Commodore Stephen Decatur, Jr.
(1779-1820)
United States Navy

Accession number:
1902.01

Maker:
Richard Norris Brooke
(1847-1920)

Historical period:
ca. 1902

Miltary branch:

Wars and Conflicts:
, ,

Type:

Dimensions:
H x W: 32 in. / 26 in.

Acquisition date:
1902

Credit line:
Gift of Navy Members of the Army and Navy Club

Location:
, ,

Provenance:

From 1902: The Army and Navy Club, gift of its Navy Members

Label:

At the age of 25, Decatur became the youngest officer in U.S. Navy history to hold the rank of captain. Over the course of a remarkable career, he served three Presidents and distinguished himself in the Quasi-War with France, the Barbary Wars in North Africa, and the War of 1812. His daring exploits made him one of the first American naval heroes, celebrated nationally during his lifetime.

Decatur’s brilliant career ended abruptly in 1820, when he was killed in a duel with a fellow officer just outside Washington, D.C. His funeral drew President James Monroe, Supreme Court justices, most members of Congress, and more than 10,000 mourners. Dueling was already illegal, but the shock of Decatur’s death helped accelerate its decline in American public life.

Five U.S. Navy ships have been named in his honor. In 1818 he built Decatur House, which still stands today, one block from our Club, on Lafayette Square.