The Naval Prowess of Stephen Decatur
One of America’s earliest naval heroes
Stephen Decatur Jr. was born on January 5th, 1779 in Sinepuxent, Maryland to parents Stephen Decatur Sr. and Ann Pine. Decatur Sr. was a merchant and naval officer during the Revolutionary War. At the age of eight, young Stephen developed whooping cough. A common remedy for whooping cough was said to be the salty sea water. Being that Stephen’s father was a merchant, he took Stephen on his next voyage to Europe. This trip became instrumental in Stephen’s developing a nautical passion.
Upon returning from Europe, Stephen’s cough had subsided. At this point, Stephen enrolled in the Episcopal Academy in Pennsylvania. School was not in the cards for young Stephen and following his graduation from academy, Decatur attempted one year at the University of Pennsylvania in 1795. Decatur, at age 17, forewent his studies and pursued his love for the high seas, much to the dismay of his mother who would have preferred that her son become an Episcopalian clergyman.
Starting His Service
Decatur’s first appointment was in 1798 aboard USS United States under the command of John Barry. Decatur, serving as a midshipman, learned the ways of the sea under Barry’s leadership, as well as from a tutor hired by Stephen’s father. This man, Talbot Hamilton, was a former officer in the British Royal Navy.
The Quasi-War with France was the first engagement that Decatur distinguished himself. In May of 1799, after serving more than a year aboard USS United States, Decatur was promoted to lieutenant by President John Adams. While United States was having repairs made in Philadelphia, Decatur was tasked with gathering a crew to serve on the ship. While there, Decatur managed to survive a duel with a crew-mate after an exchange involving words about Decatur’s father. Once United States underwent its reconstruction, it made a number of voyages and ultimately ended up back out of commission in US ports to avoid pirates and privateers. When the Quasi-War came to a close in 1800, much of the navy was disbanded. Decatur was one of the few officers still commissioned.
The First Barbary War
The seizure and harassment of American ships off the coast of Northern Africa by the Barbary pirates spurred the United States to action. In May of 1801, the United States sent fleets across the Atlantic to confront the Barbary States. Decatur’s first assignment was aboard USS Essex which was commanded by William Bainbridge. However, once in the Mediterranean, Decatur was soon transferred to USS New York, a slightly larger vessel under James Barron. Once again, however, Decatur found himself transferred to a new vessel, but this time he was in command. Decatur took command of USS Argus, which had been newly built. He sailed this vessel to Gibraltar where he exchanged ships with Issac Hull. Decatur was now in command of USS Enterprise, a smaller schooner. On December 23rd, 1803, Enterprise and USS Constitution battled with a Tripolitan vessel. Decatur and his squadron managed to capture the ship, recommissioned as USS Intrepid. This would be one of the young naval officer’s first captured vessels, but not even close to his last.
Through all of Decatur’s ship switching, he had shown himself as a promising sailor. His real first hour of honor would come when USS Philadelphia ran aground near Tripoli’s harbor in late 1803. The ship was captured by Tripolitan soldiers. In a daring plan to take back the ship, Decatur captained Intrepid and took 80 volunteers to the site of the grounded Philadelphia in February of 1804. USS Syren, captained by Charles Stewart, also joined Decatur in the mission to provide gun support. Before arriving, eight sailors from Stewart’s ship joined Decatur on Intrepid, one of which being Thomas Macdonough who would become a great friend of Decatur’s. Intrepid was disguised as a common merchant ship, so it was able to approach Philadelphia without drawing much attention. Decatur and his men were able to board and capture the ship without suffering even one fatality. Philadelphia, however, was determined to be unfit for the sea, so it was set ablaze and destroyed. Both Intrepid and Syren were able to escape the battle and return to New York. Decatur was crowned a hero back at home and subsequently was then given back control of Enterprise.
Decatur ventured back into the fray to avenge the death of his brother, James, during the Second Attack on Tripoli. Decatur, along with others, boarded a Tripolitan ship fighting in close combat until the Americans were victorious. An ingenious mission involving the loading of Intrepid up with explosives and sending it into the Tripolitan defense persuaded the government of Tripoli to finally surrender to the United States in June of 1805. Once again, Decatur’s bravery showed through. He was commissioned a captain at age 25, making him the youngest to ever be made a captain.
Pre-1812 Endeavors
In 1806, following his service in the Mediterranean, Decatur was put in charge of a squadron of gunboats in Chesapeake Bay, Virginia. Here he was able to pursue the relationship with his future wife, Susan Wheeler. In June of 1807, Decatur was given command of USS Chesapeake, which was a large 38-gun frigate, as well as all gunboats in Norfolk, Virginia.
From May of 1811 until the beginning of the War of 1812, now Commodore Decatur captained many ships. He controlled USS United States, the same frigate he got his naval beginnings on, Argus, Congress, and even joined John Rodgers on USS President. During this time, Decatur continued to make quite a name for himself.
War of 1812
Three days following the United States’ declaration of war on Britain, Decatur’s new squadron of United States, Essex, Argus, and Hornet, along with Rodgers’ President, departed New York harbor to patrol the northern Atlantic. In October of 1812, Decatur, aboard United States, split off from Rodgers and the rest of the fleet. Decatur sailed eastward, approaching 500 miles south of the Azores. Here, Decatur met British captain John Carden aboard the HMS Macedonian. United States was better equipped for a range battle, so Decatur let loose on the British ship, pounding it into surrender. Macedonian was taken as a prize back to New York. Decatur, wounded during the battle, was once again a hero.
