title: Regulator Movement

text: About away, a force of approximately 2,000 Regulators (by some accounts, 6,000), without any clear leadership or supplies, was gathered mainly as a display of force and not a standing army. The general Regulator strategy was to scare the governor with a show of superior numbers in order to force the governor to give in to their demands. The first clash of the battle was on May 15, 1771, when a rogue band of Regulators captured two of the governor's militia soldiers. Governor Tryon had informed the Regulators that they were displaying open arms and rebellion and that action was to be taken if they did not disperse. The Regulators did not understand the severity of the crisis they were in and ignored the warning. Despite hesitation from his own forces, Governor Tryon allegedly initiated the main battle of Alamance the next day, on May 16, 1771, by shooting Robert Thompson, who was the first death of the battle. The Regulators' resistance soon crumbled. The battle was over with nine deaths for the governor's forces and about the same for the Regulators. Virtually everyone captured in the battle was fully pardoned in exchange for an allegiance to the crown. Six Regulators were, however, hanged for their part in the uprising, including some officers of the colonial militia who had joined ranks with the Regulator's side. Those officers were Captain Robert Messer, Captain Benjamin Merrill, and Captain Robert Matear.


title: Regulator Movement

text: Following the battle, Tryon's militia army traveled through Regulator territory, where he had Regulators and Regulator sympathizers sign loyalty oaths and destroyed the properties of the most active Regulators. He also raised taxes to pay for his militia's defeat of the Regulators.


title: Regulator Movement

text: At the time of their defeat at Alamance, public opinion was decidedly against the Regulators. They were seen as "lawless desperadoes," and Governor Tryon was praised for his actions in stamping out the rebellion. As news articles spread the word of his victory, Tryon was branded a hero of the colonies for defeating the larger group of Regulators with his small, well prepared militia. However as the initial excitement over the battle died down, many newsmen, especially in the Boston area, began to question the reasons behind the rebellion and investigated further. Several reasons were found to regard the destruction of the Regulators as an act of an oppressive government. Most particularly admonished were the methods Tryon had used to win the battle. The use of a riot act and the execution of rebellion leaders after the battle was frowned upon. Reports also indicated that battlefield misconduct had taken place on the governor's side, including giving the farmers a two-hour warning period before the battle began, and subsequently breaking that agreement to bombard them with artillery fire.


title: Regulator Movement

text: Many of the main leaders remained in hiding until 1772, when they were no longer considered outlaws. Many Regulators moved further west into places such as Tennessee, notably establishing both the Watauga Association in 1772 and the State of Franklin in 1784.


title: Regulator Movement

text: At the same time as the regulation in North Carolina, the South Carolina colony had a group of men calling themselves regulators, albeit with very different goals. The regulators of the south were also farming class, landowning men who had grievances against officialdom. However their main problems stemmed not from corruption, but a lack of representation and of government-provided services such as courts and churches. These regulators found an enemy in local groups of "hunters" (who were seen as undesirables) and bandits. The South Carolina regulation helped catalyze the Revolutionary War, as the residents found the distant authority of the Parliament of Great Britain to be so late in responding to their demands.


title: Regulator Movement

text: The Regulators of South Carolina were formed during the mid-1760s and were active mainly between 1767 and 1769. During the previous decades, the population of the frontier had boomed, thanks to the planning of Governor Robert Johnson. He supported sending yeomen out to the frontier en masse to provide a buffer for the coastal cities from Cherokee attacks. The slave population grew 19% as planters began to develop larger properties for agriculture. (However, the slave population of the frontier accounted only for 8% of the total population of the colony.)


title: Regulator Movement

text: During this time, the inland settlers on the South Carolina frontier suffered more from violent crimes, including organized bandit raids. The disruption of the Cherokee war of 1760-1761 left many settlers without homes, and native raids sometimes resulted in abandonment of settler children. To sustain their families, the men went out hunting. In the colonial period on the western frontier, this was not seen as an honorable profession, and hunters were labeled as vagrants, bandits, and outlaws, and blamed for stealing livestock. Their method of "fire hunting" at night used fire to blind deer, and sometimes they mistook farmers' livestock for wild game. They left unused animal corpses, which drew wolves and scavengers closer to populated areas. Hunting also pushed well into the boundary of the local natives, the Creek Indians, exacerbating their already tense relationship with colonists. The bandits gathered until they numbered about 200. Eventually they were bold enough to attack magistrates. They dragged James Mayson, a regulator, from his home in the night. Originally made up of the hunting groups, the bandits also accepted free mulattos and blacks, fugitive slaves, and any outlaw available. Some members of the bandit network were well-established farmers.


title: Regulator Movement

text: In South Carolina, "regulators" were not rebels, but a vigilante force of propertied elite men. They co-operated with their colonial government for their entire active time. The South Carolina regulators were a much smaller organization than the mass movement in North Carolina. There were 100 known regulators, of whom 32 became justices of the peace, and 21 were militia leaders. Thirty-one owned slaves, and 14 owned 10 or more. Their primary aim was to protect themselves and their assets from bandits; their secondary purpose was to get courts, churches and schools established in their quickly growing communities. The only court in the colony was in Charleston, through which all legal documentation had to go. The inland settlers had the sympathy of the coastal elite, but the circuit court act, which would establish the jails, courts, sheriffs and 14 judicial districts, was held up by a dispute with the Parliament of Great Britain concerning the tenure of judges.


title: Regulator Movement

text: The South Carolina regulation movement was a great success. Their manifesto, written by Anglican missionary Rev. Charles Woodmason argued their case. Eventually the colonial legislature passed a series of acts that met the needs of the propertied frontiersman. These included vagrancy acts, which restricted the hunters, forbidding them to trespass on Native lands.


title: Regulator Movement

text: Coupled with the 1769 ordinance for the preservation of deer, which forbade fire hunting, the new law resulted in many hunters being whipped and banished from the area. In 1768, the Charleston grand jury began urging the creation of new schools in the back country, as per regulator request. In 1769 the circuit court act was passed, making way for the new courthouses and jails, as well as setting up four new judicial districts. The cooperation between frontier and coastal colonists was so effective that by 1771, Governor Charles Montague had issued a full pardon for any actions taken by the regulators in his state.


title: Regulator Movement

text: Troxler, Carole Watterson. "Farming Dissenters: The Regulator Movement in Piedmont North Carolina." North Carolina Department of Cultural Resources, 2011.


title: Broken Arrow, Oklahoma

text: Broken Arrow is a city located in the northeastern part of the U.S. state of Oklahoma, primarily in Tulsa County, with a portion in western Wagoner County. It is the largest suburb of Tulsa. According to the 2010 census, Broken Arrow has a population of 98,850 residents and is the fourth-largest city in the state. However, a July 2019 estimate reported that the population of the city is just under 112,000, making it the 280th-largest city in the United States. The city is part of the Tulsa Metropolitan Area, which has a population of 1,023,988 residents.


title: Broken Arrow, Oklahoma

text: The Missouri–Kansas–Texas Railroad sold lots for the town site in 1902 and company secretary William S. Fears named it Broken Arrow. The city was named for a Creek community settled by Creek Indians who had been forced to relocate from Alabama to Oklahoma along the Trail of Tears.


title: Broken Arrow, Oklahoma

text: Although Broken Arrow was originally an agricultural community, its current economy is diverse. The city has the third-largest concentration of manufacturers in the state.


title: Broken Arrow, Oklahoma

text: The city's name comes from an old Creek community in Alabama. Members of that community were expelled from Alabama by the United States government, along the Trail of Tears in the 1830s. The Creek founded a new community in the Indian Territory and named it after their old settlement in Alabama. The town's Creek name was Rekackv (pronounced thlee-Kawtch-kuh), meaning broken arrow. The new Creek settlement was located several miles south of present-day downtown Broken Arrow.


title: Broken Arrow, Oklahoma

text: The community of Elam, located in present-day Broken Arrow near 145th East Avenue and 111th Street, began around 1901. It consisted of a cluster of stores, a cotton gin, and a few homes.


title: Broken Arrow, Oklahoma

text: In 1902 the Missouri–Kansas–Texas Railroad planned a railroad through the area and was granted town site privileges along the route. They sold three of the as-yet-unnamed sites to the Arkansas Valley Town Site Company. William S. Fears, secretary of that company, was allowed to choose and name one of the locations. He selected a site about southeast of Tulsa and about five miles north of the thlee-Kawtch-kuh settlement and named the new townsite Broken Arrow, after the Indian community. The MKT railroad, which was completed in 1903, ran through the middle of the city. It still exists today and is now owned by Union Pacific which currently uses it for freight.


title: Broken Arrow, Oklahoma

text: For the first decades of Broken Arrow's history, the town's economy was based mainly on agriculture. The coal industry also played an important role, with several strip coal mines located near the city in the early 20th century. The city's newspaper, the "Broken Arrow Ledger", started within a couple of years of the city's founding. Broken Arrow's first school was built in 1904. The city did not grow much during the first half of the 1900s. During this time Broken Arrow's main commercial center was along Main Street. Most of the city's churches were also located on or near Main Street as well. A 1907 government census listed Broken Arrow's population at 1,383.


