Stephen Decatur was born in Sinnepuxent, Worcester County, Maryland, January 5, 1779. He was appointed a midshipman, 1798; a lieutenant, 1799; served in the Mediterranean under Commodore Dale, 1801, and under Commodore Preble, 1803; and, while in command of the Intrepid, destroyed the Philadelphia, off Tripoli, February 15, 1804. For this gallant deed he was immediately promoted to the rank of captain. He commanded a division of gunboats under Preble in the subsequent attacks on Tripoli. On October 25, 1812, when in command of the frigate United States, he captured the British frigate Macedonian, Captain John Carden, for which action Congress gave him a vote of thanks and a gold medal. In January, 1815, he left New London as commodore, having his flag on the President, but was soon afterward captured by an English fleet. The same year he sailed for the Mediterranean in command of a squadron, and made treaties with Algiers, Tunis, and Tripoli. On his return home he became a member of the Naval Board. He was shot in a duel by Commodore Barron, at Bladensburg, Maryland, March 22, 1820, and died the same evening.
ORIGINAL DOCUMENTS.[79]
Captain Decatur to the Secretary of the Navy.
United States ship United States,
at Sea, October 30, 1812.
To the Honourable
Paul Hamilton,
Secretary of the Navy, Washington, D. C.
Sir: I have the honour to inform you, that on the 25th instant, being in the latitude 29°, N., longitude 29°, 30', W., we fell in with, and, after an action of an hour and a half, captured His Britannic Majesty's ship Macedonian, commanded by Captain John Carden, and mounting 49 carriage guns (the odd gun shifting). She is a frigate of the largest class, two years old, four months out of dock, and reputed one of the best sailors in the British service. The enemy being to windward, had the advantage of engaging us at his own distance, which was so great, that for the first half hour we did not use our carronades, and at no moment was he within the complete effect of our musketry or grape: to this circumstance and a heavy swell, which was on at the time, I ascribe the unusual length of the action.
The enthusiasm of every officer, seaman, and marine on board this ship, on discovering the enemy; their steady conduct in battle, and precision of their fire, could not be surpassed. Where all met my fullest expectations, it would be unjust for me to discriminate. Permit me, however, to recommend to your particular notice my first Lieutenant, William H. Allen. He has served with me upwards of five years, and to his unremitted exertions in disciplining the crew, is to be imputed the obvious superiority of our gunnery exhibited in the result of this contest.