HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

The capture of HMS ''Macedonian'' was a naval action fought near
Madeira ) , anthem = ( en, "Anthem of the Autonomous Region of Madeira") , song_type = Regional anthem , image_map=EU-Portugal_with_Madeira_circled.svg , map_alt=Location of Madeira , map_caption=Location of Madeira , subdivision_type=Sovereign st ...
on 25 October 1812 between the heavy frigate , commanded by
Stephen Decatur Stephen Decatur Jr. (; January 5, 1779 – March 22, 1820) was an American naval officer and commodore. He was born on the eastern shore of Maryland in Worcester County. His father, Stephen Decatur Sr., was a commodore in the Unite ...
, and the
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 ...
, under the command of
John Surman Carden Admiral John Surman Carden (15 August 1771 – 22 April 1858) was an officer of the British Royal Navy in the early nineteenth century. Although the majority of his service was against the French during the Napoleonic Wars, he is best remembe ...
. The American vessel won the long bloody battle, capturing and bringing ''Macedonian'' back to the United States. It was the first British warship to ever be brought into an American harbor. Borneman, 2004, p. 91.


Background

The
United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territo ...
declared war on the
United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and Nor ...
on 18 June 1812. ''United States'', the frigate , and the
brig A brig is a type of sailing vessel defined by its rig: two masts which are both square-rigged. Brigs originated in the second half of the 18th century and were a common type of smaller merchant vessel or warship from then until the latter part ...
joined Commodore
John Rodgers John Rodgers may refer to: Military * John Rodgers (1728–1791), colonel during the Revolutionary War and owner of Rodgers Tavern, Perryville, Maryland * John Rodgers (naval officer, born 1772), U.S. naval officer during the War of 1812, first ...
's squadron at
New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the most densely populated major city in the Un ...
and put to sea immediately, cruising off the east coast until the end of August. The squadron again sailed on 8 October 1812, this time from Boston. Three days later, after capturing ''Mandarin'', ''United States'' parted company and continued to cruise eastward.


Combatants

was the first of the
six original frigates of the United States Navy The United States Congress authorized the original six frigates of the United States Navy with the Naval Act of 1794 on March 27, 1794, at a total cost of $688,888.82 (). These ships were built during the formative years of the United States Navy ...
, completed in 1797. She was a then-modern ' heavy frigate' design, which was intended to be powerful enough to defeat any contemporary French or British frigate whilst still being fast enough to evade any opposing
ship of the line A ship of the line was a type of naval warship constructed during the Age of Sail from the 17th century to the mid-19th century. The ship of the line was designed for the naval tactic known as the line of battle, which depended on the two colum ...
. Rated as a 44-gun vessel, the primary armament was thirty-two 24-pounder cannon mounted on the main gun deck. She had seen action during the
Quasi-War The Quasi-War (french: Quasi-guerre) was an undeclared naval war fought from 1798 to 1800 between the United States and the French First Republic, primarily in the Caribbean and off the East Coast of the United States. The ability of Congress ...
of 1798–1800, capturing several small French vessels. was a ''Lively''-class frigate, of the Royal Navy's
fifth rate In the rating system of the Royal Navy used to categorise sailing warships, a fifth rate was the second-smallest class of warships in a hierarchical system of six " ratings" based on size and firepower. Rating The rating system in the Royal ...
. This was a successful design that had been used since 1804. ''Macedonian'' was the eleventh ship in the class, launched in 1810 just two years before the battle. Officially rated with 38 guns, the main armament was twenty-eight 18-pounder cannon. She had not previously seen action. Although ''Macedonian'' was larger than the fifth-rate frigates used in earlier conflicts (such as the
American Revolutionary War The American Revolutionary War (April 19, 1775 – September 3, 1783), also known as the Revolutionary War or American War of Independence, was a major war of the American Revolution. Widely considered as the war that secured the independence of t ...
), she was still significantly smaller and more lightly armed than the ''United States''. The American vessel's broadside totalled 864 pounds of shot, whilst the British vessel was only 528 pounds; the 24-pounders on the ''United States'' also had a longer effective range. The ''United States'' was the larger and more solidly built of the two, with 1576
tons burthen Builder's Old Measurement (BOM, bm, OM, and o.m.) is the method used in England from approximately 1650 to 1849 for calculating the cargo capacity of a ship. It is a volumetric measurement of cubic capacity. It estimated the tonnage of a ship bas ...
as opposed to ''Macedonian''s 1082 tons burthen. The ''United States'' also carried a larger crew. Comparison of combatant vessels (English measurement methods used for both ships;)


