Charleston’s Thomas Machin was war hero
By Bob Cudmore, Daily Gazette, 9-18-04
George Washington wasn’t pleased with delays in building fortifications along the Hudson River highlands in 1777. Washington turned for help to an English immigrant who already had distinguished himself in the cause of American independence, a man who would go on to become a leading citizen in the Mohawk Valley.
According to a letter written by Washington, Thomas Machin was “a person of merit.” Born in Staffordshire in 1744, Machin fought as an English cadet in the battle of Minden, Prussia. Returning home, he learned engineering and left for America in 1772, hoping to work at a New Jersey copper mine. The next year, however, Machin was in Boston and helped dump tea into the harbor as part of the Boston Tea Party, a tax protest. When fighting began, Machin served as an artillery officer and was wounded in the battle of Bunker Hill. Using his engineering skills, he worked on building Boston’s defenses.
After finishing the Hudson River fortifications for General Washington in 1777, Lieutenant Machin turned his attention to a more unusual project--the effort to stretch chains across the Hudson River to prevent British warships from sailing north. Promoted to captain, Machin was a key player in construction of what was called the Great Chain across the Hudson at West Point, finished in 1778.
Charleston historian Lorraine Whiting said, “Each link weighed about 150 pounds, about 186 tons altogether. It was more than a chain as there was iron wrought into booms, bolts, clips and swivels.”
According to a 1932 article in the St. Johnsville Enterprise by Robert Hartley, Captain Machin served through the end of the war and the battle of Yorktown. Hartley wrote that Machin “personally fired” on a British ship at Yorktown, hitting its ammunition magazine and blowing the ship “to atoms.”
“It was a like a hole in one,” Whiting said. “Machin must have been quite a mathematician.”
After the war, Machin was granted several parcels of land in New York because of his service in the cause. Eventually, he raised his family in what is now the Montgomery County town of Charleston, near the border with Schoharie County. He was a land surveyor and his surveyor’s chain is part of the collection at Old Fort Johnson. When he died in 1816, he was buried in a family plot on his Charleston property.
The graveyard apparently was neglected over the years. In any event, a strange thing happened in 1905. According to Hartley, through the influence of historian William Roscoe of Schoharie County, Machin’s body was dug up and moved to the cemetery in Carlisle, where the remains were reburied with military and Masonic honors. Hartley wrote that Machin had established the Masonic Union Lodge in Schoharie.
According to Whiting, the original Machin family graveyard is still visible off Corbin Hill Road in Charleston. The only recognizable marker is for the wife of Machin’s son, a woman named Elizabeth McMichael. Thomas Machin’s grave in Carlisle has a marble stone, a Masonic brass plaque and a historical marker.
Thomas Machin’s son Thomas, Junior also became prominent in the military, rising to the rank of Brigadier General in the War of 1812. Thomas Machin’s grandson, Timothy Machin, moved to California in the 1850s and became a member of the legislature and lieutenant governor. While lieutenant governor, he was in charge of San Quentin prison.
Charleston historian Lorraine Whiting will lecture on the life and legacy of Thomas Machin on Sunday, October 17th at 2 p.m. at the Charleston Historical Society Building on Polin Road.
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Amsterdam history documentary slated for Tuesday public screening
As part of Amsterdam’s bicentennial observance, the WMHT television documentary on city history will be shown Tuesday night (September 21) at 7:00 p.m. at United Presbyterian Church on Church Street in the city.
“Carpet City: Historic Views of Amsterdam” was produced by local native and radio personality Bob Cudmore and award-winning documentary filmmaker Steve Dunn in 2000. The rise and fall of the carpet industry in the Amsterdam and the city’s ethnic diversity are chronicled in Carpet City, along with an account of the career of city native and movie star Kirk Douglas. The film also includes footage shot in the former Presbyterian Church which burned in early 2000.
After the 84-minute documentary is shown, Cudmore will lead a discussion on local history. He hosts the early morning radio program on AM 1570 WVTL in Amsterdam.
The public screening is held in cooperation with WMHT television and the Walter Elwood Museum in Amsterdam. Donations on behalf of the museum will be accepted.
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