Alexander McDougall Alexander McDougall ( about 1731 – 1786 ) was an American seaman , merchant , a Sons of Liberty leader from New York City before and during the American Revolution , and a military leader during the Revolutionary War . He served as a major general in the Continental Army , and as a delegate to the Continental Congress . After the war , he was the president of the first bank in the state of New York and served a term in the New York State Senate . Early life . McDougall was born on the Isle of Islay , in the Inner Hebrides of Scotland in about 1731 . He was one of the five children of Ranald and Elizabeth McDougall . In 1738 the family immigrated , going to New York as part of a party led by a former army officer , Captain Lachlan Campbell . Campbell had described fertile land available near Fort Edward , but when they arrived in New York City , they discovered that Lachlan had been awarded a patent for about 30 , 000 acres ( 121 km² ) and expected them to become tenants to his estate . Ranald withdrew and found work on a dairy farm on the island of Manhattan . The family prospered and young Alexander began his commercial career as a delivery boy for milk in New York . In around 1745 , when he was fourteen , Alexander signed on as a merchant seaman . He worked on a number of vessels , and then in 1751 he visited his extended family back on Islay . He stayed only a few months , but married a cousin , Nancy McDougall , and brought her back to New York . He continued a seagoing merchant career , rising to command and eventually own a cargo sloop , the " Schuyler " . Privateer to merchant . When the French and Indian War became an official war in 1756 as the Seven Years ' War , McDougall added six guns to his ship , the " Tyger " , and became a merchant privateer . He captured a number of French ships , and by 1759 he had converted one of these into a twelve gun warship , the " Barrington " . An able captain as well as a knowledgeable merchant , he made a small fortune in captured ships and the sale of their cargo . In 1763 McDougall gave up the seafaring life . The war had ended , his wife Nancy died , as did his father . He was left with responsibility for his three children and his mother . So he converted his seagoing assets , invested in land and became a merchant and importer . By 1767 he had his affairs in good order . He owned land in Albany County and as far away as North Carolina . He remarried , this time to Hannah Bostwick . Though their increasing wealth earned them recognition , but not acceptance into the traditional society in New York City . Alexander was too loud and unpolished . He spoke with a heavy Scottish accent and wore gaudy clothes . Prelude to revolution . When revolutionary fervor grew with resistance to the Stamp Act , McDougall became active in the Sons of Liberty , and later was their leader in the city . Difficulties in the city and colony were increased by the Quartering Act , which required the colonists to provide housing and support to the British troops . The Province of New York assembly had refused to pass appropriations for their housing in 1767 an 1768 , and been prorogued . Then the new assembly of 1769 approved money for their support . McDougall wrote and had printed an anonymous broadside , " To the Betrayed Inhabitants " , which criticized the vote and sparked the Battle of Golden Hill . The Sons of Liberty called him , " the Wilkes of America " . He was accused of libel and arrested on 7 February 1770 , but refused to post bail , so he was jailed . He spent two periods in jail , for a total of about five months , but wasn ' t convicted . His imprisonment became another cause for protest , and his wife Hannah led marches down Broadway to the jail . He had so many visitors that he had to schedule appointments . The protests led to his release , but he was re - arrested later and jailed again . Finally , the new governor William Tryon ordered his unconditional release . McDougall became the street leader of the Sons of Liberty , and organized continued protests until the city became under de facto control of the Patriots in 1775 . He organized the city ' s reaction to the Tea Tax in 1773 and led their action , similar to the Boston Tea Party . He became a member of the Committees of Correspondence and Safety , the New York City Committee of Sixty and when New York established their revolutionary government in 1775 , he was elected to the New York Provincial Congress . He was also a very close friend of Haym Salomon . Continental Army . He was commissioned colonel of the 1st New York Regiment on 30 June 1775 and a brigadier general in 1776 and a major general in 1777 . He participated in the battles of White Plains and Germantown . He was stationed for most of the war in the Highlands of the Hudson , much of the time as commanding officer . In 1782 a quarrel with General Heath led to his arrest and court martial for insubordination . After War Years . He served as the Secretary of Marine from February 7 , to 1781 – August 29 , 1781 . He represented New York in the Continental Congress 1781 - 1782 and 1784 – 1785 and served as a state senator 1783 to 1786 . He was one of the organizers and the first president of the Bank of New York . He died 9 June 1786 . Legacy . MacDougal Street in the New York City ' s Greenwich Village is named for him .