jjares reviewed Stephen Decatur and Oliver Hazard Perry: The Lives and Careers of America?s Most Famous Naval Officers during the War of 1812 on + 3263 more book reviews
This book makes the point that most of the War of 1812 with Great Britain was a naval war. The author tells the story of two of the most important naval officers during that conflict. However, these men did not just come out of nowhere, they were established leaders before the conflict.
Sometimes, stories can get garbled because there are too many battles or conflicting information offered. This story is clear and very interestingly told.
STEPHEN DECATUR --
Stephen Decatur's most famous action came in 1804 in Tripoli. He was the lieutenant of the Intrepid and took 75 sailors to either rescue or sink the captured frigate Philadelphia in the Tripoli harbor. The Philadelphia had been surrendered by her commanding officer when she ran aground on a reef off the Tripoli harbor. The captain and crew were taken captive and the enemy was planning on plundering the remaining ship.
Decatur and his crew tricked the enemy by acting like a British ship that had lost its anchor in a storm. They requested to be allowed to park next to the Philadelphia until morning. When Decatur saw that they could not rescue the ship, they set her to explode.
During action in Tripoli, Stephen's brother, James, was mortally wounded. Finding that James was wounded after he had surrendered; Stephen went to fight the cowardly Tripoli commander. During the hand-to-hand fighting, another Tripolian sailor swung his saber at Stephen. Ruben James stepped between Decatur and the saber, taking a blow to the head. He did not die and later continued in the Navy. This is the source of the famous song, "Reuben James."
Son of a commodore, Stephen flew the pennant of a commodore during the War of 1812. Generally, the War of 1812 was over America's rights to the seas. British captains were boarding American vessels and commandeering 'British subjects and sailors' off American property. Shockingly, the British controlled Lake Erie at the time of the war. Another surprise was the fact that the British used Native Americans in the war. Specifically, Tecumseh, Shawnee chief was part of the action against Americans.
After the War of 1812, Decatur was able to bring about peace with the Barbary pirates. Decatur was named to the board of Navy Commissioners in 1816. Interestingly enough, Decatur acted as Perry's second in the duel between Heath and Perry (see below). Later, Decatur was to have his own duel with a naval commander he had severely derided -- James Barron.
It occurred in 1807 off the coast of Virginia. James Barron, commander of the Chesapeake surrendered his frigate to the British crew of the HMS Leopard. The British boarded and removed 4 sailors. They were tried for desertion of the Royal Navy and one was hanged. The Chesapeake was severely damaged but released. Criticism came to Barron because he only fired one shot. He was suspended from the service for 5 years. This is considered to be one of the reasons for the War of 1812.
Barron challenged Decatur to a duel and killed Decatur on March 22, 1820, in Washington, DC. The information given about dueling in general (during this era) and this duel, in particular, is fascinating and should not be missed.
OLIVER HAZARD PERRY --
Perry was named after his paternal grandmother's father and also for an uncle, Oliver Hazard Pery, recently lost at sea. Like Decatur, Perry was in the Quasi-War with France and the Tripolitan War against Barbary pirates. However, he played a small part in these actions. After getting his first command, the 14-gun schooner Revenge, he met with difficulties when the schooner struck a reef near Watch Point Hill and went down.
After an obligatory court-martial case exonerated Perry, the court blamed the pilot. During an extended leave of absence, Perry married (eventually having 5 children). When the War of 1812 began, Perry requested action and received a commission to lead the building of a flotilla under construction on Lake Erie. He was successful in both building the ships and winning the Battle of Lake Erie. These were both arduous tasks.
His next ship, Java, was not completed until after the end of the war. However, he worked to quell the continuing problems with the Barbary pirates in 1815. During a shocking incident in which Perry slapped another officer, John Heath and Oliver Hazard Perry were both court-martialed and found guilty. Mild reprimands were issued to each man. Heath challenged Perry to a duel. Heath missed and Perry refused to pull the trigger.
Acrimonious letters were exchanged between Perry and an officer from the Lake Erie Battle, Jesse Duncan Elliott. Elliott challenged Perry to a duel but Perry decided to file court-martial charges against Elliott instead. The Secretary of the Navy passed the buck to President James Monroe. Monroe suppressed the whole thing; sending Perry instead on a diplomatic mission to South America. While there, crewmen caught yellow fever; five died. While underway to Port of Spain, Perry woke up with the illness and died on his 34th birthday, only a few miles from help.
