1798 - 1804 Stephen Decatur Warrant & Commissions
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GUEST:
I was given these by my wife's family in the early 2000s. She is a descendant of Stephen Decatur, and so they've been passed down through her family, and I was given them as I was, uh, a naval officer at the time. Having served on U.S. Navy ships, Stephen Decatur is a name that looms large in the U.S. history, U.S. naval history. And so, uh, having this connection to him is, is very special to me.
APPRAISER:
What we have here are his midshipman's warrant that he obtained in 1798, his lieutenant's commission from 1799, and then his commission as captain, which is 1804. He's born in Maryland in 1779, but the family emigrated to Philadelphia to avoid the British, who were making things difficult along the coast there in the Revolutionary War. It's unusual in this time period to find this material, because there simply were not that many commissioned naval officers. But he had a sponsor-- John Barry, Revolutionary War hero-- and he was able to obtain this warrant in 1798. This one is signed by President Adams. He's promoted to lieutenant a year later, and then this one is also signed by President Adams. So as a lieutenant, that's when things got very interesting for Stephen Decatur. Stephen Decatur's men were very loyal to him. He had presence, he had charisma. If you had to drill down to just one important event in his career, what would you say that is?
GUEST:
Maybe his action off Tripoli.
APPRAISER:
(chuckles) That would be my choice.
GUEST:
Yeah.
APPRAISER:
The Tripolitan pirates were part of the Barbary States in North Africa. They were essentially running a protection racket. The U.S.S. Philadelphia was run aground in an, in an attempt to chase a Tripolitan vessel in late 1803. By February 1804, they had this plot in the works to go and retrieve that vessel or take it out of the hands of the, the enemy at the time. The plans to punish the Tripolitan pirates are, are out the window. But luckily, about this time, Decatur captures a ketch-rigged Tripolitan vessel. They launch this raid disguised as locals, the ones that were visible on deck, and subdue the pirates that are on board. Killed, I think, about 20 of them. Drove a bunch of them away. Decatur's the last one off. He leaps into the rigging of, uh, the escape vessel, and they start leaving. Meanwhile, everybody in the harbor is shooting at them. It's the stuff out of movies. President Jefferson promoted him to captain. Backdated it to the date of the action. He was 25 years old. Youngest man ever, I believe, to earn the rank of captain in the United States Navy. How old is a typical Navy captain, in your service?
GUEST:
Much older. Uh, at the, at the end of their career.
APPRAISER:
At the end of their career, exactly.
GUEST:
Yes.
APPRAISER:
As modern historians, we try to look at history in its totality, and history is very rarely all pleasant. For example, we have President Jefferson, who is very much admired for many good reasons, but we also have to acknowledge the man was a slaveholder. With Decatur, there really isn't any "not so good." This was not only a remarkable naval officer, but a remarkable human being. In 1820, Stephen Decatur's involved in a duel against James Barron, who had been his mentor. They're both wounded in the duel. Unfortunately, Stephen Decatur's wounded mortally, passed away at his home, Decatur House, there in Washington. I would be very comfortable placing an insurance value on these in the range of $150,000 to $200,000.
GUEST:
Wow. Okay. Good to know, but, uh, they have, they, they, such importance, you know, as, as family, uh, pieces.
APPRAISER:
There are quite a few communities in the United States named Decatur. This is the man they are named after.
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