Commodore Thomas MacDonough, U.S.N., was the hero of Lake Champlain. He was born December 23, 1783, and died November 10, 1825. On September 11, 1814, he reported to the Secretary of the Navy, “The Almighty has been pleased to grant us a signal victory on Lake Champlain in the capture of one frigate, one brig, and two sloops of war of the enemy”.