title: Broken Arrow, Oklahoma

text: The Haskell State School of Agriculture opened in the Broken Arrow, Oklahoma Opera House on November 15, 1909. The school closed in 1917 for lack of funding, and the building was then used as Broken Arrow High School. The building was razed in 1987. Only a marker, shown here, remains at 808 East College Street in Broken Arrow. The front of cornerstone reads, "Haskell State School / Of Agriculture / J. H. Esslinger Supt. / W. A. Etherton Archt. / Bucy & Walker Contr." The side of cornerstone reads "Laid by the Masonic Fraternity / May 25, A. D. 1910, A. L. 5810. / George Huddell G. M. / Erected by The State Board of Agriculture / J. P. Conners Pres. / B. C. Pittuck Dean.". The school is commemorated on the National Register of Historic Places.


title: Broken Arrow, Oklahoma

text: In the 1960s, Broken Arrow began to grow from a small town into a suburban city. The Broken Arrow Expressway (Oklahoma State Highway 51) was constructed in the mid-1960s and connected the city with downtown Tulsa, fueling growth in Broken Arrow. The population swelled from a little above 11,000 in 1970 to more than 50,000 in 1990, and then more than 74,000 by the year 2000. During this time, the city was more of a bedroom community. In recent years, city leaders have pushed for more economic development to help keep more citizens of Broken Arrow working, shopping, and relaxing in town rather than going to other cities.


title: Broken Arrow, Oklahoma

text: Broken Arrow is located in the northeastern corner of Oklahoma. The city is part of the state's Green Country region known for its green vegetation, hills and lakes. Green Country is the most topographically diverse portion of the state with seven of Oklahoma's 11 eco-regions.


title: Broken Arrow, Oklahoma

text: According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of , of which is land and (1.34%) is water.


title: Broken Arrow, Oklahoma

text: Broken Arrow has the typical eastern and central Oklahoma humid subtropical climate (Köppen "Cfa") with uncomfortably hot summers and highly variable winters that can range from mild to very cold depending on whether the air mass comes from warmed air over the Rocky Mountains or very cold polar anticyclones from Canada.


title: Broken Arrow, Oklahoma

text: According to the 2010 census, there were 98,850 people, 36,141 households, and 27,614 families residing in the city. The population density was 2,200 people per square mile (850/km). There were 38,013 housing units at an average density of 602.0 per square mile (232.4/km). The racial makeup of the city was 79.3% White, 4.3% African American, 5.2% Native American, 3.6% Asian (1.0% Vietnamese, 0.7% Indian, 0.4% Chinese, 0.3% Korean, 0.3% Hmong, 0.2% Pakistani, 0.2% Filipino, 0.1% Japanese), 0.05% Pacific Islander, 2.2% from other races, and 5.4% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino were 6.5% (4.4% Mexican, 0.4% Puerto Rican, 0.3% Spanish, 0.1% Venezuelan, 0.1% Colombian).


title: Broken Arrow, Oklahoma

text: There were 36,141 households, out of which 36.8% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 76.4% were married couples living together, 10.3% had a female householder with no husband present, and 23.6% were non-families. Of all households, 19.2% were made up of individuals, and 6.3% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.72 and the average family size was 3.11.


title: Broken Arrow, Oklahoma

text: In the city, the population dispersal was 30.8% under the age of 18, 7.7% from 18 to 24, 32.3% from 25 to 44, 21.6% from 45 to 64, and 7.5% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 33 years. For every 100 females, there were 95.1 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 91.2 males.


title: Broken Arrow, Oklahoma

text: The median income for a household in the city was $65,385 and the median income for a family was $74,355. The per capita income for the city was $29,141. About 7.2% of the population were below the poverty line. Of the city's population over the age of 25, 30.3% hold a bachelor's degree or higher.


title: Broken Arrow, Oklahoma

text: Broken Arrow is home to a wide range of businesses and industries. In fact, the city is ranked third in its concentration of manufacturers in the state.


title: Broken Arrow, Oklahoma

text: Located in Broken Arrow since 1985, FlightSafety International (FSI) designs and builds aviation crew training devices called Flight Simulators at its Simulation Systems Division. With currently over 675 employees located there, of which about half are engineers, FSI is the largest private employer in the city.


title: Broken Arrow, Oklahoma

text: A number of new commercial developments are being built throughout the city, most notably along Oklahoma State Highway 51, which runs through the city. A Bass Pro Shops Outdoor World opened in 2005 as the anchor to a development that includes hotels, restaurants, shopping, and eventually offices. A new full-service hospital and medical office building were constructed nearby in 2010 as an anchor to another large commercial development that will include retail space and two hotels. Oklahoma's first Dick's Sporting Goods opened in late 2011.


title: Broken Arrow, Oklahoma

text: In 2007 the city created the Broken Arrow Economic Development Corporation to help oversee economic development.


title: Broken Arrow, Oklahoma

text: In late 2007, the Broken Arrow Chamber of Commerce began "Advance Broken Arrow", an economic development campaign aimed at expanding and diversifying the city's economic base.


title: Broken Arrow, Oklahoma

text: In 2005, the city adopted a downtown revitalization master plan to help revive the city's historic downtown area. Some of the plans include a new 3-story museum to house the historical society and genealogical society, a farmer's market and plaza, a new performing arts center, updates and expansions to area parks, the conversion of the historic Central Middle School on Main Street into a professional development center, infrastructure, and landscape improvements, and incentives to encourage denser infill, redevelopment, and reuse of the area's historic structures. Numerous buildings and homes have since been renovated, many new shops and offices have moved to downtown, and new townhomes are being built. The new historical museum, farmers market, and performing arts center opened in 2008.


title: Broken Arrow, Oklahoma

text: The city also sets strict new design standards in place that all new developments in the downtown area must adhere to. These standards were created to prevent "suburban" development in favor of denser, "urban" development, and to ensure that new structures complement and fit in with the historic buildings downtown. In October 2012 Downtown Broken Arrow's main street corridor was named the Rose District.


title: Broken Arrow, Oklahoma

text: Broken Arrow uses the council–manager model of municipal government. The city's primary authority resides in the city council which approves ordinances, resolutions, and contracts. The city council consists of five members with one member elected from each of the four city wards, and the fifth member as an at-large member. Each council member serves for a two-year term and is eligible to serve for four years. Out of the council members, a mayor and vice-mayor are chosen every two years. The day-to-day operations of the city are run by the city manager, who reports directly to the city council.


title: Broken Arrow, Oklahoma

text: At the federal level, Broken Arrow lies within Oklahoma's 1st congressional district, represented by Kevin Hern. In the State Senate, Broken Arrow is in District 25 (Joe Newhouse) and 36 (Bill Brown). In the State House, District 75 (Karen Gaddis), 76 (Ross Ford), 98 (Michael Rogers) covers the city.


title: Broken Arrow, Oklahoma

text: Broken Arrow is served by Broken Arrow Public schools, Union Public Schools, Bixby public schools and Coweta public schools. Most of BA is served by BAPS while the northwestern part of town is Union Public Schools, far southwest part of town is Bixby Public Schools and the far southeastern part of town is Coweta Public Schools. The Coweta portion also includes large unincorporated tracts of land that may eventually be annexed into the city of Broken Arrow. Bixby, Union and Broken Arrow schools all operate at least one school in the city while the Coweta School District does not currently have any schools within the city limits.


title: Broken Arrow, Oklahoma

text: Higher education in Broken Arrow is provided by Northeastern State University (Broken Arrow campus). The campus opened in 2001 and has an upperclassmen and graduate student population of 3,000.


title: Broken Arrow, Oklahoma

text: Broken Arrow is also served by Tulsa Technology Center Broken Arrow Campus. Established in 1983, it has an enrollment of about 3,500 full- and part-time secondary and adult students.


title: Broken Arrow, Oklahoma

text: Broken Arrow is also home to Rhema Bible Training Center, established in 1974 by Kenneth E. Hagin; located on , it has graduated over 40,000 alumni and has seven ministry concentrations. RBTC is currently led by Hagin's son, Kenneth W. Hagin.


title: Broken Arrow, Oklahoma

text: The city's two libraries, Broken Arrow Library and South Broken Arrow Library, are part of the Tulsa City-County Library System.


title: Broken Arrow, Oklahoma

text: Major highways in Broken Arrow include State Highway 51 (Broken Arrow Expressway). It passes through the north side of the city and leads to downtown Tulsa to the northwest. Heading east on the Broken Arrow Expressway leads to the Muskogee Turnpike, which connects the city to Muskogee. Partial beltway Creek Turnpike circles around the south of the city and connects the Turner Turnpike to the west terminus of the Will Rogers Turnpike.


title: Broken Arrow, Oklahoma

text: Public transportation for Broken Arrow is provided by Tulsa Transit. It has one route that connects the city to Tulsa. Bus services run Monday through Friday.


