Stephen Decatur

Stephen Decatur , 1779-1820, American naval officer, b. Sinepuxent, near Berlin, Md.; son of a naval officer, Stephen Decatur. After joining the U.S. navy in 1798, he rose to fame in the Tripolitan War . In 1804 he and his men stole into Tripoli harbor and destroyed the captured U.S. frigate Philadelphia. This daring exploit won Decatur promotion to captain. He helped in the bombardment of Tripoli and, after peace was concluded (1805), negotiated successfully with the bey of Tunis. In 1808 he was one of the judges at the court-martial of James Barron ; thereafter the two men were enemies. In the War of 1812 Decatur commanded three vessels, with the United States as his flagship. On Oct. 25, 1812, the United States met and captured the British frigate Macedonian. Afterward the British blockade held him powerless until Jan., 1815. Then (unaware that the war had ended) he put to sea in the President, outran three enemy ships and defeated the fourth, the Endymion, but the battle delayed him and he was forced to surrender to the other pursuers. In the so-called Algerine War in 1815 he used his squadron with vigor to force the dey of Algiers to sign the treaty that ended American tribute to Algeria. As one of the three navy commissioners (1815-20), he was powerful in naval affairs. His opposition to reinstating the unfortunate and disgraced James Barron led to bitter words. Barron challenged him, and in the ensuing duel Decatur was mortally wounded at Bladensburg, Md., on Mar. 22, 1820. Known for his reckless bravery and stubborn patriotism, he is also remembered for the toast, "Our country! In her intercourse with foreign nations may she always be in the right; but our country, right or wrong!"

Bibliography: See biographies by C. T. Brady (1900), C. L. Lewis (1937, repr. 1971) and H. Nicolay (1942).

Decatur, Stephen (1779–1820), U.S. naval officer.Raised in a seafaring and naval family, Stephen Decatur served as midshipman and acting lieutenant during the Undeclared Naval War with France (1798–1800) and as a first lieutenant and captain during the Tripolitan War (1801–05). In 1804, he commanded the party that burned the USS Philadelphia, which had fallen into enemy hands; then he led attacks on several Tripolitan vessels. Decatur's exploits, which entailed fierce hand‐to‐hand combat, won him great acclaim. After the Tripolitan War, he helped enforce the embargo. During the War of 1812 he took part in two notable engagements: the celebrated victory of USS United States over HMS Macedonian in 1812, and the 1815 surrender of USS President to a British squadron. He commanded the flagship Guerrière in the Algerine War (1815), capturing or destroying several enemy vessels before extracting treaties from Algiers, Tripoli, and Tunis. Upon returning to the United States, he served on the Board of Navy Commissioners.

Decatur had served on the court‐martial of James Barron after the Chesapeake affair of 1807, and enmity between the two led to a duel in 1820 in which Decatur was killed. A symbol of the reckless bravery and bold nationalism of the young Republic, Decatur was particularly remembered for his toast: “Our country! In her intercourse with foreign nations may she always be in the right; but our country, right or wrong!”

Bibliography

Alexander S. Mackenzie , Life of Stephen Decatur, A Commodore in the Navy of the United States, 1846.
Gardner W. Allen , Our Navy and the Barbary Corsairs, 1905.
Lewis, and Charles L. , Romantic Decatur, 1937; rpt. 1971.

Donald R. Hickey

Decatur, Stephen (1779–1820) US naval commander. He was promoted captain following his daring recapture of the frigate Philadelphia in the TRIPOLITAN WAR (1801–05). After the WAR OF 1812 he became a national hero by forcing the Bey (ruler) of Algiers to sign the treaty (1815) that ended US tribute to the Barbary pirates. He was killed in a duel with a suspended naval officer.