biography
| name: |
McDougall, Alexander
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| sex:
| male
|
| lived:
| (1732–86)
|
| biography:
| Revolutionary agitator, soldier, and politician, born in Islay, Inner Hebrides, NW Scotland, UK. Emigrating to America with his family (1738), he commanded two privateers (1756–63). He was an educated merchant and came to public attention by issuing a broadside attacking the New York General Assembly (1769), was sued for libel, and then jailed (1770–1), attracting a major radical following. As a founder of the Sons of Liberty who took the lead in pre-war agitation, he presided over the famous mass meeting in the ‘Fields’ (1774) that called for New York to send delegates to the First Continental Congress. Appointed colonel of the first New York regiment (1775), and later a brigadier and major-general (1777), he played a major role in the war, relieving Benedict Arnold in command of West Point. He represented New York in the Continental Congress (1781–2, 1784–5), and was an organizer and president of the Bank of New York. |
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