title: Broken Arrow, Oklahoma

text: Broken Arrow had one newspaper, the "Broken Arrow Ledger". The paper was published every Wednesday. It is owned by BH Media Group. The "Tulsa World", northeast Oklahoma's major daily newspaper, also features Broken Arrow news regularly. The staff at the "Ledger" featured journalists and photographers Lesa Jones, Doug Quinn, and G. B. Poindexter. The Ledger was closed by the Tulsa World’s owners in 2017.


title: Broken Arrow, Oklahoma

text: Cox Cable channel 24 is the Broken Arrow government-access television (GATV) cable TV municipal information channel. It displays, among other things, information about the city government, upcoming events, and general information about the city. The channel also features local weather reports.


title: Broken Arrow, Oklahoma

text: Broken Arrow has a website that provides information on the city, its government, local amenities, safety, local news, and economic development. The city's chamber of commerce also has a website, which contains information about the chamber and economic development in the city.


title: World Rugby

text: World Rugby is the world governing body for the sport of rugby union. World Rugby organises the Rugby World Cup every four years, the sport's most recognised and most profitable competition. It also organises a number of other international rugby competitions, such as the World Rugby Sevens Series, the Rugby World Cup Sevens, the World Under 20 Championship, and the Pacific Nations Cup.


title: World Rugby

text: World Rugby's headquarters are in Dublin, Ireland. Its membership now comprises 120 national unions. Each member country must also be a member of one of the six regional unions into which the world is divided: Africa, Americas North, Asia, Europe, South America, and Oceania.


title: World Rugby

text: World Rugby was founded as the International Rugby Football Board (IRFB) in 1886 by , and , with joining in 1890. , and became full members in 1949. became a member in 1978 and a further 80 members joined from 1987 to 1999. The body was renamed the International Rugby Board (IRB) in 1998, and took up its current name of World Rugby in November 2014. In 2009, the International Olympic Committee (IOC) voted to include rugby sevens in the 2016 Summer Olympics. World Rugby gained membership of the Association of Summer Olympic International Federations (ASOIF) in 2010.


title: World Rugby

text: After the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine, World Rugby suspended Russia from international and European continental rugby union competition. In addition, the Rugby Union of Russia was suspended from World Rugby.


title: World Rugby

text: Until 1885 the laws of rugby football were made by England as the founder nation. However, following a disputed try in an international between Scotland and England in 1884, letters were exchanged in which England claimed that they made the laws, and the try should stand. Scotland refused to play England in the 1885 Home Nations Championship. Following the dispute, the home unions of Scotland, Ireland and Wales decided to form an international union whose membership would agree on the standard rules of rugby football. The three nations met in Dublin in 1886, though no formal regulations were agreed upon. On 5 December 1887, committee members of the Irish Rugby Football Union, Scottish Rugby Union (named the Scottish Football Union at the time) and Welsh Rugby Union met in Manchester and wrote up the first four principles of the International Rugby Football Board. England refused to take part in the founding of the IRFB, stating that they should have greater representation, as they had more clubs. The England Union also refused to accept the IRFB as the recognised lawmaker of the game. This led to the IRFB taking the stance of member countries not playing England until they joined, and no games were played against England in 1888 and 1889. In 1890 England joined the IRFB, gaining six seats while the other unions had two each. The same year, the IRFB wrote the first international laws of rugby union.


title: World Rugby

text: In 1893, the IRFB was faced with the divide between amateurism and professionalism, which was nicknamed the "Great Schism". Following the introduction of working-class men to the game in Northern England, clubs began paying "broken time" payments to players, due to the loss of earnings from playing on a Saturday. Cumberland County Union also complained of another club using monetary incentives to lure players, leading to the IRFB conducting an enquiry. The IRFB was warned by all the chief clubs in Lancashire and Yorkshire that any punishment would lead to the clubs seceding from the union. The debate over broken time payments ultimately caused the 22 leading clubs in Yorkshire and Lancashire to form the Northern Rugby Football Union. The competing unions' laws of the game diverged almost immediately; the northern body's code eventually became known as rugby league football.


title: World Rugby

text: England's seats on the IRFB were reduced from six to four in 1911. The Australian Rugby Union, New Zealand Rugby Football Union and South African Rugby Board joined the board with one seat each in 1948, with England's seats being reduced to two, the same as the other home nations. The three Southern Hemisphere unions were given a second seat each in 1958. The French Rugby Federation was admitted in 1978, the USA Rugby Football Union in 1987, and the Argentine Rugby Union, Canadian Rugby Union, Italian Rugby Federation and Japan Rugby Football Union were admitted in 1991. In 2016, the Georgia Rugby Union, Romanian Rugby Federation, and the USA were added to the voting Council with one vote each. Additionally, current Council members Argentina, Canada and Italy were granted a second representative and vote. The six regional associations represented on the council also received an additional vote.


title: World Rugby

text: In the 1960s Australians Harold Tolhurst and Jock Kellaher suggested a World Rugby Championship be held in Australia but the IRFB refused. In 1983 and 1984 respectively, the Australian and New Zealand Rugby Football Unions each proposed hosting such a tournament. The following year the board committed to conduct a feasibility study. A year later another meeting took place in Paris, and the Union subsequently voted on the idea. The South African Rugby Board's vote that proved crucial in setting up a tied vote, as they voted in favour, even though they knew they would be excluded due to the sporting boycott because of their apartheid policies. English and Welsh votes then changed, and the vote was won 10 to 6.


title: World Rugby

text: Six regional associations, which represent each continent, are affiliated with World Rugby and help to develop the fifteen-a-side game as well as Rugby sevens across the world. Not all members of the regional associations are members of World Rugby. Below is a list of member and associate unions and their regional associations with the year that they joined World Rugby. Associate unions are in "italics".


title: World Rugby

text: The World Rugby Council meets twice a year and manages and controls the affairs of World Rugby. The Council formulates and oversees the implementation of World Rugby's strategic plan and application of policy decisions, and selects the host nation(s) for the Rugby World Cup. The Council considers recommendations of the General Assembly. The Council may admit or expel member nations. The council is also the supreme legislative authority of World Rugby. Most Council decisions require approval of simple majority, but to amend the World Rugby's by-laws, regulations, or the Laws of the Game requires approval of three quarters of the council.


title: World Rugby

text: Prior to 2016, the council had 28 voting members from 12 national unions. In November 2015, World Rugby announced that they would add more unions to the voting council and give the six regional associations two votes each on the council.


title: World Rugby

text: , the council had 52 members including the non-voting chairman, so there were 51 voting members from 18 national unions and 6 regional associations, allocated as follows:


title: World Rugby

text: In total, Europe has 22 votes; Oceania 10 votes; South America 6 votes; Africa 5 votes; North America 4 votes and Asia 4 votes.


title: World Rugby

text: A Chairman and Vice Chairman are elected from among the council members. These positions are held by Bill Beaumont of England and Bernard Laporte of France, respectively, elected . Beaumont announced his retirement on 17th July 2022 following abismal consistency from the international referees over the previous few years.


title: World Rugby

text: The executive committee, in accordance with bye-laws 9.14–9.16, ensures the effective management and operation of the World Rugby. The Committee formulates and monitors the implementation of the World Rugby's strategic plan, business plan, operational plan and budget.


title: World Rugby

text: In 2016, as part of the reforms to the World Rugby Council, the executive committee was increased to 12 members. The Chairman, Vice-chairman, nine elected officials, including two independent members, and the Chief Executive sit on the World Rugby Executive Committee.


title: World Rugby

text: A General Assembly of the full membership is convened every two years. The General Assembly may make recommendations to the council, and may consider business that the council has referred to it, but the General Assembly has no legislative powers.


title: World Rugby

text: The Chairman and vice-chairman of the World Rugby are elected by the council. The current chairman is Bill Beaumont, previously president of the Rugby Football Union (RFU). He was elected chairman effective on 1 July 2016 following the Executive Council vote on 11 May 2016.


title: World Rugby

text: Previous chairmen include Bernard Lapasset (2008 to 2016), Syd Millar (2002 to 2007) and Vernon Pugh, QC (1994 to 2002).


title: World Rugby

text: In July 2012, Brett Gosper was appointed as the new Chief Executive of what was then the IRB. He will leave this role at the end of 2020 to become head of the National Football League's operations in Europe and the UK.


title: World Rugby

text: In 2013 World Rugby released £18.6 million of funding over three years for developing rugby in Canada, the United States, Japan, Romania, Fiji, Samoa, and Tonga. Argentina also received additional support to enable it to retain its tier one status. The money, built up from successful World Cups, was released following a report commissioned by World Rugby highlighting the growing disparity between tier one and tier two nations. This is in addition to the £10–12 million it normally gives out grants and tournament costs. The emphasis is on three areas infrastructure, high performance units and cross border competitions. In April 2006, tier-3 rugby nations Georgia, Portugal, Tunisia and Russia were identified as key investment nations over the next three years. The program was designed to increase the competitiveness of international rugby union.


