Revenge in the Name of Honour - United States versus Macedonian, 25th October 1812.

The Macedonian in action with the United States - Derek Gardner

 

With the recent completion of the Camperdown project it's time to change over to a new work cycle for the forthcoming twelve to eighteen months, and I have decided to start building my small ship models alongside those for the next fleet-action project, with an idea to be gaming both as time progresses and to include a new theme into my small ships project, alongside the French Revolutionary and Napoleonic one, by starting work on the US Navy and the Royal Navy vessels that opposed them in the War of 1812.

JJ's Wargames - Revenge in the Name of Honour

I thought I would adopt the title 'Revenge in the Name of Honour' for my War of 1812 theme in fond recollection of reading Nicholas Kaizer's recent work on this subject published by Helion and reviewed here on JJ's in 2021, which has continued to provide great inspiration to commence work on these models as soon as they became available and indeed provided some ideas on the portrayal of the ships involved with the colour illustrations by Florian Richter.

With the models now available from the likes of Henry Turner the specific vessels in the American and British navies are much more easily represented on the table and to start things off in the manner we wish to proceed I present my interpretations of the USS United States and HMS Macedonian, that encountered one another on the 25th October 1812, 500 miles south of the Azores and south-west of Madeira, as illustrated. 

This the second of the three frigate actions of 1812 that would shake the Royal Navy from its apathy that had seemingly caused some British captain's to think that they had simply to run up the ensign and the battle was all but won; and, as Nicholas Kaiser points out, a sense of public outrage soon followed in the wake of this blow to British prestige, following the previous years of almost constant naval success;

'The public expressed a sense of shock, and many commentators in the Naval Chronicle, the most prominent naval publication, called for revenge - indeed they often called for annihilation through overwhelming force . . . 

With such losses, as the account of the analysis by the British admiralty following the loss of the Macedonian, not immediately but eventually forcing a rethink;

'Civilian and naval administrators alike reasoned that one-on-one fights with America's heavy frigates were too great a risk.' 

The two rival captains in this action, US Captain Stephen Decatur, who held the unofficial rank of commodore and British Captain John Surman Carden had met before the outbreak of war in 1812 in Norfolk, Virginia, the latter having just taken command of the crack, new, 38-gun Lively class frigate HMS Macedonian, only recently launched on the 2nd of June 1810.

HMS Nisus, another Lively Class frigate launched two years before Macedonian. The captain's reports on the performance of this class were remarkable for their absence of serious criticism, noting that they were fast, recording 13kts large and 10-11kts close-hauled, weatherly and manoeuvrable. They were also excellent heavy-weather ships, perfectly able to cope with a "head sea", and stowed their provisions well, with a capability of stowing provisions and fresh water for up to six months of cruising.

Carden's stay in Norfolk, saw him socialising and regularly dining with Decatur and his wife, and the two officers became friends over a joint shared interest in frigates, with the United States, nicknamed the 'Old Wagon', being by far the slowest of the three American heavy frigates, but a prestigious command being one of the most powerful frigates in the world, then carrying a heavier armament than her sisters; while Macedonian was considered exceptionally fast and one of the best trained frigates in gunnery.

Commodore Stephen Decatur by Charles Bird King.
Decatur supervised the construction of several U.S. naval vessels, one of which he later commanded. Promoted at age 25, he is the youngest man to reach the rank of captain in the history of the United States Navy. His service was characterized by acts of heroism and exceptional performance, and his naval victories in the Barbary Wars, Quasi Wars and War of 1812, helped to establish the United States Navy as a rising power.

A seeming temptation of fate records during one of Carden's and Decatur's discussions, they had joked on making a wager over a beaver hat on the outcome of a prospective contest between their two frigates, with Carden reportedly lecturing Decatur on the dangers of over-arming frigates and his considered opinion from British experience that an 18-pounder armament was more effective that one of 24-pounders given the increased ease of aiming and loading the lighter piece for gun-crews.

HMS Macedonian 

My interpretation of HMS Macedonian uses the 3D printed hull of the Lively class frigate from Turner Miniatures and Only Games combined with boats, masts, sails, anchors and figurehead from Warlord Games' Black Seas frigate.

HMS Macedonian, a 38-gun fifth-rate Lively-class frigate was built at Woolwich Dockyard, England in 1809, launched on the 2nd of June 1810, and commissioned the same month under the command of Captain Lord William FitzRoy.