In May of 1813, Decatur, once again aboard United States, left the harbor with the Macedonian (now USS instead of HMS) and Hornet. On the same night as their departure, United States was struck by lightning, destroying her main mast. To make matters worse, On June 1st, a British patrol squadron approached Decatur’s. Severely outgunned, Decatur was forced to flee to New London, Connecticut to take refuge. Unfortunately, this port was blockaded until the end of the war. Decatur did attempt to sneak past British blockades later that year but with no success. This, according to Decatur, was due to blue lights burning at the mouth of the New London River where Decatur was trying to escape. This was estimated by some to be treason by New Englanders, but the root cause is still unknown. Nonetheless, it led to Democratic-Republicans terming New England Federalists the “Blue-Light Federalists”.
In May of 1814, Decatur was given a new assignment. He would now captain President and lead a squadron of Hornet, Peacock, and Tom Bowline. Decatur, happy to have gotten out of New London, was assigned to a mission in the East Indies. There was one major problem, however. The British were blockading New York harbor, so Decatur’s squadron was kept from sea. Decatur, with the help of a snow storm, attempted to push past the blockade in just President but ran aground without the needed help of pilot boats. Decatur’s ship finally broke free and attempted to evade the British blockade sailing down the southern coast of Long Island. President was caught by the British HMS Endymion and the two fought a fierce battle that lasted several hours. Both vessels were damaged heavily, and Decatur was forced to surrender President due to the rest of the pursuing British squadron.
While subdued on Endymion, the British captain made the decision to fix damages without securing President. Decatur, as daring as he was, made an escape attempt. President was once again captured, this time by the British Pomone. The ships were eventually approached by the British squadron flagship, HMS Majestic, captained by John Hayes. Decatur boarded Majestic and surrendered his sword to Hayes, but out of respect for Decatur’s bravery in defending his ship, Hayes returned the sword along with giving praise to the American.
Decatur and his captured crew were taken prisoner in Bermuda arriving in late January of 1815. By February of 1815, Decatur was released and returned to New York. At the War’s end, Decatur received a sword and thanks for his service in Tripoli, as well as the Congressional Gold Medal for his great services during the War of 1812.
One Last Hurrah
Following peace with Britain, the United States focussed their attention back to the Mediterranean where US ships were once again being pirated. In late February of 1815, shortly after Decatur returned to the United States, President Madison urged Congress to declare war but to no avail. However, Congress did approve the act of sending two squadrons to the Mediterranean. One of these squadrons consisted of 10 ships and was commanded by Stephen Decatur aboard the USS Guerriere. The other squadron was headed by William Bainbridge. Decatur’s squadron left New York City in May of 1815. At the time, Decatur’s squadron was the largest ever assembled by the United States. Decatur was to demand that the leaders of Algiers stop pirating American merchant ships and return American slaves or face military conflict.
The goal of this negotiation was to not alert the Algerian government of the large squadron’s presence. However, as Decatur’s squadron neared Gibraltar to assess Barbary presence in the region, messengers were sent out to a squadron of Algerian ships nearby notifying them of Decatur’s presence. The flagship of this squadron, Mashouda, commanded by notorious privateer Rais Hamidou encountered Guerriere off Cape Palos in June of 1815. Decatur’s ship crippled Mashouda, killing Hamidou and capturing his crew. Decatur, with this leveraging tool, sailed for Algiers. With his flagship captured at the Battle off Cape Gata, the Dey of Algiers quickly signed the treaty effectively ending what was known as the Second Barbary Wars.
Decatur followed this success up by sailing to both Tripoli and Tunis to demand money and reimbursements that these governments had not given during the War of 1812. Once again victorious, Decatur returned to the United States to much praise and a new nickname, “the Conqueror of the Barbary pirates”.
End of Life
Decatur’s life did not end with a long glorious retirement to an estate as many other war heroes did. Though he was named to the board of Navy commissioners, Decatur was not without his troubles. Stephen Decatur was killed in a duel on March 22nd of 1820, just a few years after his return to the United States. Decatur and Commodore James Barron, the disgraced court-martialed naval commander of the Chesapeake in 1807, took part in a duel over comments and accusations Decatur had made on Barron’s unpreparedness in the Chesapeake-Leopard affair as a commissioner on the Navy board. Decatur was shot in the pelvis, resulting in major bleeding and his ultimate death later that same evening.
At the time, dueling between officers was extremely common. However, the country was shocked to hear of Decatur’s untimely death. Decatur left his small fortune of $75,000 to his widow, Susan. Though Decatur had no children, his legacy lives on as the namesake for many counties, communities, streets, and even an island. I even grew up only 30 miles from one of these communities, Decatur, Illinois.
Stephen Decatur’s legacy in naval history is one of great praise. His heroics and successes have cemented Decatur’s name in American history for ages.
Grant Fuerstenau is a Medical Student at the University of Louisville School of Medicine and the editor of The Biographical Historian.
