At the start of the American Revolution,Washington took command of the troops surrounding British-occupied Boston on July 3. Early in March 1776, Washington occupied Dorchester Heights, effectively commanding the city and forcing the British to evacuate on March 17. He then moved to defend New York City against the combined land and sea forces of Sir William Howe.

Colonial morale was raised by the capture of Trenton, N.J., a brilliantly conceived attack in which Washington crossed the Delaware River on Christmas night 1776 and surprised the Hessian garrison. Advancing to Princeton, N.J., he routed the British there on Jan. 3, 1777.

After holding his dispirited army together during the difficult winter at Valley Forge, Washington learned that France had recognized American independence.

After the arrival of the French army in 1780, he brilliantly planned and executed the Yorktown Campaign against Charles Cornwallis, securing (Oct. 19, 1781) the American victory.

Washington was re-elected president in 1792. He refused to run for a third term and, after a masterly Farewell Address in which he warned the United States against permanent alliances abroad, he went home to Mount Vernon.

Washington contracted what was probably quinsy or acute laryngitis; he declined rapidly and died at his estate on Dec. 14, 1799.

In 1774-76, Adams was a Massachusetts delegate to the Continental Congress in Philadelphia. His speeches and writings articulating the colonial cause and his brilliant championing of American rights in Congress caused Thomas Jefferson to call him the "Colossus of Independence."

In 1788 Adams was elected vice-president under the new constitution. He supported the efforts of George Washington to give the presidency an almost regal quality and to extend executive power.

Adams was elected president in 1797 and was forced out of office after one term.

When he and Abigail returned to Massachusetts, they moved into a comfortable but unpretentious house in Quincy. There, tending to his fields, visiting with neighbors, and enjoying his family, John Adams lived for 25 years. In his diaries, letters, learned tracts, and patriotic speeches he revealed himself as a quintessential Puritan, patriarch of an illustrious family, tough-minded philosopher, sage, and sometimes a vain, stubborn, and vitriolic partisan.

Like Jefferson, he died on July 4, 1826, the 50th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence. Ninety years old at his death, Adams was revered by his countrymen not only as one of the founding fathers but also as a plain, honest man who personified the best of what the nation could hope of its citizens and leaders.

Jefferson attended (1760-62) the College of William and Mary.

In 1770 he began building Monticello on land inherited from his father. The mansion, which he designed in every detail, took years to complete, but part of it was ready for occupancy when he married Martha Wayles Skelton on Jan. 1, 1772. They had six children, two of whom survived into adulthood.

Elected to the Second Continental Congress meeting in Philadelphia, Jefferson was appointed on June 11, 1776, to head a committee of five in preparing the Declaration of Independence. He was its primary author, although his initial draft was amended after consultation with Benjamin Franklin and John Adams. The Declaration of Independence made Jefferson internationally famous.

In June 1779, Jefferson was elected governor of Virginia. His political enemies criticized his performance as war governor mercilessly. In June 1781 he retired from the governorship.

The death of his wife, on Sept. 6, 1782, added to Jefferson's troubles, but by the following year he was again seated in Congress. There he made two contributions of enduring importance to the nation. In April 1784 he submitted Notes on the Establishment of a Money Unit and of a Coinage for the United States in which he advised the use of a decimal system. This led to the adoption, in 1792, of the dollar rather than the pound as the basic monetary unit in the United States.

Simplicity and frugality became the hallmarks of Jefferson's first administration. The Louisiana Purchase (1803) capped his achievements. During his second administration, he dispatched the Lewis and Clark expedition to explore the Louisiana territory. Lewis and Clark returned triumphantly after crossing the continent.

In the final 17 years of his life, Jefferson's major accomplishment was the founding, in 1819, of the University of Virginia. He conceived it, planned it, designed it, and supervised both its construction and the hiring of its faculty. On July 4, 1826, the 50th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence, Jefferson died at Monticello.

Madison graduated from the College of New Jersey at Princeton in 1771.

Elected to the new House of Representatives in 1789, Madison sponsored the Bill of Rights. He found private happiness in his marriage in 1794 to the lively widow, Dolly Paine Todd.

In 1801, Madison was appointed Secretary of State by the new president, Thomas Jefferson. Madison adroitly guided the negotiations that resulted in the Louisiana Purchase in 1803.

Madison was easily elected President in 1808. In 1812, he asked for and received a declaration of war against Great Britain. He was elected to his second term the same year. After an eventful second term, Madison handed over the Presidency to another member of the so-called Virginia dynasty, James Monroe.