Macedonian first delivered a company of soldiers to Lisbon, Portugal, then remained in the area, guarding against the possibility of French naval attack. 

On 20 February 1811, she collided with Ives – a British merchant ship bound from Demerara on the north coast of South America to Greenock, Scotland – in the Atlantic Ocean 50 nautical miles off Lisbon, and Ives was so severely damaged that she was set afire and Macedonian took her crew aboard.

While Macedonian operated off Portugal, 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, although was quietly reinstated in August 1811, presumably due to his aristocratic connections. FitzRoy's replacement, William Waldegrave, was an interim appointment and within a few weeks was  replaced by John Surnam Carden. 

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 currency, as part of a scheme to keep the Bank of England solvent; however during the visit, Carden socialised with the notables of Norfolk, including Captain Stephen Decatur, and ended up bungling the mission by inadvertently revealing what was planned, returning to Lisbon empty handed.

In September 1812, Carden and Macedonian was ordered to accompany an East Indiaman as far as Madeira, and then to cruise in search of prizes as long as supplies permitted. Macedonian left Madeira on the 22nd of October 1812, but only a few days later, on the morning of the 25th encountered USS United States, commanded by Carden's former dinner host Decatur.

USS United States

Similarly my interpretation of USS United States uses the 3D printed hull from Turner Miniatures and Only Games combined with boats, masts, sails, anchors and figurehead from Warlord Games', Black Seas third rate. She is shown, as seen in many illustrations of this combat, with Decatur's commodore pennant (homemade) at the main and the fifteen star, stars and stripes at the fore. The long narrow hull, with a long line of 24-pounders on the gundeck of these frigates is nicely captured in these prints

Originally designated as "Frigate A" and subsequently named United States by President George Washington, her keel was laid down in 1795 at Humphreys' shipyard in Philadelphia Pennsylvania.

Joshua Humphreys' design was deep, long on keel and narrow of beam for mounting very heavy guns, incorporating a diagonal scantling (rib) scheme to limit hogging while giving the ships extremely heavy planking, that gave the hull greater strength than those of more lightly built frigates. 

1:48. Plan showing the body plan, starboard outline, sheer lines with scroll figurehead, and longitudinal half-breadth for President (captured 1815), a captured United States class Fifth Rate, as taken off at Portsmouth Dockyard. The President was recorded with a displacement of 1533 tons/bm and James suggests all three sister ships, United States, President and Constitution, were very similar. Whilst the United States armament is shown as 32 × long 24-pounders and 24 × 42-pounder carronades (War of 1812).

Humphreys developed his design after realizing that the fledgling United States could not match the navy sizes of the European states, and he therefore designed his frigates to be able to overpower other frigates, but with the speed to escape from a ship of the line.

On the 10th of May 1797 she was the first American warship to be launched under the Naval Act of 1794, and the first ship of the United States Navy, fitting out at Philadelphia during the spring of 1798 and, on the 3rd July was ordered to proceed to sea following deteriorated relations with the French government that had started the Quasi-War.

During the Quasi War the United States was commanded by Captain John Barry, narrowly avoiding opening fire on the British 38-gun frigate Thetis whilst sailing to Boston, the latter having flown French colours, changing to British colours as the United States manoeuvred closer in readiness to fire.

Departing for the West Indies on the 26th July 1798 she would capture two French privateers before returning with them to New Castle, Delaware in September. In the following month she was damaged springing her bowsprit in a severe gale off New England and following repairs back in New Castle she returned to the West Indies to take command of an American squadron alongside her sister ship Constitution.

On the 3rd February 1799, United States sighted a French ship and began a five-hour pursuit of the schooner L'Amour de la Patrie, eventually sinking the schooner with one 24-pounder shot and stopping to pick up survivors. 

On the 26th February, United States pursued the French privateer Democrat, which had recently taken prize of the English ship Cicero, managing to recapture Cicero and Maria, another one of Democrat's prizes, but ending the pursuit of the privateer when she escaped into shallow water. 

On the 26th March, United States took the French privateer La Tartueffe and its prize, the American ship Vermont southeast of Antigua, and also recorded the capture of Le Bonaparte sometime in 1799. 

In April, Barry turned over command of the squadron to Thomas Truxtun, and the United States sailed for home arriving at New Castle, Delaware, on the 9th of May. 