title: World Rugby

text: World Rugby organises the Rugby World Cup, which has been held every four years since 1987, the sport's most recognised and most profitable competition. Despite the profitability of the Rugby World Cup, the majority of its revenues and viewers come from a small number of countries. For the 2007 Rugby World Cup final, 87% of viewers came from the Five Nations (England, France, Wales, Ireland, Scotland), 15% came from the Tri-Nations (South Africa, Australia, and New Zealand), with just 2% of viewers coming from all other countries.


title: World Rugby

text: The most recent Rugby World Cup was held in Japan in 2019. South Africa defeated England 32–12 in the final, winning their third title.


title: World Rugby

text: World Rugby also organises the women's Rugby World Cup, also held every four years. It was first held by the IRB in 1998, though tournaments in 1991 and 1994 were retrospectively recognised in 2009. The women's World Cup is contested by fewer teams than the men's Cup, with only the 1998 and 2002 editions featuring more than 12 teams (these competitions both had 16 teams, compared to the 20 teams in the men's Rugby World Cup).


title: World Rugby

text: The most recent women's Rugby World Cup was held in Ireland, with matches held both in the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland, in 2017. The four-year cycle was brought forward by a year to ease congestion in the sport's international calendar. The tournament was won by New Zealand, who defeated England 41–32 in the final.


title: World Rugby

text: On 21 August 2019, WR announced that all future men's and women's World Cups would officially be known as "Rugby World Cup", with no sex or gender designations. The first tournament to be affected by this policy will be the 2021 women's World Cup in New Zealand.


title: World Rugby

text: World Rugby organizes three international sevens tournaments - two annual Sevens Series (one for men and one for women), and a quadrennial Rugby World Cup Sevens.


title: World Rugby

text: The men's season-long annual Sevens Series takes place over 10 legs, each held in a different country. The women's Sevens Series is held over five- or six-legs. Both tournaments follow the same principle—points are awarded based on a teams position in each round of the series, and the team with the most points at the end of the Series is crowned champions. Following the inclusion of rugby sevens into the Olympics, beginning with the 2014–15 series, the series prior to an Olympic event (i.e. the series which ends in the year before the Olympics takes place) forms the first phase of Olympic qualification. When Olympic Qualification is included, the top four teams from both the men's and women's series will qualify for the Olympic Games, and remaining teams will compete in regional competitions for one of the remaining places.


title: World Rugby

text: The quadrennial Rugby World Cup Sevens includes both the men's and women's world cup tournaments. It was originally due to be discontinued after the inclusion of rugby sevens into the Olympic Programme. However, it was later decided to retain the tournament, as it involved a significantly larger number of teams than the Olympics would, and to move the tournament so as to create a more even sevens calendar (with the "major" sevens events alternating every two years). As a result, the most recent tournament was the 2018 Rugby World Cup Sevens in San Francisco, USA. The men's and women's competitions at this event were both won by New Zealand.


title: World Rugby

text: World Rugby organizes two competitions for under-20 national teams, the World Rugby Under 20 Championship and the World Rugby Under 20 Trophy. These competitions were created following the merger of under-19 and under-21 representative teams, into an under-20 age group


title: World Rugby

text: The sport of rugby union has been played at the Summer Olympics on four occasions, with the last being in 1924. The winners, and thus the reigning champions, were the U.S. team. Rugby union made one more appearance as a demonstration event but was then removed from the Games. World Rugby has most recently been very keen to see it return to the Games and is adamant that the sport (specifically referring to rugby sevens) satisfies every respect of the criteria set out in the Olympic Charter.


title: World Rugby

text: The main problem for reintroducing the 15-man game to the Olympics is the 7-day turnaround required by World Rugby regulations for players to rest between games. Since the Olympics only officially run for 16 days, with only slight expansions allowed to accommodate sports such as football, this effectively makes it impossible to conduct a 15s tournament within the current Olympic schedule. This limitation does not apply to sevens, as games last only 14 minutes (20 in championship finals) instead of the 80 minutes in the 15s game. All of the events in the current men's and women's Sevens Series, which feature a minimum of 16 national teams for men and 12 for women, are conducted within a single weekend.


title: World Rugby

text: But in furthering the World Rugby cause, the organisation became an International Olympic Committee Recognised International Federation in 1995, marked by a ceremonial signing by President Juan Antonio Samaranch prior to a match between Wales and South Africa in Cardiff.


title: World Rugby

text: World Rugby cites rugby union's global participation, with men playing the game in well over 100 countries and women playing in over 50 as well; the organisation's compliance with the World Anti-Doping Code; and that a rugby sevens tournament could be (and generally is) accommodated in one stadium and is relatively inexpensive to play. Not only is the sevens game successful in the context of the Sevens World Series and World Cup Sevens, it is also very successfully played in the Commonwealth Games; the sevens tournament at the 2006 Games in Melbourne set all-time attendance records for a sevens tournament.


title: World Rugby

text: As a result of this, World Rugby applied to the International Olympic Committee for a Sevens tournament to form part of the Olympics. Subsequently, Sevens was accepted into the Summer Olympic Games and was first played in 2016 in Rio de Janeiro which was won by Fiji in the men's competition (defeating Great Britain) and by Australia in the women's competition (defeating New Zealand). In the Tokyo Olympics 2020 edition, the Fiji 7s men's team and the New Zealand 7s women's team claimed the gold medals in their respective competitions.


title: World Rugby

text: The laws of rugby union are controlled by a standing Laws Committee, which is established by the World Rugby Council. The current chairman of the committee is Bill Beaumont. The Laws of the Game are formulated by World Rugby, and are then circulated by the national Unions. The official laws of the game are written in English, French, Russian and Spanish. There are variations for under-19 and Sevens rugby. There are 21 regulations in total, these regulations range from definitions, eligibility, advertising, disciplinary, anti-doping and a number of other areas. World Rugby also approves equipment, which are tested at an Approved Testing House.


title: World Rugby

text: In 2006, the IRB initiated proposals for variations to the laws, which were formulated and trialled initially at Stellenbosch University in South Africa. Further trials were set down for 2007 and 2008. The law variations aimed to push the balance between defensive and attacking play more in favour of attacking play, and to reduce stoppages for penalties and infringements.


title: World Rugby

text: World Rugby is compliant with the WADA code. The World Rugby anti doping programme includes testing at the under 19 and under 21 level, sevens and senior 15 a side. Testing is a mix of in-competition at World Rugby organised events, as well as out-of-competition testing, which can occur during a specified one-hour time slot designated by a player. In 2003, World Cup year, the World Rugby member unions undertook approximately 3,000 tests. "Keep Rugby Clean" is a campaign message run by the World Rugby Anti-Doping Manager Tim Ricketts. The programme is supported by stars such as Brian O'Driscoll.


title: World Rugby

text: World Rugby publishes and maintains the World Rugby Rankings of the men's national rugby union teams (and more recently also for women's teams). The concept was launched in October 2003, at the start of that year's world cup in Australia. The rankings are calculated using a Points Exchange system, whereby nations take points off each other based on a match result. Several years of research went into developing the rankings system, using an extensive database of international matches that date back to 1871.


title: World Rugby

text: The system's reliability is assessed in a number of objective ways, which includes predictions of current strength and responds to changes in form. The system takes into account home advantage, in that the home nation is treated as though it has an extra three rating points, effectively handicapping them, as they will gain fewer ranking points for a win, and lose more should they lose. In the case of a freak result, there is a maximum number of movements on the ranking that any nation can gain from one match.


title: World Rugby

text: If a nation does not play for a number of years they are considered dormant, and excluded from the rankings, upon returning, picking up from where they were excluded. If a nation is to merge or split, the highest rating of any of the rankings is inherited.


title: World Rugby

text: Currently all capped international matches are equally weighted, whether or not they take place within a competition or are played as tests; the sole exception to this is the World Cup final tournament.


title: World Rugby

text: The World Rugby Awards were introduced in 2001, to honour outstanding achievements in rugby union. Prior to 2009, all of the awards were announced at an annual ceremony; the most recent such ceremony was held in London on 23 November 2008.


title: World Rugby

text: However, as a response to the Great Recession, the annual ceremony only saw the International Player, Team, and Coach of the Year Awards presented in 2009 and 2010; all other awards were presented at different times throughout the year. The IRB reinstated a single year-end ceremony in 2011 after the 2011 Rugby World Cup. Since then, it has chosen to present some awards at times relevant to those specific prizes—such as Sevens awards after the London Sevens, the final event of the Sevens World Series, and the Junior Player award after the final of the Junior World Championship. The bulk of awards will be presented at the year-end Awards ceremony.


title: World Rugby

text: At the year-end ceremony, the International Rugby Players' Association also hands out the following awards:


title: World Rugby

text: The awards that recognise achievements in the preceding 12 months tend to be won by that season's most successful nation(s): France in 2002, England in 2003, South Africa in 2004, New Zealand in 2005, South Africa again in 2007. For those award categories that have nominees, a shortlist is drawn up by an independent panel of judges, who are all former internationals. The panel then reconvenes to choose a winner. The current judges are Jonathan Davies, Will Greenwood, Gavin Hastings, Michael Jones, Dan Lyle, Federico Méndez, Francois Pienaar and past Player of the Year winners Fabien Galthié and Keith Wood, with John Eales as convenor. The judges have a total of over 500 caps between them.


