432 The Story of The Bronx 



Islands off the W. coast of Africa and towed to Cowbay in 

 1874. 



All of which is true, if we omit the first words of the state- 

 ment: "This House is the Remains of"; though I do not 

 accuse the owner of the hotel of intentionally misleading the 

 public. Besides, the house is the remains of the Macedonian, 

 but not of the one captured in Decatur's gallant action. The 

 original British Macedonian was a new ship at the time of her 

 capture, and was afterward repaired and taken into the United 

 States Navy. She was blockaded in the Thames River, 

 Connecticut, until the close of the War of 1812, and then 

 served as a cruiser until 1828, after which she did nothing. 

 In 1835, s h e was broken up at the Norfolk, Virginia, navy 

 yard. Meanwhile, Congress appropriated funds to build a 

 new ship of the same name, which was commenced in 1832 

 and launched at Gosport, Virginia, in 1836. She was rebuilt 

 at Brooklyn in 1852, and broken up in 1874 at Cow Bay, Long 

 Island, that graveyard of condemned and obsolete vessels. 

 For a time, this second, American-built Macedonian was used 

 as a practice ship at the United States Naval Academy at 

 Annapolis, where the figure-head of the original British frigate 

 is still preserved as a relic of the heroic days of our infant navy. ■ 



1 From The United States Naval Academy, by Park Benjamin; with 

 some slight changes and additions by the author. 



