From Wikipedia.
The HMS Macedonian was one of the outclassed British frigates which lost a solo battle with an American frigate during the war.
In 1810, it operated off Portugal and was involved in the Napoleonic Wars. In Jan. 1812, it went to Norfolk, Virginia (before war was declared in June), for a secret deal to keep the Bank of England solvent. While there, its captain, John Garden, bungled the mission by revealing it to his friend, U.S. Navy Captain Stephan Decatur while dining and drinking together. Garden even bet his beaver hat that his ship could beat Decatur's ship, the USS United States in a ship-vs.-ship fight.
On October 22, 1812, the two ships and captains met in that fight. The United States had the much heavier broadside and in short time, all three of the Macedonian's masts were down and the ship's hull was riddled with shot.
The Macedonian became the second British frigate to surrender to the U.S. Navy, the HMS Guerriere being the first. However, the Macedonian could be saved and after repairs, was taken into the U.S. Navy as the USS Macedonian.
--Brock-Perry
2012 marks the 200th anniversary of America's "Forgotten War," the War of 1812 that took place over three years, 1812 to 1815.
Battle of New Orleans.
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