Combat· War of 1812
United States vs HMS Macedonian
About 500 miles south of the Azores, Captain Stephen Decatur's frigate United States won one of the cleanest American victories of the war over HMS Macedonian.
Decatur fought from windward at long range, using his heavier metal and superior gunnery to cut the British frigate to pieces while taking little damage himself; Macedonian was hit by more than a hundred shot before she struck. The Marine detachment, under Lieutenants William Anderson and James Edwards, added musketry to the fight, and two Marines were killed and one wounded. The prize was repairable, and Decatur brought her home, the first British frigate ever carried into an American port as a captured warship. Macedonian was taken into the United States Navy, and the victory, coming weeks after the Guerriere, confirmed that American frigates could beat the Royal Navy ship for ship.
Podcast episodes on War of 1812
Record no. 87