The second USS ''Macedonian'', was a three-masted, wooden-hulled sailing

frigate A frigate () is a type of warship. In different eras, the roles and capabilities of ships classified as frigates have varied somewhat. The name frigate in the 17th to early 18th centuries was given to any full-rigged ship built for speed and ...

of the

US 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 of ...

, carrying 36 guns. Rebuilt from the keel of the first at

Gosport Gosport ( ) is a town and non-metropolitan borough on the south coast of Hampshire, South East England. At the 2011 Census, its population was 82,662. Gosport is situated on a peninsula on the western side of Portsmouth Harbour, opposite t ...

(later Norfolk) Navy Yard,

Portsmouth, Virginia Portsmouth is an independent city in southeast Virginia and across the Elizabeth River from Norfolk. As of the 2020 census, the population was 97,915. It is part of the Hampton Roads metropolitan area. The Norfolk Naval Shipyard and Naval M ...

beginning in 1832, the new ''Macedonian'' was launched and placed in service in 1836, with Captain

Thomas ap Catesby Jones Thomas ''ap'' Catesby Jones (24 April 1790 – 30 May 1858) was a U.S. Navy commissioned officer during the War of 1812 and the Mexican–American War. Early life and education Thomas ap Catesby Jones was born on 24 April 1790 in Westmor ...

in command.

Service history

West Indies Squadron

''Macedonian'' was assigned to the West Indies Squadron to cruise in the West Indies and along the west coast of Africa from 1839 to 1847 as a continuing deterrent to Caribbean pirates. By a joint resolution of

Congress A congress is a formal meeting of the representatives of different countries, constituent states, organizations, trade unions, political parties, or other groups. The term originated in Late Middle English to denote an encounter (meeting of a ...

on 3 March 1847 ''Macedonian'' and

sloop-of-war In the 18th century and most of the 19th, a sloop-of-war in the Royal Navy was a warship with a single gun deck that carried up to eighteen guns. The rating system covered all vessels with 20 guns and above; thus, the term ''sloop-of-war'' enc ...

were placed in civilian hands to carry food to Ireland during the Great Famine of the late 1840s. With a volunteer crew, ''Macedonian'', Captain George C. De Kay in command, departed New York on 15 June with 12,000 barrels of provisions for Ireland donated by private citizens of the United States, returning to

Brooklyn Navy Yard The Brooklyn Navy Yard (originally known as the New York Navy Yard) is a shipyard and industrial complex located in northwest Brooklyn in New York City, New York. The Navy Yard is located on the East River in Wallabout Bay, a semicircular bend ...

some months later to resume navy service.

Expedition to Japan

In 1852 ''Macedonian'' docked at the Brooklyn Navy Yard to be

razee A razee or razée is a sailing ship that has been cut down (''razeed'') to reduce the number of decks. The word is derived from the French ''vaisseau rasé'', meaning a razed (in the sense of shaved down) ship. Seventeenth century During the ...

d and converted to a sloop-of-war for Commodore

Matthew Perry Matthew Langford Perry (born August 19, 1969) is an American-Canadian actor. He is best known for his role as Chandler Bing on the NBC television sitcom ''Friends'' (1994–2004). As well as starring in the short-lived television series ''Stud ...

's expedition to Japan. Assigned as part of the

East India Squadron The East India Squadron, or East Indies Squadron, was a squadron of American ships which existed in the nineteenth century, it focused on protecting American interests in the Far East while the Pacific Squadron concentrated on the western coast ...

under command of Captain Joel Abbot, was one of the ten American ships entering

Edo Bay is a bay located in the southern Kantō region of Japan, and spans the coasts of Tokyo, Kanagawa Prefecture, and Chiba Prefecture. Tokyo Bay is connected to the Pacific Ocean by the Uraga Channel. The Tokyo Bay region is both the most populous ...

, Japan, on 13 February 1854 during Perry's second visit to negotiate the opening of Japan to foreign trade, remaining as part of the show of force under the

Convention of Kanagawa The Convention of Kanagawa, also known as the Kanagawa Treaty (, ''Kanagawa Jōyaku'') or the Japan–US Treaty of Peace and Amity (, ''Nichibei Washin Jōyaku''), was a treaty signed between the United States and the Tokugawa Shogunate on March ...

signed at

Yokohama is the second-largest city in Japan by population and the most populous municipality of Japan. It is the capital city and the most populous city in Kanagawa Prefecture, with a 2020 population of 3.8 million. It lies on Tokyo Bay, south of To ...

on 31 March 1854. ''Macedonian'' remained on patrol in the North Pacific for the next three years. Then, from 1857 to 1861 she served with the

Home Squadron The Home Squadron was part of the United States Navy in the mid-19th century. Organized as early as 1838, ships were assigned to protect coastal commerce, aid ships in distress, suppress piracy and the Atlantic slave trade, make coastal surveys, ...

in the Mediterranean and the Caribbean. On 26 October 1858 she assisted with the refloated of , which had run aground on the Pelican Shoal, off

Smyrna Smyrna ( ; grc, Σμύρνη, Smýrnē, or , ) was a Greek city located at a strategic point on the Aegean coast of Anatolia. Due to its advantageous port conditions, its ease of defence, and its good inland connections, Smyrna rose to promi ...