Madison retired to his Virginia estate, Montpelier, in 1817. Bedridden for the last years of his life, Madison died on June 28, 1836.

Monroe was born on Apr. 28, 1758, on his parents' small plantation in Westmoreland County, Va. An orphan at age 16, he was fortunate to have as his guardian a wealthy uncle, Joseph Jones. After 2 years at the College of William and Mary, Monroe left in March 1776 to fight in the American Revolution. He was commissioned lieutenant in a Virginia regiment, fighting in the battles around New York that summer, being one of the conspicuous heroes of the Battle of Trenton.

Monroe rose quickly in government, being a member of the Constitutional Congress (1783-86), U. S. Senator from Virginia (1790-94), minister to France (1794-96); and governor of Virginia (1799-1802). By 1800 he was among the half-dozen national leaders of the Jeffersonian, or Democratic-Republican, party.

After the British capture of Washington in August, 1814, he became Secretary of War, giving firm direction to the war effort and sharing in the military and diplomatic triumphs. As Madison's heir apparent, and with the Federalists in disgrace for having opposed and even hindered the war, Monroe was elected president by an overwhelming majority in 1816.

In domestic affairs Monroe was not especially successful. In foreign affairs, however, Monroe's presidency was triumphant, thanks largely to the efforts of the brillian secretary of state, John Quincy Adams. Monroe left the presidency in 1825 and retired to his country estate in Virginia.

Less heroic than Washington, less brilliant than Madison, less creative than Jefferson, less charismatic than Alexander Hamilton, and less learned than the Adamses, Monroe was nevertheless the prototype of the public servant vital to the new republic: honest, hardworking, self-sacrificing, judicious, and trusting in democracy. His good judgment and conscientious attention to the public welfare made him, like Washington, a trusted soldier and a worthy president. He died in New York City on July 4, 1831, revered by his countrymen as "the last of the cocked hats," that is, the last revolutionary soldier and statesman to have served the nation in high public office.

Perry's subsequent voyages took him to Europe and Africa during the Barbary Wars.

In 1805, at the age of twenty, Perry became a lieutenant, and was given the command of the 14 gun vessel, Revenge, and cruised the northern and mid-Atlentic waters of the eastern United States.

In May 1812, Perry received a promotion to master-commandant. One month later the United States declared war on Great Britain. Perry was given command of 12 gunboats at Newport and New London.

In February 1813, he was ordered to Commodore Isaac Chauncey's command at Sackett's Harbor, Lake Ontario. Perry reached Chauncey's headquarters on March 3. Because British attacks were expected momentarily, Chauncey kept Perry with him for two weeks.

The attacks failed to materialize and Chauncey decided that Perry would be of better use in Erie, Pennsylvania, where a fleet was being constructed to wrest control of Lake Erie from the British who already had a small squadron there.

Perry was fully briefed on the situation in Erie and was sent to command the project. Perry and his men successfully completed six vessels by July 1813. These six were joined by others from Buffalo. Two months later, on September 10, 1813, the American squadron under Perry fought a British squadron commanded by Captain Robert Barclay, R.N.

The Battle of Lake Erie began with Perry aboard his flagship Lawrence. In the early stages of the battle, however, Lawrence and her crew took most of the enemy's fire. Lawrence was severely damaged and over 80 percent of Perry's crew were killed or wounded by concentrated British gunfire. In an attempt to change defeat to victory, Perry transferred from Lawrence to the lightly damaged Niagara in a small boat. He took command of Niagara and sailed her into the British battle line. The British had also taken heavy casualties from the Lawrence's fire. Broadsides from the fresh Niagara compelled their surrender within 15 minutes of Perry's transfer.

After his victory in the War of 1812, Perry was promoted to the rank of Captain and given command of the new frigate Java. Then in 1819, as commander of John Adams, Perry was sent to Venezuela on a diplomatic mission. After completing his mission he contracted yellow fever and died at sea near Trinidad on August 23, 1819, his 34th birthday. He was buried at Port of Spain, Trinidad, with full military honors. In 1826, his remains were moved from Trinidad to Newport, Rhode Island, where a monument in his honor was erected by the state.

Commissioned a Lieutenant in 1802, he was a member of Stephen Decatur's raiding party which destroyed the U.S.S. Philadelphia in Tripoli harbor after it was captured by the Tripolitans in 1804.

