Charles Stewart McCauley (February 3, 1793 – May 21, 1869) was an American naval officer in the
War of 1812
The War of 1812 (18 June 1812 – 17 February 1815) was fought by the United States, United States of America and its Indigenous peoples of the Americas, indigenous allies against the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, United Kingdom ...
and the
Civil War
A civil war or intrastate war is a war between organized groups within the same state (or country).
The aim of one side may be to take control of the country or a region, to achieve independence for a region, or to change government policies ...
.
Biography
McCauley was born in
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the sixth-largest city in the U.S., the second-largest city in both the Northeast megalopolis and Mid-Atlantic regions after New York City. Sinc ...
, in the decade after the
American Revolution
The American Revolution was an ideological and political revolution that occurred in British America between 1765 and 1791. The Americans in the Thirteen Colonies formed independent states that defeated the British in the American Revoluti ...
and educated in the city's schools. He entered the
U.S. Navy
The United States Navy (USN) is the maritime service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. It is the largest and most powerful navy in the world, with the estimated tonnage o ...
as a
midshipman in 1809 and subsequently fought in the War of 1812. He served on the ''
Constellation'' in 1813, and took part in the gunboat attack on the
British naval frigate ''Narcissus'' in
Hampton Roads, and in the
defense of Craney Island. He served as acting lieutenant of the ''Jefferson'' in 1814 on Lake Ontario.
[p. 78: "MacCauley, Charles Stewart"]
In 1823 he obtained leave of absence and commanded a vessel in the
merchant marine until he returned to the Navy in 1825. Rising steadily through the ranks, he became a captain in 1839. In April 1855, McCauley was placed in command of the home squadron. He was directed by the
Secretary of the Navy
The secretary of the Navy (or SECNAV) is a statutory officer () and the head (chief executive officer) of the Department of the Navy, a military department (component organization) within the United States Department of Defense.
By law, the se ...
to go to
Cuba
Cuba ( , ), officially the Republic of Cuba ( es, República de Cuba, links=no ), is an island country comprising the island of Cuba, as well as Isla de la Juventud and several minor archipelagos. Cuba is located where the northern Caribbea ...
to protect American interests. For his success in this he was publicly complimented on his return in June by President
Franklin Pierce at a dinner at the
White House
The White House is the official residence and workplace of the president of the United States. It is located at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW in Washington, D.C., and has been the residence of every U.S. president since John Adams in ...
. In 1860 he was ordered to the command of the
Gosport Ship Yard.
[
Upon the outbreak of the ]American Civil War
The American Civil War (April 12, 1861 – May 26, 1865; also known by other names) was a civil war in the United States. It was fought between the Union ("the North") and the Confederacy ("the South"), the latter formed by states ...
in 1861 he destroyed a large number of ships and property there, to prevent its falling into the hands of the Confederate States of America
The Confederate States of America (CSA), commonly referred to as the Confederate States or the Confederacy was an unrecognized breakaway republic in the Southern United States that existed from February 8, 1861, to May 9, 1865. The Confeder ...
. However, this effort was largely unsuccessful. Nearly 2,000 cannon and several of the scuttled warships, including the USS ''Merrimack'', were captured and returned to service by the Confederates. He was placed on the retired list on December 21, 1861, and promoted to commodore.
Four years after the end of the Civil War, McCauley died at his home in Washington, D.C.
)
, image_skyline =
, image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan, ...
Family
McCauley was a nephew of Admiral Charles Stewart (1778–1869). He was an uncle of Rear Admiral Edward Yorke (born November 2, 1826).
Notes
References
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Attribution
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{{DEFAULTSORT:McCauley, Charles Stewart
Union Navy officers
1793 births
1869 deaths
People of Pennsylvania in the American Civil War
United States Navy commodores