years earlier.Heidler, 2004 p.311
In 1803, Navy Secretary Robert Smith selected Macdonough to serve aboard , a 38-gun frigate, commanded by William Bainbridge. Macdonough was aboard this ship when it captured the Moroccan ship Mirboka on August 26, 1803. Shortly before Philadelphia ran aground and was consequently captured by the Tripolitans, Macdonough had gone ashore on leave.Skaggs, 2006 p.41 He was reassigned on October 31 to the 12-gun sloop under the command of Lieutenant Stephen Decatur. Macdonough volunteered to join Decatur's successful raid into the harbor of Tripoli. On February 6, 1804, they succeeded in burning and destroying Philadelphia.
Having just served on Philadelphia, Macdonough's familiarity made his role in the operation a crucial one. For his heroic actions he was promoted to acting lieutenant.MacKenzie, 1846 pp.67-68
Macdonough also accompanied Decatur when they hunted down the murderer of Decatur's brother, James Decatur, who was killed by the commander when he boarded a Tripolitan ship that had pretended to be surrendering. After catching up with and pulling alongside the ship involved, Decatur was the first to board the enemy vessel with Midshipman Macdonough at his heels along with nine volunteer crew members. Decatur, Macdonough and the rest of the crew were outnumbered 5 to 1 but were determined, organized and kept their form, fighting furiously side by side, killing the commander and most of the crew along with capturing the Tripolitan ship.Abbot, W. John, 1886
Other service After winning promotion to Lieutenant for his participation in the raid on Philadelphia, Macdonough served aboard the 18-gun brig , the same vessel assisting at Tripoli. Assisting Isaac Hull, he then supervised the construction of several gunboats in Middletown, Connecticut. In January 1806, Macdonough was promoted to a commission of Lieutenant.
As commander of the 18-gun , Macdonough served patrolling waters near Great Britain and various points in the Mediterranean. He returned to America and enforced the Embargo Act, and the Atlantic blockade, from 1807 and 1808.
In 1809, he served with Captain Smith aboard , but later requested reassignment. Macdonough returned to Middletown, Connecticut, and was placed in charge of the several gunboats there. In Middletown Macdonough met his future wife, Ann Shaler.
With the repeal of the Embargo Act, the role of the navy became less active, with a fifth of its officers away on furlough at half pay. Macdonough remained in Middleton for only eight months before requesting a furlough in June 1810. From 1810 to 1812, Macdonough took a leave of absence for two years as the captain of a British merchantman that was en route to India.Skaggs, 2006, p.53 War of 1812
At the beginning of the War of 1812 American naval forces were very small, allowing the British to make many advances into the Great Lakes and northern New York waterways. The roles played by commanders like Oliver Hazard Perry at Lake Erie and Isaac Chauncey at Lake Ontario and Thomas Macdonough at Lake Champlain all proved vital to the naval effort on the lakes that was largely responsible for preserving American territory during that war.
Assigned to USS Constellation, as First Lieutenant, Macdonough returned to active service just prior to the outbreak of the war in June 1812. The ship at this time was being outfitted and supplied in Washington, DC, for its next mission, but was still months away from being ready. Moreover, it did not escape from the British blockade at the Chesapeake Bay until 1814.Malcomson, 2006 p.45
Requesting transfer to a more active front, Macdonough was assigned the command of a squadron of gunboats defending Portland, Maine. His stay there was brief when he received new orders from Secretary of the Navy Hamilton. Macdonough was reassigned to Burlington, Vermont to command U.S. naval forces in Lake Champlain in October 1812.Heidler, 2004 p.312
Taking leave from his assignment at Lake Champlain, Macdonough married Lucy Anne Shaler on December 12, 1812, at the Christ Church in Middletown by Bishop Abraham Jarvis.Skaggs, 2006 p.56
On June 2, 1813, Macdonough sent Lieutenant Sidney Smith with , along with Sailing Master Loomis with , to guard against British advances at the Canada–US border at the Richelieu River. The impatient Smith sailed into British waters, an action which was contrary to his orders, and at once found himself overpowered by the British squadron. After enduring four hours of battle, Smith was finally forced into surrendering.
Lake Champlain Campaign On July 24, 1813, Macdonough was promoted to the rank of master commandant.
When the war began in 1812, there were only two American naval vessels on Lake Champlain, and , each carrying ten guns with a crew of fifty. On June 3, 1813, the two vessels were pursuing a British gunboat but were caught up in a strong current that prevented them from maintaining their heading and position, giving the advantage to British forces, resulting in their capture. The loss of the two and only American vessels on the lake gave undisputed control of this strategic waterway to the British. This prompted Macdonough to begin the construction of the corvette and new sloop and several gunboats at the shipyard in Otter Creek at Vergennes, Vermont. While construction was underway, , a schooner, was being converted to a warship carrying seventeen guns.Heidler, 2004 p.269
In 1814 the ice covering Lake Champlain, which usually lasted well into May, began melting and breaking up early in April. Macdonough feared that the British, who he assumed by now knew of the ship construction going on there, would use the opportunity to capture or destroy the vessels being built. Having learned of Macdonough's ship building activity, the British constructed a heavily armed brig and five large gunboats at 'Isle Aux Noix' over the winter.Malcomson, 2006 p.150 As Macdonough had predicted, British forces attempted to navigate the lake. Because of unfavorable winds, the British commander Daniel Pring, whose forces were based at Isle Aux Noix in upper Lake Champlain, didn't complete the 65-mile journey to Otter Creek until May 14. Upon arrival, Pring situated his squadron in the lake just off Otter Creek with eight galleys and a bomb sloop, preventing the American forces' passage north and to the sea.Mahon 1909, p. 320.Malcomson, 2006 p.404 For one hour, Commander Pring maintained a heavy fire. However, Macdonough had learned of the attack beforehand from his observers on land and had prepared a defense in anticipation of this likely event. Using the guns of his ships, he had them landed on shore at the mouth of Otter Creek.
Macdonough constructed an artillery battery with which he repelled the attack and drove the Royal Navy back to Isle Aux Noix in Canadian waters by autumn. With the way now clear, Macdonough's squadron sailed out of Otter Creek and made its way to Plattsburgh, New York, where it anchored just off shore in anticipation of the next and inevitable British advance.Maclay, 1894 pp. 26–28
Battle of Plattsburgh
By late August 1814, approximately 10,000 British troops under the command of George Prevost had assembled near Montreal at the Canada–US border. Many of these soldiers were well-trained, regular troops who served under Wellington, already battle hardened from their recent defeat of Napoleon in Europe. Macdonough had little naval combat experience. His service in the Barbary wars was limited to gunboat actions and the capture and destruction of Philadelphia.
He had yet to experience a ship-to-ship action, being on a vessel that was receiving broadsides, surrounded by dead and wounded men. Regardless of this lack in experience, Macdonough well understood that defending and holding Plattsburgh, thus not allowing General Macomb's troops to be surrounded by British forces on land and water, was vital to victory in the campaign.Skaggs, 2006 p.123