A Friendship Under Fire
Volume 3, Issue 6 I A Newsletter for the Supporters of the Hampton Roads Naval Museum A Friendship Under Fire The Confrontation Between Stephen Decatur and James Barron, Part 1 by Joe Mosier n March 22, 1820, two of the Tragically, the meeting could have been former friends. They had first served senior officers of the United avoided except for the manipulations of together in the wardroom of United States OStates Navy met on "the field of two other officers who acted as seconds. in 1798. Their later correspondence honor" at Bladensburg, Maryland. This The meeting between James Barron shows Third Lieutenant Barron acted as duel was the result of a long-standing and Stephen Decatur was in some a mentor to the new midshipman. Their feud based on an insult to a lady and respects not typical. Christopher McKee paths had crossed frequently in the small a naval battle that was not fought. pointed this out in his landmark study of navy of that era. In 1804, Decatur the early U.S. Navy, A Gentlemanly and Honorable Profession. "In spite of the misleading impression created by the Barron-Decatur duel, the practice of dueling was all but entirely confmed to the younger members of the officer corps." At the time of their confrontation, Barron was 51 years old and Decatur 41. By contrast, twelve of eighteen officers killed in duels before 1815 were midshipmen. This trend had worried Decatur, who was himself probably the most experienced in dueling among naval officers of his day. In 1809, while While respected by all in Hampton Roads, the Decatur commanded the frigate United One of the greatest heroes of the U.S.
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