Stephen Decatur

Stephen Decatur Book Description

"Decatur earned enduring international fame during the Barbary Wars for his 1804 foray into the harbor at Tripoli to burn the U.S. frigate Philadelphia, which had been captured by the Tripolitans when it ran aground near the harbor. An admiring Horatio Nelson described Decatur's feat as "the most bold and daring act of the age." Explaining the tremendous impact Decatur's action had on the early U.S. Navy, the author notes that it set a standard of audacity and courage for generations of naval officers."