United States underwent refitting and repairs, and sailed again on the 1st of July with orders to patrol the southern Atlantic coast of the United States, during which she encountered a storm on the 6th which sprung her bowsprit again, however she continued on to deliver an artillery company to Fort Moultrie and then put into the Gosport Navy Yard for repairs on the 22nd, returning to patrols on the 13th August which proved to be an uneventful period.

United States returned to Newport, Rhode Island, in September and in October she was ordered to deliver Oliver Ellsworth and William Davie as envoys to France to negotiate a settlement of the Quasi War, seeing her depart on the 3rd of November

The treaty of peace with France was ratified on 3rd of February 1801 and United States returned home in April, following an act of Congress, passed on the 3rd March 1801 and signed by President John Adams, which saw the retention of thirteen frigates, with seven of them, including United States, to be placed in a reserve fleet, seeing her ordered to the Washington Navy Yard and decommissioned.

United States remained in the Washington Navy Yard throughout the First Barbary War of 1801–1805 and up until 1809, when orders were given to ready her for active service. On 10th June 1810, now under the command of Stephen Decatur, she sailed to Norfolk, Virginia, for refitting.

Battle of the 23 August 1812 between the US frigate President and the English frigate Belvidera - NMM

The United States declared war against Britain on the 18th June 1812, and three days later Decatur and United States sailed from New York City within a squadron under the command of Commodore John Rodgers in President, and included the Congress, Hornet, and Argus; on a seventy-day North Atlantic cruise that would result in the pursuit, on the 23rd of June, of HMS Belvidera, encountered whilst the squadron hunted a Jamaica bound British convoy.

Belvidera escaped but the Americans continued after the convoy until Rodgers called off the pursuit on the 13th July, and during their return trip to Boston, the squadron captured seven merchant ships and recaptured one American vessel.

After refitting, United States, still under Decatur's command, sailed again on the 8th October with Rodgers but on the 12th parted from the squadron for her own patrol, and at dawn, on the 25th, five hundred miles south of the Azores, lookouts on board reported seeing a sail 12 miles to windward, which soon revealed the familiar lines of HMS Macedonian.

United States vs Macedonian

The Action Between the Macedonian and the United States, 25th Oct, 1812 -Derek Gardner

William James recounts what happened next:

'On the 25th, soon after daylight, in latitude 29 north, longitude 29 30' west, this American 44, being close hauled on the larboard tack with the wind blowing fresh from the south-south-east)-, descried on her weather-bow, at the distance of about 12 miles, the British 38-gun frigate Macedonian, Captain John Surman Garden. The Macedonian immediately set her foretopmast and topgallant studding-sails, and bore away in chase, steering a course for the weather-bow of the stranger.

Map taken from Mahn.

While the tracks of the two ships are thus gradually approximating, we will give an account of the force of each. In addition to her 28 main-deck long 18-pounders, the Macedonian mounted on the quarter-deck and forecastle 16 carronades, 32-pounders, fitted with their chocks outside (a new, but as far as we can learn, not much approved principle), the two long 12-pounders, and two brass long French 8-pounders (the captain's private property), total 48 guns, exclusive of the usual 18-pounder launch carronade. 

The crew of the Macedonian at this time consisted of 262 men and 35 boys. To account for this extraordinary proportion of boys, we must state that, shortly before the Macedonian sailed on her last cruise, 12 supernumerary boys were put on board, by way, possibly, of "strengthening" her crew. With respect to the quality of the 35 boys, very few of them, it appears, were worth ship-room.

  

It has already been shown, that the established armament of the United-States was 56 guns, long 24-pounders, and 42-pounder carronades. * Subsequently the ship appears to have landed two of her 42s, and to have received on board, in lieu of them, a travelling 18-pounder carronade ; making her carriage-guns, in all, 55. She also mounted a brass howitzer in each top. With respect to crew, the United-States victualled 477 men and one lad or boy.

At about 7 h. 30 m. a.m. the two ships were not above three miles apart. Having by this time hoisted her ensign and broad pendant, the United-States was known to be one of the American 44s; but, having on board one of Commodore Rodgers's spy-glasses, Commodore Decatur mistook the Macedonian for a much larger ship, a sail of the line probably. The United-States accordingly wore round on the starboard tack, keeping a point or two off the wind. 

Having sailed from Portsmouth as long ago as the 29th of September, Captain Carden, although he knew of the war, had received no information of the Guerrière's capture. The Macedonian had since been at Madeira, where she had heard that the American frigate Essex was cruising; but, even had the force of the United-States in guns and men been at this time fully known, such was the confidence of victory on board the Macedonian, that every officer, man, and boy, except perhaps the eight foreigners*, who requested and were allowed to go below, was in the highest spirit. 