Battle

At dawn, on 25 October, five hundred miles south of the
Azores ) , motto =( en, "Rather die free than subjected in peace") , anthem= ( en, "Anthem of the Azores") , image_map=Locator_map_of_Azores_in_EU.svg , map_alt=Location of the Azores within the European Union , map_caption=Location of the Azores wi ...
, lookouts on board ''United States'' reported seeing a sail to windward. As the ship rose over the horizon, Captain Decatur made out the fine, familiar lines of HMS ''Macedonian'', which was on its way to its station in the West Indies. Both ships were immediately cleared for action and commenced maneuvers at 0900. Captain Carden elected not to risk crossing the bows of ''United States'' to rake her, but chose instead to haul closer to the wind on a parallel course with the American vessel. For his part, Decatur intended to engage ''Macedonian'' from fairly long range, where his 24 pounders would have the advantage over the British 18 pounders, and then move in for the kill. The actual battle developed according to Decatur's plan. ''United States'' began the action at 0920 by firing an inaccurate broadside. This was answered immediately by the British vessel, bringing down a small spar of ''United States''. Decatur's next broadside had better luck, as it destroyed ''Macedonian''s mizzen top mast, letting her driver gaff fall and so giving the maneuvering advantage to the American frigate. ''United States'' next took up position off ''Macedonian''s quarter and proceeded to riddle the hapless frigate methodically with shot. She hailed ''Macedonian'' demanding the name of her antagonist and whether or not she surrendered. By noon, ''Macedonian'' was a dismasted hulk. When ''United States'' closed for another broadside, Carden was forced to strike her colors and surrender. She had had over 100 round shot lodged in her hull and suffered over one hundred casualties, one third of her crew, while ''United States'' only suffered 12. Because of the greater range of the guns aboard ''United States'', she got off seventy broadsides to ''Macedonian''s thirty, and emerged from the battle relatively unscathed.


Aftermath

The two ships lay alongside each other for over two weeks while ''Macedonian'' was repaired sufficiently to sail. Canney, 2001, p. 60. ''United States'' and her prize arrived at Newport, Rhode Island, on 4 December amid tumultuous national jubilation over the spectacular victory. Wherever they went, Captain Decatur and his crew were lionized and received special praise from both Congress and President
James Madison James Madison Jr. (March 16, 1751June 28, 1836) was an American statesman, diplomat, and Founding Father. He served as the fourth president of the United States from 1809 to 1817. Madison is hailed as the "Father of the Constitution" for hi ...
. ''Macedonian'' was subsequently purchased by the
United States 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 ...
, and was renamed USS ''Macedonian''. It had a long and honorable career under the American flag. After repairs, ''United States'' sailed from New York on 24 May 1813, accompanied by and the
sloop A sloop is a sailboat with a single mast typically having only one headsail in front of the mast and one mainsail aft of (behind) the mast. Such an arrangement is called a fore-and-aft rig, and can be rigged as a Bermuda rig with triangular s ...
. On 1 June, the three vessels were driven into
New London, Connecticut New London is a seaport city and a port of entry on the northeast coast of the United States, located at the mouth of the Thames River in New London County, Connecticut. It was one of the world's three busiest whaling ports for several decades ...
, by the 74-gun ship HMS ''Valiant'' and the 40-gun frigate HMS ''Acasta'', and ''United States'' and ''Macedonian'' were kept blockaded there until the end of the war. However, Decatur was transferred to the frigate ''
President President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) *President (education), a leader of a college or university *President (government title) President may also refer to: Automobiles * Nissan President, a 1966–2010 Japanese ful ...
'' in the spring of 1814, and he took the officers and crew of ''United States'' with him to his new command. ''Hornet'' managed to slip through the blockade on 14 November 1814 and escaped to sea, but Decatur and the ''President'' were not as fortunate as they were captured by the blockading force on 14 January 1815.


Footnotes


Bibliography


Url

Url

Url

Url
{{coord missing, Atlantic Ocean Macedonian Conflicts in 1812 October 1812 events