title: World Rugby

text: In 2006 a Hall of Fame was established to chronicle the achievements and special contribution of the sport's players, coaches, administrators, match officials, institutions and other individuals. The Hall of Fame was inaugurated at the 2006 IRB Awards, when William Webb Ellis and Rugby School were named as the first two inductees. Hall of Fame inductees in 2007 were Pierre de Coubertin, Danie Craven, John Eales, Gareth Edwards and Wilson Whineray. The 2008 inductees were the 1888–89 New Zealand Native football team and its organiser Joe Warbrick, Jack Kyle, Melrose RFC and Ned Haig (for their roles in the invention of rugby sevens), Hugo Porta, and Philippe Sella. Since then, induction ceremonies have been held annually, except in 2010.


title: World Rugby

text: The last year for a single induction ceremony was 2009. Starting in 2011, ceremonies have been held at multiple locations around the world. Also, some or all of the inductions have had an overriding theme since 2009:


title: Stephen Decatur

text: 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 United States Navy who served during the American Revolution; he brought the younger Stephen into the world of ships and sailing early on. Shortly after attending college, Decatur followed in his father's footsteps and joined the U.S. Navy at the age of nineteen as a midshipman.


title: Stephen Decatur

text: Decatur supervised the construction of several U.S. naval vessels, one of which he later commanded. Promoted at age 25, he is the youngest man to reach the rank of captain in the history of the United States Navy. He served under three presidents, and played a major role in the early development of the U.S. Navy. In almost every theater of operation, Decatur's service was characterized by acts of heroism and exceptional performance. His service in the U.S. Navy took him through both Barbary Wars in North Africa, the Quasi-War with France, and the War of 1812 with Britain. He was renowned for his natural ability to lead and for his genuine concern for the seamen under his command. His numerous naval victories against Britain, France and the Barbary states established the United States Navy as a rising power.


title: Stephen Decatur

text: During this period he served aboard and commanded many naval vessels and ultimately became a member of the Board of Navy Commissioners. He built a large home in Washington, known as Decatur House, on Lafayette Square, and was the center of Washington society in the early 19th century. He became an affluent member of Washington society and counted James Monroe and other Washington dignitaries among his personal friends.


title: Stephen Decatur

text: Decatur's career came to an early end when he was killed in a duel with Commodore James Barron. They fought after he refused to retract remarks he had made about Barron's conduct in the "Chesapeake"–"Leopard" affair in 1807. Decatur emerged as a national hero in his own lifetime, becoming the first post–Revolutionary War hero. His name and legacy, like that of John Paul Jones, became identified with the United States Navy.


title: Stephen Decatur

text: Decatur was born on January 5, 1779 in Sinepuxent, Maryland, to Stephen Decatur Sr., a merchant captain and later an officer in the young American navy during the American Revolution, and his wife Ann (Pine) Decatur. The family of Decatur was of French descent on Stephen's father's side, while his mother's family was of Irish ancestry. His parents had arrived from Philadelphia just three months before Stephen was born, having to flee that city during the American Revolution because of the British occupation. They later returned to the same residence they had once left in Philadelphia and Decatur grew up there, eventually graduating from the Episcopal Academy.


title: Stephen Decatur

text: Decatur came to love the sea and sailing in a roundabout manner. When Stephen was eight years old, he developed a severe case of whooping cough. In those days, a supposed tonic for this condition was exposure to the salt air of the sea. It was decided that Stephen Jr. would accompany his father aboard a merchant ship on his next voyage to Europe. Sailing across the Atlantic and back proved to be an effective remedy, and Decatur came home completely recovered. In the days following young Stephen's return he was jubilant about his adventure on the high sea and spoke of wanting to go sailing often. His parents had different aspirations, especially his mother who had hopes that Stephen would one day become an Episcopal clergyman, and tried to discourage the eight-year-old from such jaunty ambitions, fearing such would distract Stephen from his studies.


title: Stephen Decatur

text: Decatur attended Woodbury Academy in Woodbury, New Jersey. At the direction of his father, Decatur attended the Episcopal Academy, at the time an all-boys school that specialized in Latin, mathematics and religion; however, Decatur had not applied himself adequately, and barely graduated from the academy. He then enrolled for one year at the University of Pennsylvania in 1795, where he better applied himself and focused on his studies. At the university, Decatur met and became friends with Charles Stewart and Richard Somers, who would later become naval officers themselves.


title: Stephen Decatur

text: Decatur found the classic studies prosaic and life at the university disagreeable, and at the age of 17, with his heart and mind set on ships and the sea, discontinued his studies there. Though his parents were not pleased with his decision, they were apparently wise enough to now let the aspiring young man pursue his own course through life. Through his father's influence, Stephen gained employment at the shipbuilding firm of Gurney and Smith, business associates of his father, acting as supervisor to the early construction of the frigate . He was serving on board this vessel as a midshipman when it was launched on May 10, 1797, under the command of Commodore John Barry.


title: Stephen Decatur

text: In the years leading up to the Quasi-War, an undeclared naval war with the revolutionary French Republic (France) involving disputes over U.S. trading and shipping with Britain, the U.S. Congress passed the 'Act to provide for a Naval Armament' on March 27, 1794. The act provided for the commissioning of six frigates for the Navy. It was promptly signed by George Washington that same day. There was much opposition to the bill, and it was amended and allowed to pass with the condition that work on the proposed ships would stop in the event that peace with the Pasha of Algiers was obtained. Construction of the six new American frigates was progressing slowly when, because of a peace accord with Algiers in March 1796, work was halted. After some debate and at the insistence of President Washington, Congress passed an act on April 20, 1796, allowing the construction and funding to continue, but only on the three ships nearest to completion at the time: , and .


title: Stephen Decatur

text: In 1798, John Barry obtained Decatur's appointment as midshipman on "United States", under Barry's command. Barry was a veteran and hero of the Revolutionary War and was Decatur's good friend and mentor. Decatur accepted the appointment on May 1. During his early naval career Decatur learned the arts of naval war under Barry, and also James Barron, both of whom took a liking to Decatur.


title: Stephen Decatur

text: To ensure his son's success in his naval career, the senior Decatur hired a tutor, Talbot Hamilton, a former officer of the Royal Navy, to instruct his son in navigational and nautical sciences. While serving aboard "United States" Decatur received what was the equivalent to formal naval training not only from Hamilton but through active service aboard a commissioned ship, which is something that distinguished the young midshipman from many of his contemporaries. He also had a talent for drawing ships and designing and building ship models and when time allowed would also pursue this hobby.


title: Stephen Decatur

text: Once the United States won its independence and no longer had the protection of Britain, it was faced with the task of protecting its own ships and interests. There were few American ships capable of defending the American coastline, much less of protecting merchant ships at sea and abroad. The few warships that were available were converted into merchant ships. The French in particular were outraged that America was still involved in trading with Britain, a country with whom they were at war, and because of American refusal to pay a debt that was owed to the French crown, which had just been overthrown by the newly established French Republic. As a result, France began intercepting American ships that were involved in trading with Britain. This provocation prompted President Adams to appoint Benjamin Stoddert as the first Secretary of the Navy. Stoddert immediately ordered his senior commanders to "subdue, seize and take any armed vessel or vessels sailing under the authority or pretense of authority, from the French Republic." At this time, moreover, America was not even ranked with European naval forces.


title: Stephen Decatur

text: On May 22, 1799, Decatur was promoted to lieutenant by President John Adams after serving for more than a year as midshipman aboard the frigate "United States". While "United States" was undergoing repairs Decatur received orders to remain in Philadelphia to recruit and assemble a crew for the vessel. While there, the chief mate of an Indiaman, using foul language, made several derogatory remarks about Decatur and the U.S. Navy, apparently because he had lost some of his crew to Decatur's recruiting efforts. Decatur remained calm and left the scene without further incident. When he related the matter to his father, however, Captain Decatur stressed that the honor of the family and of the Navy had been insulted and that his son should return and challenge the chief mate to a duel. Stephen's friend and shipmate, Lieutenant Somers, was sent ahead with a letter from Decatur asking if an apology could be obtained from the man. Refusing to apologize, the chief mate instead accepted Decatur's challenge and secured a location for the duel. Decatur, being an expert shot with a pistol, told his friend Lieutenant Charles Stewart that he believed his opponent not to be as able and he would thus endeavour to only wound his opponent in the hip, which is exactly how the duel turned out. The honor and courage of both duelists having been satisfied, the matter was resolved without a fatality.


