Stephen Decatur was only a teenager when he wrapped his arms around a fellow midshipman who was too injured to raise his pistol or even stand to help him continue a duel.
The midshipman had faced two opponents and was wounded by both, but insisted on fighting the other men he believed had insulted him.
With Decatur’s help, the midshipman aimed carefully and fired, wounding his opponent. Convinced that insults to his honor had been avenged, the duelist collapsed, and his opponents, all fellow midshipmen, nursed him back to health.
Decatur fought his first duel a year later, when he was 20.
He was a fourth lieutenant then, gathering men in Philadelphia for service aboard the heavy frigate United States, when the captain of an Indiaman offered his seamen higher wages and the men abandoned Decatur’s ship.
Read Full Article »