his education at the University of Pennsylvania, but he
was forced to enter the military after being tried and ac-
quitted for murdering a prostitute in Philadelphia. He
joined the United States Navy on 20 April 1798, when
it was first formed, with the rank of midshipman; he was
promoted to the rank of lieutenant on 21 May 1799,
serving on the USS United States.
Decatur first saw action during the naval war with
France (1798–1800), when his quick temper also re-
sulted in several duels. After being promoted in 1799, he
was given command of the USS Argus. It was while serv-
ing in the Tripolitan War (1801–05), a conflict with pi-
rates in the Mediterranean, that Decatur earned his place
in history. A number of small city-states on the shores
of northern Africa—situated in what is now present-day
Libya—had long preyed on ships in the Mediterranean.
Reassigned as the commander of the USS Enterprise, one
of the ships in the fleet under the command of Com-
modore Edward Preble, Decatur captured a pirate ship,
the Mastico, which he renamed the USS Intrepid. After
the pirates captured the USS Philadelphia, Decatur led
a small group of American sailors into Tripoli harbor on
16 February 1804 and burned the ship to keep it from
it being used in the pirate fleet. Later that same year, he
led another group of sailors into Tripoli harbor and de-
feated a Tripolitan force in a landmark battle. For these
actions, he was promoted to the rank of captain on 16
February 1804.
For the next decade, Decatur was the commander
of several warships, including the USS Constitution and
the USS Chespeake. In 1807, he served as a judge on the
court-martial of Captain James Barron, who had fought
a battle against a British warship. The court finding that
Barron was guilty caused increased bitterness between
the two men, an anger that would lead to tragedy.
During the War of 1812 with Great Britain, De-
catur again distinguished himself, capturing the HMS
Macedonian on 25 October 1812. On 15 January 1815,
as the commander of the USS President, he was forced
to concede defeat against several British warships in
New York harbor, although the HMS Endymion was de-
stroyed. Captured, Decatur was imprisoned in Bermuda
for several weeks until he was paroled. A naval board
of inquiry cleared him of any bad judgment. When the
war ended, Decatur served as commander of the U.S.
Mediterranean Squadron so effectively that the dey of
Algiers signed a peace treaty to avoid another conflict. It
was at a dinner during these negotiations that Decatur
gave his famous toast to America: “Our country! In her
intercourse with foreign nations may she always be in
the right; but our country right or wrong!”
Returning to the United States, Decatur served
on the Board of Navy Commissioners, an oversight
committee for the U.S. Navy, and this led to his tragic
death. When his old enemy James Barron asked for
his reinstatement to the navy, a move that could only
be sanctioned by the board, Decatur led the way in
refusing the request. Because of this stand, Barron chal-
lenged Decatur to a duel, and the two men met in Blad-
ensburg, Maryland, on 22 March 1820. In deference to
the older Barron, Decatur demanded a shorter length
between the two men and told people beforehand that
he would not shoot to kill. When the time came, De- DecAtuR, StephenStephen Decatur