Which American commodore captured the HMS Macedonian in 1812?

Which American commodore captured HMS Macedonian in 1812? Stephen Decatur did. On October 25, 1812, Decatur commanded the heavy frigate USS United States in a battle against the British frigate HMS Macedonian near Madeira, in the Atlantic Ocean.

The American ship was larger and more heavily armed, but the engagement was still a serious close-range action. After exchanging fire and maneuvering for several hours, United States damaged Macedonian's rigging and guns so badly that the British crew was forced to surrender. Decatur then brought the captured vessel back to the United States.

The victory was especially notable because Macedonian was the first British warship captured during the War of 1812 to be brought into an American harbor. Decatur became one of the war's best-known naval commanders, although the battle is sometimes confused with Isaac Hull's earlier capture of HMS Guerriere or William Bainbridge's victory over HMS Java. Those were separate frigate actions involving different American commanders.