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

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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

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to go to

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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

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. 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

* Attribution * {{DEFAULTSORT:McCauley, Charles Stewart Union Navy officers 1793 births 1869 deaths People of Pennsylvania in the American Civil War United States Navy commodores