*(note: Kaiser states that these are likely the handful of Americans in the crew who requested not to be commanded to fight their own countrymen and were angrily dismissed by Carden and sent to their stations, contrary to James' account).

It has already been shown, that the established armament of the United States was 56 guns, long 24-pounders, and 42-pounder carronades. Subsequently the ship appears to have landed two of her 42s, and to have received on board, in lieu of them, a travelling 18-pounder carronade ; making her carriage-guns, in all, 55. She also mounted a brass howitzer in each top. With respect to crew, the United States victualled 477 men and one lad or boy.'

Both ships were immediately cleared for action and commenced manoeuvres at 0900, that saw Captain Carden decide 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, this in spite of his First Lieutenant David Hope, suggesting that they try and close the distance as quickly as possible, hoping to either rake the enemy or force a close action.

For his part, Decatur intended to engage Macedonian from fairly long range, where his 24-pounders would have the advantage over the 18-pounders of the British, and thus the United States wore and turned away from the wind, intentionally keeping back so that Decatur could make full use of his longer main battery.

The actual battle developed according to Decatur's plan. United States began the action at 0920 by firing an inaccurate broadside at Macedonian, that was answered immediately by the British vessel, bringing down a small spar of the United States. Decatur's next broadside destroyed Macedonian's mizzen top mast, letting her driver gaff fall and so giving the advantage in manoeuvre to the American frigate. 

United States next took up position off Macedonian's quarter and proceeded to riddle her with shot, and by noon, Macedonian was a dismasted hulk and was forced to surrender, having suffered 104 casualties against 12 in United States, which emerged from the battle relatively unscathed.

Kaiser's account described the effect of the close range fire Macedonian recieved from United States:

'The fire of the United States inflicted absolute carnage on and below Macedonians decks as scores of men were killed or wounded, covering the decks with blood. Sounds of gunnery were punctuated by the screams of the dying. The maintopmast, carrying the only sail currently set on the mainmast, was shot away by enemy fire and fell forwards, pushing the fore topmast with it. The mess of canvass wood and rope collapsed onto the forecastle, covering the gun platform with wreckage and slowing the ship nearly to a halt. Decatur took full advantage of the situation and tacked into the wind, coming up on Macedonians quarter and sending several devastating raking broadsides clean through her hull. 

Decatur took full advantage of the situation and tacked into the wind, coming up on Macedonians quarter and sending several devastating raking broadsides clean through her hull

Samuel Leech (a powder monkey on the Macedonian), one of her sailors described scenes of absolute horror below: men were ripped apart by the enemy's round shot and grape and the great splinters they threw into the air.

Above deck the situation was no less chaotic. Carden and his officers were struggling to clear the wreckage  and regain control of the ship, hoping to use the few sails remaining to approach the enemy and carry her by boarding. Only the mizzenmast and a third of the force-course remained standing; but, even as the men assembled along the gangways with small arms, swords and pikes, the weakened mizzenmast collapsed over the stern, strewing more wreckage onto the quarterdeck and its weight dragging in the water, rendering the ship completely unmanageable.'

Now carrying only a tattered fore-course and otherwise dismasted together with over 100 men either dead, dying or wounded, amid carnage strewn decks with piles of wrecked rigging and canvas and guns now silent, Carden summoned his officers, many of them wounded, aft for a council, at which Lieutenant Hope proposed to continue the fight, but as the United States approached on a course to resume a raking position, Carden opted against it and hauled down the colours.

The two ships lay alongside each other for over two weeks while Macedonian was repaired sufficiently to sail. United States and her prize entered New York Harbour on the 4th of December amid jubilation over the victory, and Captain Decatur and his crew were received with praise from both Congress and President James Madison, and the Macedonian was subsequently purchased by the United States Navy, repaired, and placed in service.

