In 1819 a quarrel arose between Commodore James Barron and Decatur. They met at Bladensburg, Maryland, on March 22, 1820. At the first shots Barron was dangerously wounded. Decatur was also hit, and he died the same evening.
PREPARED BY THE EDITORIAL STAFF OF THE MENTOR ASSOCIATION
ILLUSTRATION FOR THE MENTOR, VOL. 4. No. 3, SERIAL No. 103
COPYRIGHT, 1916, BY THE MENTOR ASSOCIATION, INC.
COMMODORE WILLIAM BAINBRIDGE
FROM THE PAINTING BY REMBRANDT PEALE
IN THE POSSESSION OF THE NEW YORK HISTORICAL SOCIETY
WILLIAM BAINBRIDGE
Monograph Number Two in The Mentor Reading Course
William Bainbridge was born at Princeton, New Jersey, on May 7, 1774. He was a son of Dr. Absalom Bainbridge, a Physician of the town. He received comparatively little education; for he went to sea in a merchant vessel at the age of fourteen. A few years after this, while he was the mate of the ship Hope, on a voyage to Holland he saved the life of his captain, who had been seized by a mutinous crew with the intention of throwing him overboard. On his return home, because of his good conduct and abilities, he was promoted to the command of a ship in the Dutch trade. He continued in command of various ships until 1798.
During this time the war between France and Great Britain made it difficult for neutrals to carry on trade. Therefore as master of a ship Bainbridge had to elude, or beat off a great deal of interference on the part of French and British ships alike.