title: Stephen Decatur

text: By July 1, 1799, "United States" had been refitted and repaired and commenced its mission to patrol the south Atlantic coast and West Indies in search of French ships which were preying on American merchant vessels. After completing this mission the ship was taken to Norfolk, Virginia, for minor repairs and then set sail for Newport, Rhode Island, arriving on September 12. While the ship was berthed there, Commodore Barry received orders to prepare for a voyage to transport two U.S. envoys to Spain and on December 3 sailed on "United States" for Lisbon via England. During the crossing the ship encountered gale force winds, and at their insistence the two envoys were dropped off at the nearest port in England. Upon returning home and arriving on the Delaware River on April 3, 1800, it was discovered that "United States" had incurred damage from the storms she had weathered at sea. Consequently, the vessel was taken up the Delaware to Chester, Pennsylvania, for repairs. Not wanting to remain with "United States" during the months of repairs and outfitting, Decatur obtained a transfer to the brig under the command of Thomas Calvert. In May the "Norfolk" sailed to the West Indies to patrol its waters looking for French privateers and men-of-war. During the months that followed 25 armed enemy craft were captured or destroyed. With orders to rendezvous with merchantmen bound for America, "Norfolk" continued on to Cartagena (Colombia) with orders to escort the ships back to the United States, protecting them from pirates and privateers.


title: Stephen Decatur

text: Decatur transferred back to "United States" by June 1800; with extra guns and sails and improved structure the refurbished ship made her way down the Delaware River. Aboard ship at this time were Decatur's former classmates Lieutenant Charles Stewart and Midshipman Richard Somers, along with Lieutenant James Barron.


title: Stephen Decatur

text: Following the Quasi-War, the U.S. Navy underwent a significant reduction of active ships and officers; Decatur was one of the few selected to remain commissioned. By the time hostilities with France came to a close, America had a renewed appreciation for the value of a navy. By 1801 the American Navy consisted of 42 naval vessels, three of which were , "Constellation" and .


title: Stephen Decatur

text: The first war against the Barbary States was in response to the frequent piracy of American vessels in the Mediterranean Sea and the capture and enslavement of American crews for huge ransoms. President Jefferson, known for his aversion to standing armies and the navy, acted contrary to such sentiment and began his presidency by sending U.S. naval forces to fight the Barbary states rather than continue paying huge annual tributes to the petty North African kingdoms. On May 13, 1801, at the beginning of the war, Decatur was assigned duty aboard the frigate to serve as the first lieutenant. "Essex", bearing 32 guns, was commanded by William Bainbridge and was attached to Commodore Richard Dale's squadron which also included , "President" and . Departing for the Mediterranean on June 1, this squadron was the first American naval squadron to cross the Atlantic.


title: Stephen Decatur

text: On July 1, after encountering and being forestalled by adverse winds, the squadron sailed into the Mediterranean with the mission to confront the Barbary pirates. Arriving at Gibraltar, Commodore Dale learned that Tripoli had already declared war upon the United States. At this time there were two Tripolitan warships of sizable consequence berthed in Gibraltar's harbour, but their captains claimed that they had no knowledge of the war. Dale assumed they were about to embark on the Atlantic to prey on American merchant ships. With orders to sail for Algiers, Tunis and Tripoli, Dale ordered that "Philadelphia" be left behind to guard the Tripolitan vessels.


title: Stephen Decatur

text: In September 1802, Decatur transferred to the 36-gun frigate as 1st Lieutenant under Commodore James Barron. While en route to Tripoli the five-ship squadron to which "New York" was attached encountered gale-force winds, lasting more than a week, which forced the squadron to put up in Malta. While there Decatur and another American officer were involved in a personal confrontation with a British officer which resulted in Decatur returning to the United States. There he took temporary command of the newly built 18-gun brig which he sailed to Gibraltar, relinquishing command of the ship upon arrival to Lieutenant Isaac Hull. In exchange Decatur was given command of "Enterprise", a 12-gun schooner.


title: Stephen Decatur

text: On December 23, 1803, "Enterprise" and confronted the Tripolitan ketch "Mastico" sailing under , armed with only two guns and sailing without passports on her way to Constantinople from Tripoli. On board were a small number of Tripolitan soldiers. After a brief engagement Decatur and his crew captured the ship, killing or wounding the few men defending the vessel. After its capture the small ship was taken to Syracuse, condemned by Commodore Preble as a legitimate prize of war, and given a new name, .


title: Stephen Decatur

text: On October 31, 1803, "Philadelphia", under the command of Commodore William Bainbridge, ran aground on an uncharted reef (known as Kaliusa reef) near Tripoli's harbor. After desperate and failed attempts to refloat the ship she was subsequently captured and her crew imprisoned by Tripolitan forces. After coming up with an elaborate plan, Decatur sailed for Tripoli with 80 volunteers (most of them being U.S. Marines) intending to enter the harbor with "Intrepid" without suspicion to board and set ablaze the frigate "Philadelphia", denying its use to the corsairs. , commanded by Lieutenant Charles Stewart, accompanied "Intrepid" to provide supporting fire during and after the assault. Before entering the harbor eight sailors from "Syren" boarded "Intrepid", including Thomas Macdonough who had recently served aboard "Philadelphia" and knew the ship's layout intimately. Decatur established a close friendship with Macdonough and became his mentor during the course of their careers.


title: Stephen Decatur

text: On February 16, 1804, at seven o'clock in the evening under the dim light of a waxing crescent moon, "Intrepid" slowly sailed into Tripoli harbor. Decatur's vessel was made to look like a common merchant ship from Malta and was outfitted with . To further avoid suspicion, on board were five Sicilian volunteers including the pilot Salvatore Catalano, who spoke Arabic. The boarding party remained hidden below in position, prepared to board the captured "Philadelphia". The men were divided into several groups, each assigned to secure given areas of the ship, with the additional explicit instruction of refraining from the use of firearms unless it proved absolutely necessary. As Decatur's ship came closer to "Philadelphia", Catalano called out to the harbor personnel in Arabic that their ship had lost its anchors during a recent storm and was seeking refuge at Tripoli for repairs. By 9:30 p.m. Decatur's ship was within 200 yards of "Philadelphia", whose lower yards were now resting on the deck with her foremast missing, as Bainbridge had ordered it cut away and had also jettisoned some of her guns in a futile effort to refloat the ship by lightening her load.


title: Stephen Decatur

text: As Decatur approached the berthed "Philadelphia" he encountered a light wind that made his approach tedious. He had to casually position his ship close enough to "Philadelphia" to allow his men to board while not creating any suspicion. When the two vessels were finally close enough, Catalano obtained permission for Decatur to tie "Intrepid" to the captured "Philadelphia". Decatur surprised the few Tripolitans on board when he shouted the order "board!", signaling to the hidden crew below to emerge and storm the captured ship. Without losing a single man, Decatur and 60 of his men, dressed as Maltese sailors or Arab seamen and armed with swords and boarding pikes, boarded and reclaimed "Philadelphia" in less than 10 minutes, killing at least 20 of the Tripolitan crew, capturing one wounded crewman, and forcing the rest to flee by jumping overboard. Only one of Decatur's men was slightly wounded by a sabre blade. There was hope that the small boarding crew could launch the captured ship, but the vessel was in no condition to set sail for the open sea. Decatur soon realized that the small "Intrepid" could not tow the larger and heavier warship out of the harbor. Commodore Preble's order to Decatur was to destroy the ship where she berthed as a last resort, if "Philadelphia" was unseaworthy. With the ship secure, Decatur's crew began placing combustibles about "Philadelphia" with orders to set her ablaze. After making sure the fire was large enough to sustain itself, Decatur ordered his men to abandon the ship and was the last man to leave "Philadelphia". As the flames intensified, the guns aboard "Philadelphia", all loaded and ready for battle, became heated and began discharging, some firing into the town and shore batteries, while the ropes securing the ship burned off, allowing the vessel to drift into the rocks at the western entrance of the harbor.


title: Stephen Decatur

text: While "Intrepid" was under fire from the Tripolitans who were now gathering along the shore and in small boats, the larger "Syren" was nearby providing covering fire at the Tripolitan shore batteries and gunboats. Decatur and his men left the burning vessel in Tripoli's harbor and set sail for the open sea, barely escaping in the confusion. With the cover of night helping to obscure the enemy gunfire, "Intrepid" and "Syren" made their way back to Syracuse, arriving February 18. After learning of Decatur's daring capture and destruction of "Philadelphia" without suffering a single fatality, British Vice Admiral Lord Horatio Nelson, who at the time was blockading the French port at Toulon, is said to have stated it was "the most bold and daring act of the Age." Decatur's daring and successful burning of "Philadelphia" made him an immediate national hero in the US. Appreciation for the efforts of Preble and Decatur was not limited to their peers and countrymen. At Naples, Decatur was praised and dubbed "Terror of the Foe" by the local media. Upon hearing the news of their victory in Tripoli, Pope Pius VII publicly declared that "the United States, though in their infancy, had done more to humble and humiliate the anti-Christian barbarians on the African coast in one night than all the European states had done for a long period of time." Upon his return to Syracuse, Decatur resumed command of "Enterprise".


