Alexander McDougall (1732 9 June 1786) was a Scottish-born American seaman, merchant, a

Sons of Liberty The Sons of Liberty was a loosely organized, clandestine, sometimes violent, political organization active in the Thirteen American Colonies founded to advance the rights of the colonists and to fight taxation by the British government. It p ...

leader from

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before and during the

American Revolution The American Revolution (1765–1783) was a colonial rebellion and war of independence in which the Thirteen Colonies broke from British America, British rule to form the United States of America. The revolution culminated in the American ...

, and a military leader during the Revolutionary War. He served as a major general in the

Continental Army The Continental Army was the army of the United Colonies representing the Thirteen Colonies and later the United States during the American Revolutionary War. It was formed on June 14, 1775, by a resolution passed by the Second Continental Co ...

, and as a delegate to the

Continental Congress The Continental Congress was a series of legislature, legislative bodies, with some executive function, for the Thirteen Colonies of British America, Great Britain in North America, and the newly declared United States before, during, and after ...

. After the war, he was the president of the first bank in the state of

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and served a term in the

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Early life

McDougall was born on the Isle of Islay, in the

Inner Hebrides The Inner Hebrides ( ; ) is an archipelago off the west coast of mainland Scotland, to the south east of the Outer Hebrides. Together these two island chains form the Hebrides, which experience a mild oceanic climate. The Inner Hebrides compri ...

Scotland Scotland is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It contains nearly one-third of the United Kingdom's land area, consisting of the northern part of the island of Great Britain and more than 790 adjac ...

in the summer of 1732. He was one of the five children of Ranald and Elizabeth McDougall. In 1738 the family emigrated to New York as part of a party led by a British Army veteran, Captain Lachlan Campbell. Campbell had described fertile land available near Fort Edward, but when they arrived in New York City, they discovered that Lachlan had been awarded a patent for about and expected them to become tenants to his estate. Ranald withdrew and found work on a dairy farm on the island of

Manhattan Manhattan ( ) is the most densely populated and geographically smallest of the Boroughs of New York City, five boroughs of New York City. Coextensive with New York County, Manhattan is the County statistics of the United States#Smallest, larg ...

. The family prospered and young Alexander began his commercial career as a delivery boy for milk in New York. In around 1745, when he was fourteen, Alexander signed on as a merchant seaman. He worked on a number of vessels, and then in 1751 he returned to Great Britain for 4 months.

Privateer to merchant

After the onset of the

French and Indian War The French and Indian War, 1754 to 1763, was a colonial conflict in North America between Kingdom of Great Britain, Great Britain and Kingdom of France, France, along with their respective Native Americans in the United States, Native American ...

in 1756, McDougall became commissioned by the crown as a merchant

privateer A privateer is a private person or vessel which engages in commerce raiding under a commission of war. Since robbery under arms was a common aspect of seaborne trade, until the early 19th century all merchant ships carried arms. A sovereign o ...

. During the war, McDougall commanded two ships; the ''Tyger'', an 8 gun sloop, and the ''Barrington'', a 12 gun sloop. An able captain as well as a knowledgeable merchant, he made a modest fortune in captured ships and the sale of their cargo. In 1763 McDougall gave up the seafaring life. The war had ended, his wife Nancy died, as did his father. He was left with responsibility for his three children and his mother. So he converted his seagoing assets and with the small fortune he had accumulated during the war, invested in land and became a merchant and importer. During this period, McDougall also worked as a slave trader and owned at least one slave named Colerain. By 1767 he had his affairs in good order. He owned land in Albany County and as far away as

North Carolina North Carolina ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It is bordered by Virginia to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the east, South Carolina to the south, Georgia (U.S. stat ...

. He remarried, this time to Hannah Bostwick, the daughter of his landlady. Though their increasing wealth earned them recognition, it did not earn them acceptance into the traditional society in New York City. Longstanding members of high society such as the Livingstons and the De Lancey's looked down on him as crude and unpolished.

