Stephen Decatur Sr. (June 1751 – November 11, 1808) was an American privateer in the Revolutionary War and later in the

Quasi-War The Quasi-War (french: Quasi-guerre) was an undeclared naval war fought from 1798 to 1800 between the United States and the French First Republic, primarily in the Caribbean and off the East Coast of the United States. The ability of Congres ...

was commissioned as a captain in the United States Navy. He was the father of

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

Life

Born in

Newport, Rhode Island Newport is an American seaside city on Aquidneck Island in Newport County, Rhode Island. It is located in Narragansett Bay, approximately southeast of Providence, Rhode Island, Providence, south of Fall River, Massachusetts, south of Boston, ...

, Decatur was a merchant captain before the Revolution. He married Ann Pine; in addition to their son, they had two other children, Lieutenant James Decatur, who was killed in action in 1804 during the

Barbary Wars The Barbary Wars were a series of two wars fought by the United States, Sweden, and the Kingdom of Sicily against the Barbary states (including Tunis, Algiers, and Tripoli) of North Africa in the early 19th century. Sweden had been at war with ...

, and Ann Decatur McKnight. During the

American Revolution The American Revolution was an ideological and political revolution that occurred in British America between 1765 and 1791. The Americans in the Thirteen Colonies formed independent states that defeated the British in the American Revolut ...

he commanded the ''Royal Louis'' and the ''Fair American''. With the outbreak of the

Quasi War The Quasi-War (french: Quasi-guerre) was an undeclared naval war fought from 1798 to 1800 between the United States and the French First Republic, primarily in the Caribbean and off the East Coast of the United States. The ability of Congress ...

with France, Decatur was commissioned as a captain in the United States Navy on May 11, 1798. On May 5, 1798, Decatur was placed in command of the converted merchant ship and sailed in the first American Navy squadron to cross the Atlantic along with his son Stephen Decatur Jr. ''Delaware'' captured a French privateer, ''La Croyable'', off Great Egg Harbor, N.J., on 7 July 1798. The U.S. Navy purchased ''La Croyable'' on 30 July 1798, and renamed her . From 14 July to 23 September, ''Delaware'' cruised in the West Indies, often in company with the frigate , and together the ships took two privateers prize. During her second cruise in the West Indies, between 15 December 1798 and 20 May 1799, she took another prize. On October 12, 1799, he was inducted as a Mason in St. John's Lodge #1 in

. In 1800, Decatur commissioned ''Philadelphia'', the very vessel that his son later burned several months after it ran aground and was captured near Tripoli harbor in 1803. In accordance with the

Peace Establishment Act Peace is a concept of societal friendship and harmony in the absence of hostility and violence. In a social sense, peace is commonly used to mean a lack of conflict (such as war) and freedom from fear of violence between individuals or groups. ...

of 1801, which greatly reduced the United States Army and Navy, Decatur was discharged from the Navy on October 22, 1801. He died in 1808, at his country home "Millsdale" in Frankford,

Pennsylvania Pennsylvania (; ( Pennsylvania Dutch: )), officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a state spanning the Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes regions of the United States. It borders Delaware to its southeast, ...

. He is interred next to his famous son at St. Peter's Church in Philadelphia.

References

External links

Drawing of Decatur
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Bibliography

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Decatur, Stephen Sr. 1752 births 1808 deaths Continental Navy officers United States Navy officers American military personnel of the Quasi-War People from Newport, Rhode Island People of colonial Rhode Island Burials at St. Peter's churchyard, Philadelphia