Angus McDonald

Angus McDonald (December 30, 1769 – October 14, 1814) was an American military officer, landowner, and planter in the U.S. state of Virginia. McDonald served as a military officer during the War of 1812 following his appointment by United States President James Madison. McDonald was the son of Virginia military officer and frontiersman Colonel Angus McDonald and the father of Colonel Angus William McDonald, a commander in the Confederate States Army during the American Civil War.

Early life Angus McDonald was born on December 30, 1769, at "Glengarry" near Winchester, Frederick County in the Colony of Virginia. He was the third child and second-eldest son of prominent Virginia militiaman, frontiersman, and landowner Angus McDonald and his wife, Anna Thompson McDonald. McDonald was raised on his father's plantation, "Glengarry", and upon reaching adulthood, he resided on his own farm which was in close proximity to "Glengarry". McDonald and his brother John also received in Kentucky to be divided between them.

Marriage and children McDonald married Mary McGuire (died 1809), daughter of Edward McGuire and his wife Millicent D'Obee, on January 11, 1798. Mary McGuire's maternal grandfather was French architect Samuel D'Obee, charged by Thomas Jefferson with supervising the construction of the Virginia State Capitol in Richmond.

Angus William McDonald (February 14, 1799, Winchester, Virginia – December 1, 1864, Richmond, Virginia), Millicent McDonald, married first to William Sherrard, second to Richard Holliday

Military career During the onset of the War of 1812, McDonald was commissioned as a first lieutenant on March 12, 1812, in the 12th Infantry Regiment of the Regular Army. On June 24, 1814, McDonald received a commission to the rank of captain in the 12th Infantry Regiment following a nomination and appointment by United States President James Madison on February 1 of that year. McDonald was subsequently promoted to the rank of major in 1814. McDonald's final messages along with his belongings, which included his sword and sash, were delivered to his mother and children at "Glengarry" by his colleague and friend, Colonel John Strother, who had been present at McDonald's death. The McDonald family was very grateful to Strother for his actions and the two families remained close. Fifty years later, during the American Civil War, McDonald's son Colonel Angus William McDonald interceded on Strother's behalf when he was arrested by McDonald's Confederate squad for treason in August 1861. McDonald said of Strother, "he had been kind to my father, was his fellow soldier, tended him on his death-bed and was kind to me as his son. I never forgot it and I was never ungrateful."

McDonald's mother continued to raise McDonald's three children at "Glengarry" following his death.