Thomas Machin (March 20, 1744 – April 3, 1816) was a British-born American soldier and construction engineer. Machin was born in Staffordshire, England, and in his youth was apprenticed to English canal builder James Brindley. After arriving in America he was commissioned a Lieutenant of the artillery and then in July 1776, a Captain in Lamb's Artillery in which capacity he served for the duration of the conflict. (The commission, for various reasons, was not approved by congress until 1780.) In 1776 he was dispatched by George Washington to the Hudson Highlands to assist in defending the Hudson River and creating emplacements an obstructions in an alongside the river from Fort Montgomery up to Kingston. He was singularly responsible for emplacing the chain at Fort Montgomery prior to the