During the War of 1812, Lawrence commanded the U.S.S. Hornet, which captured the H.M.S. Peacock, and was promoted to Captain as a result. On June 1, 1813, commanding a new and untrained crew on the 49-gun frigate U.S.S. Chesapeake off Boston, Lawrence accepted a challenge from Philip Bowes Vere Broke. Capt. Broke sent word to James Lawrence to "come out and fight." Capt. Lawrence had taken command of the Chesapeake only two weeks before. The opportunity to engage a British warship one-on-one as well as showing off his talents as a skipper was all the motivation Lawrence needed. At daybreak June 1, the Chesapeake left Boston Harbor and sailed into her final battle.

Alerted by the sounds of cannon and word of mouth, hundreds of people lined the shores from Nahant to Marblehead to see the battle. According to the Annals of Nahant, people stood on rooftops there to watch. Casualties were high; almost half of the American and a quarter of the British were killed or wounded in the 11 minute battle. Within minutes of firing the first shot, Lawrence was critically wounded. As crew members carried him below to the surgeon's quarters, Lawrence uttered the famous motto: "Don't give up the ship."

McDonough was assigned to the Constellation on October 20, 1801, for its cruise of the Mediterranean sea. During this cruise they fought with Tripolitanian gunboats at Tripoli.

He later served in 1803 on the new ship Philadelphia, a 38-gun frigate.

In October of 1803, the Philadelphia was captured and taken to Tripoli. Luckily, Thomas was on shore leave at the time of capture. On December 14, 1803, he was assigned to the Enterprise, a 12-gun schooner. The Enterprise along with the Constitution was sent out to either retake the Philadelphia or destroy it so that Tripoli could not use her against the U.S. Deciding that it was too risky to retake her, Thomas, along with others, volunteered to sail to the Philadelphia and set her on fire. They sailed up to the Philadelphia and after fighting with the Tripolitanian crew, set her on fire and quickly left.

In 1805 or 1806, McDonough was appointed a lieutenant of the Enterprise. In October of 1806, McDonough was ordered to Middletown, Connecticut, to work under Captain Isaac Hull superintending the construction of gunboats. It was here that he met and fell in love with his future wife, Lucy Ann Shaler. However it would be six more years before they finally wed. On June 18, 1812, the United States declared war on Great Britian. McDonough received orders to command a division of gunboats, this time in Burlington, Vermont. This division included 6 sloops and 2 gunboats. These vessels were located on Lake Champlain, between New York and Vermont. After repairs, he took his converted, patched-up warships down the lake to the Plattsburgh, N. Y. area to start patrols of Lake Champlain. After Lt. Sidney Smith lost the Growler and Eagle to the British on June 2, 1813, McDonough moved his fleet farther down the lake to Burlington, Vermont. On June 17th, after receiving a full report from McDonough, the new Secretary of the Navy, William Jones, sent the following orders to Macdonough: "... regain by every possible exertion the ascendancy which we have lost, for which purpose you are authorized to purchase, arm and equip two of the best sloops to be procured on the lake. You have unlimited authority to procure the necessary resources of men, material and munitions for that purpose. I rely upon your efficient and prudent use of the authority vested in you. The naval command is exclusively vested in you and for which you are held responsible." On July 24, 1813, Lt. Thomas McDonough was designated Master Commandant. He was thereafter called "Commodore" out of respect or courtesy even though that rank did not exist at that time.

The last of July 1813, a British flotilla landed at Plattsburgh's wharf with 1,000 soldiers. They promised the frightened citizens that they would not destroy private property. However, they started burning public property and stole the contents of many of the private homes in the area. They then sailed south and attacked McDonough at Burlington. After a small battle they sailed on and continued to raid villages. The American fleet was not ready to battle on the open lake at this time. After repairs were completed on his fleet, he moved the fleet to Vergennes, Vermont for the winter. There he received authorization in January, 1814 from Secretary Jones to construct a new ship. On April 11, 1814, Lucy Ann McDonough, Thomas' wife, christened the 26-gun ship Saratoga. McDonough was now ready to do battle with the enemy. Commodore McDonough anchored his fleet in Plattsburg Bay in a line northeast to southwest. The Eagle was at that north end, then McDonough's flagship Saratoga; next the Ticonderoga and last the Neble at the south end. While McDonough prepared his fleet, General Alexander Macomb prepared his small army to defend Plattsburgh from the British Army. About nine o'clock Sunday morning, September 11, 1814, British Captain George Downey brought his fleet around Cumberland Head into Plattsburgh Bay. Since his ships had to tack into the north wind, Downey had trouble lining up his vessels between McDonough's ships and Cumberland, as McDonough had expected. The British ships were now in a trapped position. Rodney McDonough wrote the following description of the scene on his grandfather's ship minutes before the battle commenced: "There was now a hushed, expectant moment like the stillness which precedes the storm. McDonough fired and his fleet opened fire ... British Captain Downey was killed during the battle. McDonough was knocked down twice due to explosions, once remaining senseless for a few minutes. Another shot cut off the head of the captain of the gun and drove it against McDonough with such force that he was knocked across the deck and fell between two guns. The Saratoga caught fire twice during the battle."

