Reuben James ( 1776 – 3 December 1838) was a boatswain's mate of the

United States Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the maritime service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. It is the largest and most powerful navy in the world, with the estimated tonnage ...

, famous for his heroism in the

First Barbary War The First Barbary War (1801–1805), also known as the Tripolitan War and the Barbary Coast War, was a conflict during the Barbary Wars, in which the United States and Sweden fought against Tripolitania. Tripolitania had declared war against Sw ...

Career

Born in

Delaware Delaware ( ) is a state in the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States, bordering Maryland to its south and west; Pennsylvania to its north; and New Jersey and the Atlantic Ocean to its east. The state takes its name from the adjacent Del ...

around 1776, James joined the United States Navy and served on several ships, including the frigate . During the First Barbary War, the American frigate was captured by the

Barbary pirates The Barbary pirates, or Barbary corsairs or Ottoman corsairs, were Muslim pirates and privateers who operated from North Africa, based primarily in the ports of Salé, Rabat, Algiers, Tunis and Tripoli, Libya, Tripoli. This area was known i ...

when she ran aground in the city of

Tripoli Tripoli or Tripolis may refer to: Cities and other geographic units Greece *Tripoli, Greece, the capital of Arcadia, Greece * Tripolis (region of Arcadia), a district in ancient Arcadia, Greece * Tripolis (Larisaia), an ancient Greek city in ...

, on the southern shores of the

Mediterranean Sea The Mediterranean Sea is a sea connected to the Atlantic Ocean, surrounded by the Mediterranean Basin and almost completely enclosed by land: on the north by Western and Southern Europe and Anatolia, on the south by North Africa, and on the ea ...

. During the course of the naval blockade of the harbor, there were numerous engagements, the most intense being the Gunboat Battle of August 3, 1804. During the battle, Lieutenant

Stephen Decatur Stephen Decatur Jr. (; January 5, 1779 – March 22, 1820) was an American naval officer and commodore. He was born on the eastern shore of Maryland in Worcester County. His father, Stephen Decatur Sr., was a commodore in the Unite ...

boarded a Tripolitan gunboat that he believed was crewed by the men who had mortally wounded his brother after supposedly surrendering. While Lieutenant Decatur was locked in hand-to-hand combat with the Tripolitan commander, another Tripolitan sailor swung his saber at him. According to early accepted accounts, Reuben James interposed himself between the descending sword and his commander, taking the blow on his head. The blow did not kill him, and he recovered later to continue serving in the Navy. This account, though, is now considered to be in error. No one by the name of James is recorded as having received medical treatment after the battle. Another of Decatur's crewmen,

Daniel Frazier USS ''Frazier'' (DD-607) was a ''Benson''-class destroyer in the United States Navy during World War II. Namesake Daniel Frazier was born ca. 1785 in Dorchester County, Maryland. He joined the Navy as a seaman in 1802. Serving in the Mediterran ...

, did receive medical treatment for a serious saber slash to the head. This supports some initial accounts that it was Frazier, not James, who saved Decatur's life. James continued his Naval career, serving many years with Decatur. He was forced to retire in January 1836 because of ill health. He died in 1838 at the U.S. Naval Hospital in

Washington, DC ) , image_skyline = , image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan ...

Influence

Three warships of the Navy have been named ''Reuben James'' in his honor: * 919-1941 a four-stack , sunk by a German submarine 31 October 1941, after Germany had invaded Poland but before the US had entered World War II. Commemorated in the song " The Sinking of the Reuben James." * , 942-1971 a * , 983-2017 an James Island of Washington state was named for James.

References

Other sources

Wheelan, Joseph. ''Jefferson's War: American's First War on Terror 1801--1805'', New York: Carroll & Graf Publishers, 2003.

External links

United States Naval Institute: Lest We Forget
* {{DEFAULTSORT:James, Reuben 1776 births 1838 deaths American military personnel of the First Barbary War United States Navy sailors American military personnel of the Second Barbary War