Commodore Thomas MacDonough Jr. - Middletown, CT
Posted by: 
neoc1
N 41° 33.993 W 072° 39.077
18T E 695836 N 4604316
The grave of Commodore Thomas MacDonough Jr., who died at sea of pulmonary consumption, is located in Riverside Cemetery, south of St. John's Sq., in Middletown, CT.
Waymark Code: WM18RGQ
Location: Connecticut, United States
Date Posted: 09/18/2023
Views: 2
The grave of Commodore Thomas MacDonough Jr. is marked by a marble monument set on a brownstone foundation. The monument has a square base that supports a pyramid with an urn on top. The front of the base is inscribed in script:
Sacred
to the Memory of
Com. THOMAS MACDONOUGH
of the U. S. Navy.
He was born in the State of Del-
aware Dec. 1783, & died at sea of
pulmonary Consumption while
on his return from the command
of the American Squadron in the
Mediterranean on the 10 Nov. 1825.
He was distinguished in the world
as the Hero of Lake Champlain, in the
Church of Christ as a faithful, zealous
and consistent Christian in the com-
munity where he resided when absent
from professional duties as an amiable,
upright and valuable citizen.
Thomas MacDonough was born in New Castle County, DE. He entered the U.S. Navy as a midshipman at age 16. He served in Tripoli at in the War against the Barbary Pirates.
During War of 1812 MacDonough had risen to the rank of Master Commandant and was put in charge of U.S. naval forces in Lake Champlain. On September 11, 1814 the decisive Battle of Plattsburg took place on Lake Champlain. MacDonough, aboard the USS Saratoga, along with the USS Ticonderoga, USS Preble, and and the USS Eagle, engaged and, using clever tactics, defeated the British naval force. Thus ending the British invasion of the United States from the north. MacDonough was proclaimed a national hero.
MacDonough has married to Lucy Anne Shaler of Middletown, CT in 1812. The couple resided in Middletown with their children. He died at sea in 1825 of pulmonary consumption (tuberculosis) at age forty-one.
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