In May 1813 Carden and his crew were tried by court martial in Bermuda on board Admiral Sir John Borlase Warren's flagship HMS St Domingo, with Captain Henry Hotham presiding 

James recounts the courts findings in regards to Carden's conduct;

'In March, 1813, Captain Cardan, his officers, and surviving crew arrived from the United States at the island of Bermuda, and on the 27th of the succeeding May were tried for the loss of their ship. The following was the sentence pronounced

Having most strictly investigated every circumstance, and examined the different officers and ship's company; and having very deliberately and maturely weighed and considered the whole and every part thereof, the court is of opinion; that, previous to the commencement of the action, from an over anxiety to keep the weathergage, an opportunity was lost of closing with the enemy; and that, owing to this circumstance, the Macedonian was unable to bring the United-States to close action until she had received material damage. But, as it does not appear that this omission originated in the most distant wish to keep back from the engagement, the court is of opinion, that Captain John Surman Carden, his officers, and ship's company, in every instance throughout the action, behaved with the firmest and most determined courage, resolution, and coolness; and that the colours of the Macedonian were not struck, until she was unable to make further resistance. 

John Surman Carden
Criticised by peers and civilian alike, Carden's 
reputation remained linked to his defeat in 1812.
He was promoted to flag rank but only as a retiree,
and was never again offered an active command 
following his loss to the United States.

The court does therefore most honourably acquit Captain John Surman Carden, the officers, and company of his majesty's late ship Macedonian, and Captain Carden, his officers, and company, are hereby most honourably acquitted accordingly. The court cannot dismiss Captain Carden, without expressing their admiration of the uniform testimony which has been borne to his gallantry and good conduct throughout the action, nor Lieutenant David Hope, the senior lieutenant, the other officers and company, without expressing the highest approbation of the support given by him and them to the captain, and of their courage and steadiness during the contest with an enemy of very superior force; a circumstance that, whilst it reflects high honour on them, does no less credit and honour to the discipline of his majesty's late ship Macedonian. 

The court also feels it a gratifying duty to express its admiration of the fidelity to their allegiance, and attachment to their king and country, which the remaining crew appear to have manifested, in resisting the various insidious and repeated temptations which the enemy held out to them, to seduce them from their duty; and which cannot fail to be duly appreciated."

Kaiser comments;

' Macedonian did have a marked advantage in sailing ability and speed, and this was poorly utilised. Decatur by sailing close to the wind, robbed the advantage of the weather gauge from the British, meaning the approach would be long, and during the time the longer guns Carden had once derided as ineffective proved their worth by knocking away spars, guns and men. But bringing the ship to close action early on would not necessarily have put the ship in a better situation, as the United Stated carried very powerful 42-pounder carronades, making her short-range broadside even more deadly than her long-range one.

Hope believed that bringing a close action early with their rigging and broadside intact would have given them a chance to outmanoeuvre their opponent to compensate for the heavier broadside; but other officers questioned did not agree with this, but did think that bringing about a close action earlier would have made the American victory far more costly. The court agreed with the First Lieutenant in their verdict. 

previous to the commencement of the action, from an over anxiety to keep the weather gage, an opportunity was lost of closing with the enemy; and that, owing to this circumstance, the Macedonian was unable to bring the United-States to close action until she had received material damage.

The United States shows off her teeth - 32 × long 24-pounders and 24 × 42-pounder carronades
'But bringing the ship to close action early on would not necessarily have put the ship in a better situation, as the United Stated carried very powerful 42-pounder carronades, making her short-range broadside even more deadly than her long-range one.'

They believed that, under the right conditions and with the right tactics an 18-pounder frigate had the ability to tackle and defeat a 24-pounder adversary at close action. Even with two American victories suggesting otherwise, they remained confident in the abilities of British frigates. As such, Carden's defeat was not blamed on the enemy's superiority in guns and men, but on failing to bring about a close action.

These pronouncements by the authorities of their day make the playing of an action such as this an interesting intellectual challenge in that given some extraordinary circumstance the United States should be able to beat the Macedonian eight or nine times out of ten if presented with the situation that Decatur faced on the 25th of October 1812; but the 'what if's' presented by Lieutenant David Hope and the other officers at the court martial that suggest bringing on a close action more rapidly and making better use of the Macedonian's manoeuvrability and speed offered at least the possibility of so damaging the American ship in the wake of a defeat that the victory would have been more costly and somewhat pyric.

The models illustrated were fun to build although a certain degree of scratch work is required with the plastic additions and the need for skid beams in the waists for the boats, with some plastic rod added, and on reflection I could have put on royal yards to the tops, typically seen on the big American frigates, but I could argue taken down when trying to look more British from a distance, and I think the look will be fine when seen on the table.

In the next 'Revenge' post I'll showcase two more frigates from the War of 1812 with a look at the USS President and her action on the 15th January 1815 with HMS Endymion.

More anon

JJ