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DECATUR, STEPHEN (1779-1820)

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Originally appearing in Volume V07, Page 910 of the 1911 Encyclopedia Britannica.

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DECATUR
DECATUR, STEPHEN (1779-1820)

DECATUR, See also:
STEPHEN
STEPHEN (1097?-1154)
STEPHEN (ISTVAN) BATHORY (1533-1586)
STEPHEN, SIR JAMES (1789-1859)
STEPHEN, SIR JAMES FITZJAMES, BART
STEPHEN, SIR LESLIE (1832-1904)
STEPHEN (1779-1820) , See also:

AMERICAN

American See also:

NAVAL

naval See also:

COMMANDER

commander, was See also:

BORN, IGNAZ, EDLER VON (1742–1791)

born at Sinnepuxent, See also:

MARYLAND

Maryland, on the 5th of See also:

JANUARY

January 1779, and entered the See also:

UNITED

United States See also:

NAVY

navy as a See also:

MIDSHIPMAN

midshipman in 1798. He was promoted See also:

LIEUTENANT

lieutenant a See also:

YEAR

year later, and in that See also:

RANK (O.Fr. rant or rent, mod. rang, generally connected with the O.E. and O.H.G. bring, a ring)

rank saw some service in the See also:

SHORT, FRANCIS JOB (1857– )

short See also:

war with See also:

France. In 1803 he was in command of the " Enterprise," which formed See also:

PART

part of See also:

COMMODORE (a form of " commander"; in the 17th century the term " commandore " is used)

Commodore Preble's See also:

SQUADRON

squadron in the Mediterranean, and in See also:

FEBRUARY

February 1804 led a daring expedition into the See also:

HARBOUR (from M.E. hereberge, here, an army; cf. Ger. Heer and -beorg, protection or shelter. Other early forms in English were herberwe and haiborow, as seen in various place names, such as Market Harborough.. The French auberge, an inn, derived through

harbour of See also:

Tripoli for the purpose of burning the U.S. See also:

FRIGATE

frigate" See also:

PHILADELPHIA

Philadelphia " which had fallen into Tripolitan hands. He succeeded in his purpose and made his See also:

ESCAPE (in mid. Eng. eschape or escape, from the O. Fr. eschapper, modern echapper, and escaper, low Lat. escapium, from ex, out of, and cappa, cape, cloak; cf. for the sense development the Gr. iichueoOat, literally to put off one's clothes, hence to sli

escape under the See also:

FIRE (in O. Eng. f j'r; the word is common to West German languages, cf. Dutch vuur, Ger. Feuer; the pre-Teutonic form is seen in Sanskrit pu, pavaka, and Gr. irup; the ultimate origin is usually taken to be a root meaning to purify, cf. Lat. purus)

fire of the batteries with a loss of only one See also:

man wounded. This brilliant exploit earned him his See also:

CAPTAIN (derived from Lat. ca put, head, through the Low Lat. capitanus)

captain's See also:

COMMISSION (from Lat. commissio, committere)

commission and a See also:

SWORD (0. Eng. sweord; ultimately from an Indo-European root meaning to wound)

sword of See also:

HONOUR (Lat. honos or lwnor, honoris; in English the word was spelled with or without the u indifferently until the 17th century, but during the 18th century it became fashion-able to spell the word " honor "; Johnson's and Webster's Dictionaries stereoty

honour from See also:

CONGRESS (Lat. congressus, coming together, from congredi; cum, with, and gradus, step)

Congress. Decatur was subsequently engaged in all the attacks on Tripoli between 1804 and 1805. In the War of 1812 his See also:

SHIP

ship the " United States " captured H.M.S. " Macedonian " after a desperate fight, and in 1813 he was appointed commodore to command a squadron in New See also:

York harbour, which was soon blockaded by the See also:

BRITISH

British. In an See also:

ATTEMPT (Lat. adtemptare, attentare, to try)

attempt to break out in February 1815 Decatur's See also:

FLAGSHIP

flagship the " See also:

PRESIDENT (Fr. president, from Lat. praesidens, post-Augustan Lat. for praeses, director, ruler, from praesidere, to sit in front of, preside)

President " was cut off and after a spirited fight forced to surrender to a See also:

SUPERIOR

superior force. Subsequently he commanded in the Mediterranean against the corsairs of See also:

ALGIERS (Fr. Alger, Arab. Jezair, i.e. The Islands)

Algiers, See also:

TUNIS

Tunis and Tripoli with See also:

GREAT

great success. On his return he was made a navy See also:

COMMISSIONER

commissioner (See also:

NOVEMBER (Lat. novem, nine)

November 1815), an See also:

OFFICE (from Lat. officium, " duty," " service," a shortened form of opifacium, from facere, " to do," and either the stem of opes, " wealth," " aid," or opus, " work ")

office which he held until his See also:

DEATH

death, which took See also:

PLACE (through Fr. from Lat. platea, street; Gr. IrAar6s, wide)

place in a See also:

DUEL (Ital. duello, Lat. duellum—old form of bellum-from duo, two)

duel with Commodore See also:

James Barron at Bladensburg, Md., on the 22nd of See also:

March 1820. See See also:

Mackenzie, See also:

LIFE

Life of Decatur (See also:

Boston, 1846).

End of Article: DECATUR, STEPHEN (1779-1820)

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