title: Stephen Decatur

text: With the significant victory achieved with the burning of "Philadelphia", Preble now had reason to believe that bringing Tripoli to peaceful terms was in sight. Preble planned another attack on Tripoli and amassed a squadron consisting of the frigate "Constitution", the brigs "Syren", "Argus" and , and the schooners , and "Enterprise", towing gunboats and ketches.


title: Stephen Decatur

text: For the coming attack Preble borrowed six gunboats from King Ferdinand I of the Two Sicilies who was also at war with Tripoli. Light vessels with shallow drafts were needed to make their way about in the shallow and confined waters of Tripoli's harbor. Making their way into the west end of Tripoli harbor, they began bombarding Tripoli on August 3, 1804.


title: Stephen Decatur

text: Preble divided his gunboats into two divisions, putting Decatur in command of the second division. At 1:30 Preble raised his signal flag to begin the attack on Tripoli. It was elaborate and well planned with brigs, schooners and bomb ketches coming into the attack at various stages. The Tripolitan pasha, Murad Reis, was expecting the attack and had his own gunboats lined up and waiting at various locations within the harbor.


title: Stephen Decatur

text: Throughout the month of August 1804 Preble used these gunboats to launch a series of furious attacks on Tripoli, forcing the residents to flee into the country-side. During this time Decatur in command of the gunboats captured three Tripolitan gunboats and sank three others. The Tripolitans also inflicted considerable damage on some of the attacking vessels; Decatur's ship was struck with a 24-pound shot through her hull above the waterline. Before the battle ended , commanded by Isaac Chauncey, arrived on the scene. On board the vessel were official documents promoting Decatur to the rank of captain. "John Adams" also brought news that, upon the loss of the frigate "Philadelphia", the government was sending four additional frigates, "President", , "Constellation" and "Essex", to Tripoli with enough force to convince the Pasha of Tripoli that peace was his only viable alternative. Because Preble's rank was not high enough for this command "John Adams" also brought the news that he would have to surrender command to Commodore Barron.


title: Stephen Decatur

text: The fighting between the squadrons and the bombarding of Tripoli lasted three hours, with Preble's squadrons emerging victorious. However, success and promotion were overshadowed by an unfortunate turn of events for Decatur. During the fighting Decatur's younger brother, James Decatur, in command of a gunboat, was mortally wounded by a Tripolitan captain during the boarding of a vessel feigning surrender. Midshipman Brown, who was next in command after James, managed to break away from the ambushing vessel and immediately approached Decatur's gunboat bringing the news of his brother's fatal injury. Decatur had just captured his first Tripolitan vessel and upon receiving the news turned command of his captured prize over to Lieutenant Jonathan Thorn and immediately set out to avenge his brother's treacherous injury. After catching up with and pulling alongside the Tripolitan ship, Decatur was the first to board the enemy vessel with Midshipman Macdonough at his heels along with nine volunteer crew members. Decatur and his crew were outnumbered 5 to 1 but were organized and kept their form, fighting furiously side by side. Decatur had little trouble singling out the corsair captain, the man responsible for James' mortal wound, and immediately engaged the man. He was a large and formidable man in Muslim garb, and armed with a boarding pike he thrust his weapon at Decatur's chest. Armed with a cutlass Decatur deflected the lunge, breaking his own weapon at the hilt. During the fight Decatur was almost killed by another Tripolitan crew member, but his life was spared by the already wounded Daniel Frazier, a crewman who threw himself over Decatur just in time, receiving a blow intended for Decatur to his own head. The struggle continued, with the Tripolitan captain, being larger and stronger than Decatur, gaining the upper hand. Armed with a dagger the Tripolitan attempted to stab Decatur in the heart, but while wrestling the arm of his adversary, Decatur managed to take hold of his pistol and fired a shot point-blank, immediately killing his formidable foe. When the fighting was over, 21 Tripolitans were dead with only three taken alive.


title: Stephen Decatur

text: Later James Decatur was taken aboard "Constitution" where he was joined by his brother Stephen, who stayed with him until he had died. The next day, after a funeral and military ceremony that was conducted by Preble, Stephen Decatur saw his brother's remains committed to the depths of the Mediterranean.


title: Stephen Decatur

text: When a good number of days passed without the reinforcements of ships promised by president Jefferson, the attack on Tripoli was renewed by Preble on August 24. As the days passed, Tripoli showed no signs of surrender, which now prompted Preble to devise another plan. "Intrepid", the same ship that captured "Philadelphia", was loaded with barrels of gunpowder and other ordnance and sent sailing into a group of Tripolitan vessels defending the harbor, commanded by Lieutenant Richard Somers, with Midshipman Henry Wadsworth and eleven volunteers. The plan was to place the ketch amidst the Tripolitan ships, light the fuzes, and evacuate to ships awaiting their return at the harbor entrance, but somehow the plan went awry, exploding prior to arriving at its target, killing all aboard. The siege of the harbor and Tripoli, with the momentous capture of the fortress of Derna by US Marines ("the shores of Tripoli") proved successful and ultimately caused the Bashaw of Tripoli to consider surrender and the return of American prisoners held captive, including Commodore Bainbridge of "Philadelphia", who had been held prisoner since October 1803 when that ship was captured after running aground near Tripoli harbor. On June 4, 1805, the Bashaw of Tripoli finally surrendered and signed a peace treaty with the United States.


title: Stephen Decatur

text: Shortly after his recapture and destruction of "Philadelphia", Decatur was given command of the frigate "Constitution", a post he held from October 28 to November 9, 1804. Upon the day of Decatur's return with "Intrepid", Commodore Preble wrote to Secretary of the Navy Benjamin Stoddert recommending to President Jefferson that Decatur be promoted to captain. Decatur was promoted to captain with the date of rank February 16, 1804. He was promoted to captain at the age twenty-five, largely for his daring capture and destruction of "Philadelphia" in Tripoli's harbor, making him the youngest man ever to hold the rank.


title: Stephen Decatur

text: On September 10, 1804, Commodore Barron arrived at Tripoli with two ships, "President" and "Constellation", whereupon Commodore Preble relinquished command of his blockading squadron to him. Before returning to the United States he sailed to Malta in "Constitution" on September 14, so it could be caulked and refitted. From there he sailed to Syracuse in "Argus", where on September 24 he ordered Decatur to sail this vessel back to Malta to take command of "Constitution". From here Decatur sailed "Constitution" back to Tripoli to join "Constellation" and "Congress", the blockading force stationed there now under the command of Commodore Barron. On November 6, he relinquished command of "Constitution" to Commodore John Rodgers, his senior, in exchange for the smaller vessel "Congress". In need of new sails and other repairs Rodgers sailed "Constitution" to Lisbon on November 27, where it remained for approximately six weeks.


title: Stephen Decatur

text: On March 8, 1806, Decatur married Susan Wheeler, the daughter of Luke Wheeler, the mayor of Norfolk, Virginia. She was well known for her beauty and intelligence among Norfolk and Washington society. They had met at a dinner and ball held by the mayor for a Tunisian ambassador who was in the United States negotiating peace terms for his country's recent defeat at Tunis under the silent guns of John Rodgers and Decatur. Before marrying Susan, Decatur had already vowed to serve in the U.S. Navy and maintained that to abandon his service to his country for personal reasons would make him unworthy of her hand. Susan was once pursued by Vice President Aaron Burr and Jérôme Bonaparte, brother to Napoleon, both of whom she turned down. For several months after their marriage the couple resided with Susan's parents in Norfolk, after which Stephen received orders sending him to Newport to supervise the building of gunboats. The couple never had children during their fourteen years of marriage.


title: Stephen Decatur

text: In the spring of 1806, Decatur was given command of a squadron of gunboats stationed in the Chesapeake Bay at Norfolk, Virginia, the home of his future wife, Susan Wheeler. He had long requested such an assignment; however, one of his colleagues believed that his request was also motivated by a desire to be close to Wheeler. While stationed here Decatur took the opportunity to court Miss Wheeler, whom he would soon marry that year. After their marriage in March, Decatur lived with his wife's family in Norfolk until June when Secretary of the Navy Robert Smith gave him orders to supervise the building of four gunboats at Newport, Rhode Island, and four others in Connecticut of which he would later take command. Having drawn many illustrations of and designed and built many models of ships, along with having experience as a ship builder and designer from when he was employed at Gurney and Smith in 1797 while overseeing the construction of the frigate "United States", Decatur was a natural choice for this new position. Decatur and his wife Susan lived together all through this period.


title: Stephen Decatur

text: After overseeing the completion of gunboats, Decatur returned to Norfolk in March 1807 and was given command of the Naval Yard at Gosport. While commissioned there he received a letter from the residing British consul to turn over three deserters from the British ship "Melampus" who had enlisted in the American Navy through Lieutenant Arthur Sinclair, who was recruiting crew members for "Chesapeake", which was at this time in Washington being outfitted for its coming voyage to the Mediterranean. Since the recruiting party was not under the command of Decatur, he refused to intervene. Sinclair also declined to take any action, claiming that he did not have the authority or any such orders from a superior officer. The matter was then referred to the British minister at Washington, a Mr. Erskine, who in turn referred the matter to the Navy Department through Commodore Barron, demanding that the three deserters be surrendered to British authority. It was soon discovered that the deserters were American citizens who had been impressed into the Royal Navy, and since the existing American treaty with Britain only pertained to criminal fugitives of justice, not deserters in the military, Barron accordingly also refused to turn them over.