Ottoman Empire The Ottoman Empire, * ; is an archaic version. The definite article forms and were synonymous * and el, Оθωμανική Αυτοκρατορία, Othōmanikē Avtokratoria, label=none * info page on book at Martin Luther University) ...

Civil war

With 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 th ...

looming just ahead, the frigate departed

Portsmouth, New Hampshire Portsmouth is a city in Rockingham County, New Hampshire, United States. At the 2020 census it had a population of 21,956. A historic seaport and popular summer tourist destination on the Piscataqua River bordering the state of Maine, Portsmou ...

, for

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, on 12 January 1861 to join in preventing a possible Confederate attack on the harbor. On 11 February ''Macedonian'' sailed for

Veracruz Veracruz (), formally Veracruz de Ignacio de la Llave (), officially the Free and Sovereign State of Veracruz de Ignacio de la Llave ( es, Estado Libre y Soberano de Veracruz de Ignacio de la Llave), is one of the 31 states which, along with Me ...

, Mexico, arriving on the 24th. She then began patrol operations along the gulf coast and the coast of South America, with stops at Aspinwall (later

Colón, Panama Colón () is a city and seaport in Panama, beside the Caribbean Sea, lying near the Atlantic entrance to the Panama Canal. It is the capital of Panama's Colón Province and has traditionally been known as Panama's second city. Originally it was l ...

) and Portobelo, Panama;

Martinique Martinique ( , ; gcf, label=Martinican Creole, Matinik or ; Kalinago: or ) is an island and an overseas department/region and single territorial collectivity of France. An integral part of the French Republic, Martinique is located in th ...

; and St. Thomas, U.S. Virgin Islands. On 3 December she got underway with from St. Thomas for the east coast, arriving

Boston Navy Yard The Boston Navy Yard, originally called the Charlestown Navy Yard and later Boston Naval Shipyard, was one of the oldest shipbuilding facilities in the United States Navy. It was established in 1801 as part of the recent establishment of t ...

on 16 January 1862. ''Macedonian'' spent most of the next two years with the West Indies Squadron. In July 1863 she cruised along the coast of Portugal with sloop-of-war hunting Confederate States ship . It was around then that

Alfred Thayer Mahan Alfred Thayer Mahan (; September 27, 1840 – December 1, 1914) was a United States naval officer and historian, whom John Keegan called "the most important American strategist of the nineteenth century." His book '' The Influence of Sea Power ...

served aboard for a brief time. From the end of that year through 1870, ''Macedonian'' served as school and practice ship for midshipmen at the

United States Naval Academy The United States Naval Academy (US Naval Academy, USNA, or Navy) is a federal service academy in Annapolis, Maryland. It was established on 10 October 1845 during the tenure of George Bancroft as Secretary of the Navy. The Naval Academy ...

, first at

Newport, Rhode Island Newport is an American seaside city on Aquidneck Island in Newport County, Rhode Island. It is located in Narragansett Bay, approximately southeast of Providence, Rhode Island, Providence, south of Fall River, Massachusetts, south of Boston, ...

, then after the civil war at

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. In 1871 she was laid up in ordinary at the Norfolk Navy Yard, where she was sold to Wiggin and Robinson for merchant service.

Post-navy

There is no record of ''Macedonian'' having actually sailed as a merchant ship, and the next reference to the ship, in 1900, mentions her as having been converted into the Macedonia Hotel at

City Island, Bronx City Island is a neighborhood in the northeastern Bronx in New York City, located on an island of the same name approximately long by wide. City Island is located at the extreme western end of Long Island Sound, south of Pelham Bay and east o ...

. The hotel was sold in 1912 and renamed the City Island Casino, but burned down on 9 June 1922. The naval origin of the Macedonian Hotel was mentioned in a ''

Ripley's Believe It or Not ''Ripley's Believe It or Not!'' is an American franchise founded by Robert Ripley, which deals in bizarre events and items so strange and unusual that readers might question the claims. Originally a newspaper panel, the ''Believe It or Not'' fea ...

'' item in 1983.

References

* * James T. de Kay, ''Chronicles of the Frigate Macedonian'' (W.W. Norton, New York, 1995)

External links

Log of the United States Ship ''Macedonian'', 1865 MS 136
held by Special Collections & Archives, Nimitz Library at the United States Naval Academy {{DEFAULTSORT:Macedonian (1836) Sailing frigates of the United States Navy Ships built in Portsmouth, Virginia Ships of the Union Navy 1836 ships Ship fires Maritime incidents in 1922