Sometimes, stories can get garbled because there are too many battles or conflicting information offered. This story is clear and very interestingly told.
STEPHEN DECATUR --
Stephen Decatur's most famous action came in 1804 in Tripoli. He was the lieutenant of the Intrepid and took 75 sailors to either rescue or sink the captured frigate Philadelphia in the Tripoli harbor. The Philadelphia had been surrendered by her commanding officer when she ran aground on a reef off the Tripoli harbor. The captain and crew were taken captive and the enemy was planning on plundering the remaining ship.
Decatur and his crew tricked the enemy by acting like a British ship that had lost its anchor in a storm. They requested to be allowed to park next to the Philadelphia until morning. When Decatur saw that they could not rescue the ship, they set her to explode.
During action in Tripoli, Stephen's brother, James, was mortally wounded. Finding that James was wounded after he had surrendered; Stephen went to fight the cowardly Tripoli commander. During the hand-to-hand fighting, another Tripolian sailor swung his saber at Stephen. Ruben James stepped between Decatur and the saber, taking a blow to the head. He did not die and later continued in the Navy. This is the source of the famous song, "Reuben James."
Son of a commodore, Stephen flew the pennant of a commodore during the War of 1812. Generally, the War of 1812 was over America's rights to the seas. British captains were boarding American vessels and commandeering 'British subjects and sailors' off American property. Shockingly, the British controlled Lake Erie at the time of the war. Another surprise was the fact that the British used Native Americans in the war. Specifically, Tecumseh, Shawnee chief was part of the action against Americans.
After the War of 1812, Decatur was able to bring about peace with the Barbary pirates. Decatur was named to the board of Navy Commissioners in 1816. Interestingly enough, Decatur acted as Perry's second in the duel between Heath and Perry (see below). Later, Decatur was to have his own duel with a naval commander he had severely derided -- James Barron.
It occurred in 1807 off the coast of Virginia. James Barron, commander of the Chesapeake surrendered his frigate to the British crew of the HMS Leopard. The British boarded and removed 4 sailors. They were tried for desertion of the Royal Navy and one was hanged. The Chesapeake was severely damaged but released. Criticism came to Barron because he only fired one shot. He was suspended from the service for 5 years. This is considered to be one of the reasons for the War of 1812.
Barron challenged Decatur to a duel and killed Decatur on March 22, 1820, in Washington, DC. The information given about dueling in general (during this era) and this duel, in particular, is fascinating and should not be missed.
OLIVER HAZARD PERRY --
Perry was named after his paternal grandmother's father and also for an uncle, Oliver Hazard Pery, recently lost at sea. Like Decatur, Perry was in the Quasi-War with France and the Tripolitan War against Barbary pirates. However, he played a small part in these actions. After getting his first command, the 14-gun schooner Revenge, he met with difficulties when the schooner struck a reef near Watch Point Hill and went down.
After an obligatory court-martial case exonerated Perry, the court blamed the pilot. During an extended leave of absence, Perry married (eventually having 5 children). When the War of 1812 began, Perry requested action and received a commission to lead the building of a flotilla under construction on Lake Erie. He was successful in both building the ships and winning the Battle of Lake Erie. These were both arduous tasks.
His next ship, Java, was not completed until after the end of the war. However, he worked to quell the continuing problems with the Barbary pirates in 1815. During a shocking incident in which Perry slapped another officer, John Heath and Oliver Hazard Perry were both court-martialed and found guilty. Mild reprimands were issued to each man. Heath challenged Perry to a duel. Heath missed and Perry refused to pull the trigger.
Acrimonious letters were exchanged between Perry and an officer from the Lake Erie Battle, Jesse Duncan Elliott. Elliott challenged Perry to a duel but Perry decided to file court-martial charges against Elliott instead. The Secretary of the Navy passed the buck to President James Monroe. Monroe suppressed the whole thing; sending Perry instead on a diplomatic mission to South America. While there, crewmen caught yellow fever; five died. While underway to Port of Spain, Perry woke up with the illness and died on his 34th birthday, only a few miles from help.