Prelude to revolution

When revolutionary fervor grew with resistance to the Stamp Act, McDougall became active in the

, and later was a leader in the movement in the colony of New York. Difficulties in the city and colony were increased by the

Quartering Act The Quartering Acts were several acts of the Parliament of Great Britain which required local authorities in the Thirteen Colonies of British North America to provide British Army personnel in the colonies with housing and food. Each of the Qua ...

, which required the colonists to provide housing and support to the British troops. The

Province of New York The Province of New York was a British proprietary colony and later a royal colony on the northeast coast of North America from 1664 to 1783. It extended from Long Island on the Atlantic, up the Hudson River and Mohawk River valleys to ...

assembly had refused to pass appropriations for their housing in 1767 and 1768, and had been prorogued. Then, the new assembly of 1769 approved money for the quartering of British troops. On 16 December 1769 McDougall wrote and printed an anonymous broadside, ''To the Betrayed Inhabitants'', which criticized the assembly's vote and sparked the Battle of Golden Hill. He was accused of libel and arrested on 7 February 1770, but refused to post bail, so he was jailed. He spent two periods in jail, for a total of about five months, but wasn't convicted and was released in 1771. His imprisonment became another cause for protest. In an effort to paint him as a political martyr, the

called him, "the Wilkes of America," after

John Wilkes John Wilkes (17 October 1725 – 26 December 1797) was an English Radicalism (historical), radical journalist and politician, as well as a magistrate, essayist and soldier. He was first elected a Member of Parliament in 1757. In the Middlese ...

, a British politician who was imprisoned for defying the authority of the government. This was symbolized by the group and was incorporated into the protests. McDougall became the street leader of the

, and organized continued protests until the city became under de facto control of the

Patriots A patriot is a person with the quality of patriotism. Patriot(s) or The Patriot(s) may also refer to: Political and military groups United States * Patriot (American Revolution), those who supported the cause of independence in the American R ...

in 1775. He organized the city's reaction to the Tea Tax in 1773 and led their action, similar to the

Boston Tea Party The Boston Tea Party was a seminal American protest, political and Mercantilism, mercantile protest on December 16, 1773, during the American Revolution. Initiated by Sons of Liberty activists in Boston in Province of Massachusetts Bay, colo ...

. He became a member of the

Committees of Correspondence The committees of correspondence were a collection of American political organizations that sought to coordinate opposition to British Parliament and, later, support for American independence during the American Revolution. The brainchild of Sa ...

and Safety, the New York City Committee of Sixty and when

established their revolutionary government in 1775, he was elected to the

New York Provincial Congress The New York Provincial Congress (1775–1777) was a revolutionary provisional government formed by colonists in 1775, during the American Revolution, as a pro-American alternative to the more conservative New York General Assembly, and as a repla ...

. It was during this prelude to the Revolution that McDougall became close friends with

Alexander Hamilton Alexander Hamilton (January 11, 1755 or 1757July 12, 1804) was an American military officer, statesman, and Founding Fathers of the United States, Founding Father who served as the first U.S. secretary of the treasury from 1789 to 1795 dur ...

Continental Army

On 30 June 1775, McDougall became a commissioned colonel of the

1st New York Regiment The 1st New York Regiment was authorized on 25 May 1775 and organized at New York City from 28 June to 4 August, for service with the Continental Army under the command of Colonel Alexander McDougall. The enlistments of the first establishment ...

by an act of the

. Eventually, McDougall would rise the rank of Major General in the Continental Army. Soon after his commission, McDougall's troops were sent north to take part in the invasion of Quebec (1775), among them were two of McDougall's sons. The Colonel stayed behind to raise funds and troops. The campaign ultimately failed. One of McDougall's sons was captured and the other died of a fever near Montreal. During the early period of the war, McDougall played a role, in collaboration with Peter T. Curtenius, in preparing for the siege of New York by the Regulars. The city was unprepared for an extended fight and the defense of the city was a primary focus for George Washington and his staff. When the Regulars won the

Battle of Long Island The Battle of Long Island, also known as the Battle of Brooklyn and the Battle of Brooklyn Heights, was an action of the American Revolutionary War fought on August 27, 1776, at and near the western edge of Long Island in present-day Brooklyn ...