Julius Hubbell, from nearby Chazy, was among the spectators and wrote this description: "The fighting was terrible, fairly shaking the ground, and so rapid that it seemed to be one continuous roar, intermingled with the flashing from the mouths of guns, and dense clouds of smoke soon hung over the two fleets. At 11:20 a.m. the British ships struck their colors, and victory belonged to the Americans."

However the decks of all ships were covered with torn sails, masts and spars and the bodies of those that had perished in this terrific battle. It was obvious that McDonough's foresight, valor, ingenuity and perserverance won the day.

The entire country praised McDonough's victory as equal to Commodore Perry's on Lake Erie September 10, 1813. The Battle of Plattsburgh is one of the decisive battles in American History. It prevented the invasion and conquest of New York State as effectively in 1814 as the surrender of the British under Burgoyne in 1777. Commodore McDonough continued in the service of his country after the war of 1812 finally ended. On October 20, 1824, McDonough, commanding the frigate Constitution, set sail for the Mediterranean to take charge of the United States naval force. There in the fall of 1825, he received the news that his wife, Lucy Ann, had died. However, Thomas was sick as well with tuberculosis, weighing only sixty pounds. The news devastated him. McDonough was carried from the Constitution to the Edwin for the long journey home, one journey he was not to complete. On November 10, 1825, Commodore Thomas McDonough, the hero of Lake Champlain, died six hundred miles from his homeland. He was forty-one years old. Thomas and his wife are interred in the Riverside Cemetery in Middletown, Connecticut. They had 5 children together.

He was appointed commander of the U.S.S. Chesapeake in 1809 and the President in 1810. But Commodore John Rodgers, then commanding the USS Constitution, wanted the President, thinking the Constitution too slow for his tastes. The switch was made and Hull took command of the USS Constitution. In July 1812, he was acclaimed for saving the Constitution when she was surrounded by five British warships, including HMS Guerriere, by having his crew, in rowing dinghies, tow the Constitution out of cannon range when all six ships were becalmed.

Hull sailed the Constitution out of Boston on August 12, 1812, and met the Guerriere again on August 19. After a short battle, the Constitution captured the Guerriere and sank her. Hull was an overnight national hero. Although he declined marriage in 1810 because of his low income, gifts from a grateful public now allowed him to marry. He continued his Navy career until, in 1833, he was given the honor of again commanding Constitution while she was in the new dry dock at Charlestown.

He last commanded the USS Ohio and died in 1843, almost 70 years old. His victory over the British frigate Guerriere (August 19, 1812), which won for his ship the name "Old Ironsides," became one of the most famous episodes in U.S. naval history.

Given command of the frigate Philadelphia during the Tripolitan War(1801-1805), Bainbridge was again captured when he ran aground at Tripoli in 1803. Durng the War of 1812 he successfully advocated an American strategy of fleet dispersion, single ship action, and commerce raiding.

Commanding the U.S.S. Constitution, he captured the British frigate Java off Brazil on Dec. 29, 1812. From 1824 to his death in 1827, Bainbridge served as president of the Board of Navy Commissioners.

During the War of 1812, Decatur, in the frigate United States, defeated (Oct. 25, 1812) the British frigate Macedonian in one of the war's most renowned single-ship engagements. He was subsequently unable to leave American waters because of the British blockade. When he tried to run the blockade out of New York in January 1815, his ship was captured by a British squadron. By this time the war had ended, however, and he was repatriated. In June 1815 he returned to the Mediterranean and dictated terms of peace to Algiers, Tunis, and Tripoli, thereby concluding the last American war with the Barbary States. At a banquet celebrating this achievement, Decatur chauvinistically toasted: "Our country! In her intercourse with foreign nations may she always be in the right; but our country, right or wrong."

A practiced and ardent duelist, Decatur accepted a challenge from James Barron, a suspended captain on whose court-martial Decatur had sat, and was killed in the duel.

[NOTE: Naming the five east-west streets after the first five presidents of the United States is not difficult to understand. However, we must wonder why Andrew Dexter named his north-south streets after the naval heroes of the War of 1812, until we remember that Andrew Dexter was from Massachusetts and came south just after the War of 1812. These naval officers had achieved unprecedented fame throughout the nation at that time. Using their names was a logical thing to do. ED]

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