HMS Macedonian

HMS "Macedonian" was a 38-gun sailing frigate of the "Lively" Class in the Royal Navy, later captured by the United States during the War of 1812.

"Macedonian" was built at Woolwich Dockyards, England, in 1809, launched on 2 June 1810, and commissioned in the same month, with Captain Lord William FitzRoy in command. Among the original crew was the 13-year-old Samuel Leech, who later wrote a memoir of his experiences.

"Macedonian" first delivered a company of soldiers to Lisbon, Portugal, then remained in the area, guarding against the possibility of French naval attack. During this period, FitzRoy made personal profit by falsification of records of ships' stores, for which he was court-martialled in March 1811 and dismissed from the service (he was quietly reinstated in August, presumably due to his aristocratic rank).

FitzRoy's replacement, William Waldegrave, was an interim appointment whose command lasted for only a few weeks before he was himself replaced by John Carden. One of Carden's first actions was to hire a band, a move popular with the crew, but he did not get along with the first lieutenant David Hope.

In January 1812, "Macedonian" was ordered to secretly deliver some bills of exchange to Norfolk, Virginia, and to bring back an equivalent quantity of gold and silver specie, as part of a scheme to keep the Bank of England solvent. During the visit, Carden socialized with the notables of Norfolk, including then-Captain Stephen Decatur (whom he was soon to meet under much less friendly circumstances), but bungled the mission by inadvertently revealing what was planned, and had to return to Lisbon emptyhanded. Captain Carden dined frequently with Captain Stephen Decatur and his wife Susan and jokingly bet a beaver hat on the outcome of a battle of their ships. They had come to consider one another friends.

In September, "Macedonian" was ordered to accompany an East Indiaman as far as Madeira, then to cruise in search of prizes as long as his supplies permitted. The frigate left Madeira on 22 October, but only a few days later, on the morning of 25 October, encountered USS "United States", commanded by none other than his erstwhile dinner host Decatur. The United States had just declared the War of 1812 on Britain, and both captains were eager to achieve personal glory in a fight.

Unfortunately for "Macedonian", "United States" was one of the new 44-gun frigates, and her broadside was 864 pounds of metal, vs "Macedonian's" 528 pounds. She was also ably commanded by Stephen Decatur. USS "United States" hove round turning downwind and making HMS "Macedonian" chase her and received a serious pounding from "United States" 24 pounder cannon. Within a few minutes of closing, fire from the "United States" brought down all three of "Macedonian's" masts, and riddled the hull, but then pulled away temporarily, leaving Carden and Hope time to contemplate their lack of options. Finally, with the "United States" preparing to rake again, Carden struck his colors, making the "Macedonian" the second Royal Navy vessel of the war to do so.

Decatur was careful to preserve "Macedonian", sending over a detail to help repair it, this taking a full 2 weeks, and he brought the captured ship into Newport, Rhode Island, on 4 December 1812, immediately causing a national sensation. USS "Constitution" had previously beaten HMS "Guerriere", but it was too badly damaged to save; while Decatur's capture of a seaworthy warship was a sizeable and welcome addition to the then-tiny US Navy.

The US took "Macedonian" into the United States Navy immediately, retaining the name; see USS "Macedonian" for the further history of this ship.

As of 2004, no other Royal Navy ship has been named "Macedonian".

References

* James T. de Kay, "Chronicles of the Frigate Macedonian", W.W. Norton, New York, 1995.

* Robert Gardiner, "Frigates of the Napoleonic Wars", Chatham Publishing, London 2000.

*Donald L Canney, "Sailing Warships of the US Navy", Chatham Publishing, London, 2001.

External links

* [http://www.dcmemorials.com/index_indiv0003240.htm Figurehead of the Macedonian at the U.S. Naval Academy]
* [http://college.hmco.com/history/readerscomp/ships/html/sh_057400_hmsmacedonia.htm HMS Macedonian]