“Go aboard ship, sir, and give yourself no more concern about this matter. I will attend to everything.”
As soon as Bainbridge left the theatre Decatur went aside with the Englishmen to arrange for the inevitable duel. As the challenged party, the Americans had the right to make the terms. Said Decatur when the others were ready to hear him:
“We will go to the beach at sunrise to-morrow morning. There we will place our men back to back, and at the word ‘March’ they shall each march two steps and then whirl and fire. There shall be only the one word.”
“My God, man,” said the English second, “that is clear murder.”
“Pardon me,” said Decatur, “your man is an experienced duellist. He has picked out for his victim one of our young officers who has had no experience whatever. By the terms that I propose they will be placed as nearly on an equal footing as is possible. However, sir, if you do not wish to fight in that way, I will take the place of the midshipman and meet your man on the usual terms at ten paces.”
And the Englishman chose to fight the boy on the terms named rather than face the experienced Decatur.
So Decatur went on board ship, and taking Midshipman Bainbridge on deck, placed him with a cocked but empty pistol in hand, back to back with a shipmate, and said “March.” Bainbridge marched two steps, whirled on his heel in military fashion, and snapped the empty pistol at his shipmate. Again he was placed in position, and again he marched and turned and snapped the pistol. And from that time on he stood erect and marched and turned, again and again, the whole night through—he was drilled in his duty till he did it as mechanically as, and with the accuracy of, a clock that strikes the hour.
And as the sun was tingeing the morning sky he was placed back to back with the professional duellist. Both marched at the word and both turned, but because Bainbridge had been trained by Stephen Decatur he turned more swiftly than the enemy, and shot him dead.
Let the reader decide for himself whether that was or was not a fight for the honor of the flag. Meantime, it is worth telling that the Governor of Malta, Sir Alexander Ball, was so wrought up over the death of his secretary, and made such a stir about it, that Decatur returned to America as a passenger in the New York to avoid international complications.
In 1801 the frigate Essex, Captain William Bainbridge, was lying at Barcelona. One night as the captain was going off to the Essex, the commander of a Spanish guard-boat, in the harbor, hailed him and with vulgar and abusive language ordered him to bring the gig alongside the guard-boat. Captain Bainbridge paid no attention to the words, and the Spaniards fired several musket-shots at him.