Stephen Decatur was the most lauded American sailor since John Paul Jones. In 1798, he entered the US Navy as a midshipman on the USS Constitution. In a year, the had risen to Lieutenant. In 1804, he was in the Mediterranean as part of a fleet that was at war with the Barbary Pirates. The Americans suffered an embarrassing loss when the USS Philadelphia ran aground, was abandoned, and taken by the pirates into Tripoli harbor. Decatur led a daring raid into the harbor after dark. He and his men boarded the ship, set it afire, and got away. Decatur was suddenly a great hero. He later participated with distinction in the Battle of the Gunboats in Tripoli harbor. One of his comrades was James Barron, who was ten years older than Decatur, but they became friends. That changed in 1807.
Trouble was brewing with England. The Royal Navy was impressing (kidnapping) American sailors and forcing them to be British sailors. Barron was the commander of one of the first six American frigates. Five of the six became famous in the War of 1812. Not the Chesapeake. Barron sailed the Chesapeake out of Hampton Roads in 1807, knowing there was a British fleet blockading two French warships. Barron had not prepared the ship for any confrontation. Crates of provisions covered the deck and many of the cannons were not in place. When the HMS Leopard pulled alongside, Barron allowed a boat to bring British officers over for a parley. They claimed Barron had British deserters on board. Barron lied and said he didn’t and sent the Brits back. Not taking no for an answer, the Leopard persisted and fired a shot across the Chesapeake’s bow. In spite of everything, Barron had still not called his men to battle stations. The 50-gun Leopard fired into the 38-gun American ship, doing a lot of damage and killing some Americans. Barron did not fight back and lowered his flag. The British impressed four British deserters and the Chesapeake limped back into port. Decatur was the first officer aboard and was appalled by the ill-preparedness of the frigate. Barron became a hero to the public, but his peers in the Navy knew the real story.
A court-martial was held and his ex-friend Decatur was one of the judges. Decatur was incensed by Barron’s cowardice and voted to suspend him for five years. Meanwhile, the War of 1812 had broken out and Decatur increased his fame by captaining the USS United States in a victory over the HMS Macedonian. Barron’s suspension was up, but he did not return to the U.S. to participate in defending his country. Another strike against him with his peers. In 1815, Decatur led a fleet that won the Algerian War against the pirates. By the time Commodore William Bainbridge returned to his fleet, the treaty had been signed. He felt Decatur had stolen his glory and bore a grudge. In a banquet in America feting Decatur, he made his immortal toast: “Our country! In her intercourse with foreign nations, may she always be in the right; but our country, right or wrong!” This made him a superhero. He was given a cushy job with the Naval Board of Commissioners and became a fixture in Washington, D.C. society. In 1818, he opposed reinstatement of Barron. (Word had it that Barron had insulted the U.S. to some British seamen during his exile. That was treason!) Decatur was provocative when he proclaimed that he could “insult Barron with impunity”. Barron began to write him letters complaining of his mistreatment. This culminated in a challenge to a duel in 1820. Decatur accepted and they met on March 22, 1820. Barron asked for a shorter distance because he was near-sighted. They were armed with smoothbore flintlock pistols at only 8 paces. Kind of hard to miss even with a smoothbore. The men fired simultaneously and both hit. Decatur’s wound was mortal and he died later that day.
People love conspiracy theories today, so here is another. Decatur originally refused to duel because he could not find a second. Suddenly, out of the blue, Bainbridge offered to serve as his second. The same Bainbridge who resented Decatur’s fame. The naïve Decatur gratefully accepted his “friends” aid. Speaking of seconds, Barron’s was Jesse Elliott. Elliott was the Captain who had let Oliver Perry fight the British without coming to his aid in the Battle of Lake Erie. Perry became the next great American naval hero, in spite of the back-stabbing by Elliott. Perry, before he died, left papers incriminating Elliott with Decatur. A court-martial and disgrace awaited the perfidious Elliott. Elliott did not want those papers to find the light of day. Decatur’s death would save his career. There is reason to believe that Elliott convinced the cowardly Barron to challenge Decatur. Bainbridge’s role? Still chafing over his stolen valor, he suddenly shows up smilingly offering to be Decatur’s second. Suspicious, but not to the naïve Decatur. And there’s this. Before firing their pistols, Decatur and Barron expressed regrets it had come to this. Normally, this would have been the moment for seconds to step in and convince the duelists to patch things up. Neither Elliott nor Bainbridge stepped in. I don’t believe most conspiracy theories, but this one seems true.
https://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/naval-hero-killed-in-duel
https://warfarehistorynetwork.com/article/intelligence-stephen-decatur/
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