, it quickly became apparent that the Continental Army would be unable to hold the city. The Continental Army needed to make a quick retreat from the city in order to avoid heavy losses. Colonel McDougall helped oversee the evacuation effort by boat. After the Continental Army left New York City, they traveled north and made an initial stand against the British near the village of White Plains. Here, McDougall helped to hold off the British and allow for the main body of the army to avoid conflict. For much of the remainder of the war, McDougall was stationed in the Highlands of the Hudson as the commander of American forces at

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(Fort Clinton) after

Benedict Arnold Benedict Arnold (#Brandt, Brandt (1994), p. 4June 14, 1801) was an American-born British military officer who served during the American Revolutionary War. He fought with distinction for the American Continental Army and rose to the rank of ...

's defection in 1780. Throughout the war, McDougall was an outspoken advocate for the Continental Army and for better conditions for its soldiers. In the winter of 1783 he was at the head of the committee of army officers who the bore complaints about pay from Newburgh to Congress. McDougall was also involved in the establishment of an American navy in 1776.

Public service

In 1780, he was elected as delegate to the Continental Congress. He spent only 37 days in Congress, however, he was soon nominated to serve as the Secretary of Marine. He served in that role from 7 February 1781 – 29 August 1781. In 1784, he was elected to the State Senate pg=205 where he served until his death. In his role as State Senator, McDougall was involved in the successful movement to separate church and state in the New York State government and the unsuccessful movement to not issue paper money. McDougall was the first

president President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) * President (education), a leader of a college or university *President (government title) President may also refer to: Arts and entertainment Film and television *'' Præsident ...

of the Bank of New York as well as the New York Society of the Cincinnati. He died 9 June 1786, at the age of fifty-three and was interred in the family vault in the First Presbyterian Church, New York City. Today, his memorial stone is situated prominently on the wall of the First Presbyterian Church of New York in Greenwich Village.

Legacy

MacDougal Street MacDougal Street is a one-way street in the Greenwich Village Greenwich Village, or simply the Village, is a neighborhood on the west side of Lower Manhattan in New York City, bounded by 14th Street (Manhattan), 14th Street to the nort ...

in the

Greenwich Village Greenwich Village, or simply the Village, is a neighborhood on the west side of Lower Manhattan in New York City, bounded by 14th Street (Manhattan), 14th Street to the north, Broadway (Manhattan), Broadway to the east, Houston Street to the s ...

is named for him.

Personal life

McDougall married his cousin, Nancy McDougall, during a trip to Great Britain in 1751. After the Revolution, she died and McDougall remarried his landlady's daughter, Hannah Bostwick. During the war, one of his sons died and another was captured by the British. McDougall was well liked and respected by the soldiers he commanded. He continuously advocated for better wages and conditions for soldiers. He was also close friends with

and was deeply respected by

George Washington George Washington (, 1799) was a Founding Fathers of the United States, Founding Father and the first president of the United States, serving from 1789 to 1797. As commander of the Continental Army, Washington led Patriot (American Revoluti ...

, who called him a "pillar of the revolution." McDougall may have been born in Scotland, but he was rebellious and stubborn by nature and deeply loyal to his adopted home of America. McDougall's great-grandson John McDougall Atherton was a member of the

Kentucky House of Representatives The Kentucky House of Representatives is the lower house of the Kentucky General Assembly. It is composed of 100 Representatives elected from single-member districts throughout the Commonwealth. Not more than two counties can be joined to form a ...

, as was Atherton's own son, Peter Lee Atherton.

References

External links

McDougall's congressional biography
{{DEFAULTSORT:McDougall, Alexander 1732 births 1786 deaths People from Islay 18th-century American slave traders American slave owners Scottish emigrants to the Thirteen Colonies People from colonial New York Continental Congressmen from New York (state) Members of the New York Provincial Congress Continental Army generals Continental Army officers from New York (state) American privateers Scottish soldiers New York (state) state senators 18th-century members of the New York State Legislature