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Stephen Decatur, 1779-1820
Stephen Decatur first rose to fame in 1804 during the war with the Barbary pirates, when he commanded the daring party that boarded and burned the captured frigate Philadelphia while it lay anchored under the citadel at Tripoli in North Africa. During the War of 1812, he was awarded a congressional gold medal for "gallantry, good conduct, and service." Sent back to the Mediterranean in 1815, Decatur intimidated the dey of Algeria into signing a treaty that ended demands for tribute and brought the Barbary Wars to a final close. Feted upon his return, Decatur offered the toast: "Our country! In her intercourse with foreign nations may she always be in the right; but our country, right or wrong." Mortally wounded in a duel, Decatur died with a sigh "that it was not in his country's cause."
Attributed to Charles Bird King after Gilber Stuart, c 1820 |