The following information was assembled from numerous sources and cannot be used directly as proof of Qualifying Service or Lineage.
It is considered a research aid and is intended to assist in locating sources that can be used as proof.
Birth: abt 1751 Death: 04 Feb 1801 Roxbury / Suffolk / MA
Qualifying Service Description:
Captain, Massachusets Privateer Sloop "Independence" Nov 1776
Captain, Privateer Brigantine "Amsterdam"
Sailed as part of the Penobscot Expedition, July 1779 and was captured at Penobscot
Captain, Privateer Ship "Gustavus" Dec 1782 bound for Europe
Captain of Privateer "Astraea" in 1783 bound for France
Additional References:
MA Soldiers and Sailors of the Revolution, Vol 10, pg 133
Naval Documents of the American Revolution
Volume 7, pg 313-314
Volume 12, pg 6
Volume 13, pg 404
Independent Ledger (Boston, MA) January 4, 1779
Salem Gazette, MA, November 15, 1781
Spouse: Margaret Elliot Children: James; Charles; Ann; Augustus; Mary; Margaret; Elizabeth; Louisa; Catherine;
Members Who Share This Ancestor
None*
*This means that the NSSAR has no applications for this Patriot on file.
Instead the information provided is best effort, and from volunteers who have either researched grave sites, service records, or something similar. There is no documentation available at NSSAR HQ to order.
In remembrance of his lost crew members from the Brigantine "General Arnold", James Magee requested he be buried at Burial Hill in Plymouth at the location of the mass grave of his crew. In 1862 Stephen Gale of Portland, Maine had a white marble obelisk memorial gravestone erected at the grave site of Capt. Magee and the sixty mariners "who perished in their strife with the storm"
Image taken and provided by compatriot David Schafer (MA) member 159259
Directions to Cemetery / Gravesite:
The grave site of Captain James Magee and sixty crew members of the "General Arnold" is located in the Eastern corner of Burial Hill Cemetery in Plymouth MA. The closest cemetery entrance is located at the corner of the S. Russell Street parking lot. Enter the cemetery from the gate at the southern portion of the parking lot. The white marble obelisk is along the slope south of the parking area
Photo: 1 of 1
Author: David Crandall Schafer
James Magee was born in about 1751. Reportedly arriving in America shortly before the American Revolution from Ireland.
The Privateer sloop Independence, Captain James Magee commander, was commissioned with Letter of Marque by the Massachusetts General Court on 14 October 1776. In a letter from John Bradford to John Hancock, dated 28 November 1776: “Schooner Sally, George Elliot, master, and the brig Desire, Joseph Jackson, master, taken by the Massachusetts privateer sloop Independence Captain James Magee.” On 26 December 1776, the Independent Chronicle of Boston reported, “Captain Magee and the owners of the “Independence” filed their claim against these “prize vessels” in the Massachusetts Admiralty Court, Southern District.1
23 October 1777, Libel was filed in the Massachusetts Maritime Court, Southern District, “In Behalf of James Magee, Commander of the private armed Sloop “Independence” and all concerned therein, against the Brigantine Mary and Ann, of about 130 Tons” and the Brigantine “Countess of Pitterwin” of about 96 Tons burthen.2
Commissioned on 11 May 1778, the Massachusetts privateer Brigantine General Arnold, James Magee, commander, mounted 20 carriage guns and a crew of 120 seamen.3 As reported in the Independent Chronicle, 16 July 1778, Libel was filed in the Massachusetts Maritime Court, Middle District, on behalf of Gilbert Ash, Commander of the Ship Mars, and James Magee, Commander of the Brigantine General Arnold and all concerned therein, against the Sloop Safety, 80 Tons burthen, Justice Nathan Cushing presiding.4
About noon on 24 December 1778, the Brigantine General Arnold, commanded by Captain James Magee, sailed from Boston with the Revenge destined for the Carolinas to capture English vessels and their cargo. As the two warships sailed across Massachusetts Bay, the winds turned northeasterly and grew steadily. Seeking safe harbor Captain Magee chose Plymouth’s outer harbor to ride out the mounting storm. Taking all possible measures to save his ship Captain Magee had the anchors dropped, sails furled, topmasts removed, and most of the guns lowered below decks. The storm winds grew, and the General Arnold drifted onto the White Flat sandbar, leaving the ship and crew stranded through the next day and night. On the 26th, rescuers from Plymouth reached the Arnold, finding 72 of its crew frozen to death. The survivors were aided by the citizens of Plymouth, and a mass funeral was conducted at Burial Hill. Remarkably, the General Arnold was salvaged, restored to service, and rechristened on 13 May 1779 as the Amsterdam, commanded by Captain James Magee.5
On 3 December 1782, it was petitioned that James Magee be commissioned as commander of the privateer ship Gustavus, bound for a voyage to Europe.6 In 1783, Magee was commissioned Captain of the privateer Astraea for a voyage to France.
James married Margaret Elliot on 18 October 1783 in Boston, Massachusetts. Together they had nine known children: 7
James
Charles
Ann
Augusts
Mary
Margaret
Elizabeth
Louisa
Catherine
Captain Magee continued in command of the Astraea, sailing for Canton, China, from Boston in January 1789; and returning to Boston on 22 June 1790. His final voyage was as Captain of the ship Margaret, which sailed from Boston to Canton, returning on 21 August 1791.
Aged 51 years, James died on 4 February 1801 at Roxbury, Suffolk County, Massachusetts. At his request, he was buried at Plymouth’s Burial Hill at the site of the mass grave in which his crewmembers of the General Arnold had been buried in December 1778.
Sources:
Naval Documents of the American Revolution, Vol. 7, pages 313-314, 599-600.
Ibid, Vol. 10, page 242.
Ibid, Vol. 12, page 6.
Ibid, Vol. 13, page 403-404.
Cavallaro, Lenny, Lou Cook, and Bob Janni. Solved: The Mystery of the General Arnold.
Secretary of the Commonwealth, Massachusetts Soldiers, and Sailors of the Revolutionary War, Vol. X, Massachusetts. Boston: Wright & Potter Printing Co., 1901, page 133
Will of James Magee, 1801, Roxbury, No. 12,121.
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