title: Stephen Decatur

text: Soon thereafter "Chesapeake" left Norfolk, and after stopping briefly at Washington for further preparations, set sail for the Mediterranean on June 22. In little time she was pursued by , which at the time was part of a British squadron in Lynnhaven Bay. Upon closing with "Chesapeake", Barron was hailed by the captain of "Leopard" and informed of a demand from Vice-Admiral Humphreys that "Chesapeake" be searched for deserters. Barron found the demand extraordinarily bold. When he refused to surrender any of his crew, "Leopard" soon opened fire on "Chesapeake". Having just put to sea, "Chesapeake" was not prepared to do battle and was unable to return fire. Inside twenty minutes, three of her crew were killed and eighteen wounded. Barron struck the ship's colors and surrendered his ship, whereupon she was boarded and the alleged deserters were taken into British custody. News of the incident soon reached President Jefferson, the Department of the Navy and Decatur, who was outraged, was the one who was first confronted with the matter. The incident soon came to be referred to as the "Chesapeake"–"Leopard" affair, an event whose controversy would lead to a duel between Barron and Decatur some years later, as Decatur served on Barron's court-martial and later was one of the most outspoken critics of the questionable handling of "Chesapeake".


title: Stephen Decatur

text: On June 26, 1807, Decatur was appointed to command "Chesapeake", a 38-gun frigate, along with command of all gunboats at Norfolk. "Chesapeake" had just returned to Norfolk after repairs to damage incurred during the "Chesapeake"–"Leopard" affair. Commodore Barron had just been relieved of command following his court martial over the incident. Decatur was a member of that court martial, which had found Barron guilty of "unpreparedness", barring him from command for five years. Consequently, Barron's previous orders to sail for the Mediterranean were canceled and "Chesapeake" was instead assigned to Commodore Decatur, with a squadron of gunboats, to patrol the New England coast enforcing the Embargo Act throughout 1809. Unable to command, Barron left the country for Copenhagen and remained there through the War of 1812. Before Decatur assumed command of "Chesapeake" he learned from observers, and then informed the Navy Secretary, that the British ships and were lightening their ballasts to prepare for a blockade at Norfolk.


title: Stephen Decatur

text: During this segment of his life, Decatur's father, Stephen Decatur Sr., died in November 1808 at the relatively young age of 57, with his mother's death following the next year. Both parents were buried at St. Peter's Church in Philadelphia.


title: Stephen Decatur

text: In May 1810 Decatur was appointed commander of "United States", a heavy frigate with 44 guns. This was the same vessel that he supervised the building of while employed at Gurney and Smith, and the same ship, then under the command of John Barry, on which he had commenced his naval career as midshipman in 1798. The frigate had just been commissioned and was outfitted and supplied for service at sea. After taking command of "United States", now the rallying point of the young American Navy, Decatur sailed to most of the naval ports on the eastern seaboard and was well received at each stop. On May 21, 1811, he sailed "United States" from Norfolk along with on assignment to patrol the coast, returning to Norfolk on November 23 of that year. In 1812 he sailed with "Argus" and "Congress" but were soon recalled upon receiving news about the outbreak of war with Britain. There Decatur joined Captain John Rodgers, commander of "President" and his squadron. On this cruise Rodgers failed to accomplish his mission of intercepting the fleet of English West-Indiamen. On August 31, Decatur sailed "United States" to Boston. On October 8, he sailed a second cruise with Rodgers' squadron.


title: Stephen Decatur

text: The desire for expansion into the Northwest Territory, the capture and impressment of American citizens into the Royal Navy along with British alliance with, and recruitment of, American Indian tribes against America, were all events that led into the War of 1812. Intended to avoid war, the Embargo Act only compounded matters that led to war. Finally on June 18, 1812, the United States declared war on Great Britain. By 1814 Britain had committed nearly 100 warships along the American coast and other points. Consequently, the war was fought mostly in the naval theater where Decatur and other naval officers played major roles in the success of the United States' efforts during this time.


title: Stephen Decatur

text: Upon the onset of the war President James Madison ordered several naval vessels to be dispatched to patrol the American coastline. The U.S. flagships "President", "Essex" and the "Hornet" were joined in lower New York harbor by "United States" commanded by Decatur, "Congress", and "Argus". Secretary of State James Monroe had originally considered a plan that would simply use U.S. naval vessels as barriers guarding their entrances, but the unpopular plan never materialized.


title: Stephen Decatur

text: Three days after the United States declared war against Britain, a squadron under the command of Commodore John Rodgers in "President", along with Commodore Stephen Decatur of "United States", "Argus", "Essex" and "Hornet", departed from the harbor at New York City. As soon as Rodgers received news of the declaration of war, fearing that the order to confine naval ships to port would be reconsidered by Congress, he and his squadron departed New York bay within the hour. The squadron patrolled the waters off the American upper east coast until the end of August, their first objective being a British fleet reported to have recently departed from the West Indies.


title: Stephen Decatur

text: Rodgers' squadron again sailed on October 8, 1812, this time from Boston, Massachusetts. Three days later, after capturing "Mandarin", Decatur separated from Rodgers and his squadron and with "United States" continued to cruise eastward. At dawn on October 25, five hundred miles south of the , lookouts on board reported seeing a sail 12 miles to windward. As the ship slowly rose over the horizon, Captain Decatur made out the fine, familiar lines of , a British frigate bearing 38 guns.


title: Stephen Decatur

text: "Macedonian" and "United States" had been berthed next to one another in 1810, in port at Norfolk, Virginia. The British captain John Carden bet a fur beaver hat that if the two ever met in battle, "Macedonian" would emerge victorious. However, the engagement in a heavy swell proved otherwise as "United States" pounded "" "Macedonian" into a dismasted wreck from long range. During the engagement Decatur was standing on a box of shot when he was knocked down almost unconscious when a flying splinter struck him in the chest. Wounded, he soon recovered and was on his feet in command again. Because of the greater range of the guns aboard "United States", Decatur and his crew got off seventy broadsides, with "Macedonian" only getting off thirty, and consequently emerged from the battle relatively unscathed. "Macedonian" had no option but surrender, and thus was taken as a prize by Decatur. Eager to present the nation with a prize, Decatur and his crew spent two weeks repairing and refitting the captured British frigate to prepare it for its journey across the Atlantic to the United States.


title: Stephen Decatur

text: After undergoing routine repairs at New York, "United States" was part of a small squadron that included the newly captured (formerly HMS "Macedonian") and the sloop of war "Hornet". On May 24, 1813, the squadron departed New York. On that same night "United States" was struck by lightning which shattered its main mast. By June 1, Decatur's squadron encountered a powerful British squadron on patrol and under the command of Sir Thomas Masterman Hardy. Hardy's squadron, which emerged from behind Montauk Point, consisted of the ships of the line and along with the frigates and . Realizing his only chance for escape was to set a course for New London, Decatur was forced to flee and take refuge at that port where they were blockaded until the end of the war.


title: Stephen Decatur

text: Decatur attempted to sneak out of New London harbor at night in an effort to elude the British blockading squadron. On the evening of December 18, while attempting to leave the Thames River, Decatur saw blue lights burning near the mouth of the river in sight of the British blockaders. Decatur was furious, believing that various residents had set the signals to betray his plans. He abandoned the project and returned to New London. In a letter to the Navy Secretary, dated December 20, Decatur charged that traitors in the New London area were in collusion with the British to capture "United States", "Hornet" and "Macedonian". The allegations of treason soon became public, causing controversy and debate among New London residents and others over the matter. A congressional investigation was called while Decatur made efforts to discover who was responsible but was unsuccessful. Whether the signals were given by a British spy or an American citizen remains uncertain. Democratic-Republicans (the then-future Democratic Party) immediately blamed the Federalists who were adamantly against the war from the beginning, and so here earned themselves the name "Blue-light Federalists".


title: Stephen Decatur

text: Unable to get his squadron out of the harbor, Decatur decided to write a letter to Captain Thomas Hardy offering to negotiate a resolution of the situation at a prearranged meeting. He proposed that matched ships from either side meet and, in effect, have a duel, to settle their otherwise idle situation. The letter was sent under a flag of truce but was in violation of orders, as after the loss of "Chesapeake", Navy Secretary Jones forbade commanders from "giving or receiving a Challenge, to or from, an Enemy's vessel." The next day Hardy gave answer to Decatur's proposal and agreed to have "Statira" engage "Macedonian" "as they are sister ships, carrying the same number of guns, and weight of metal." After further deliberation Decatur wanted assurance that "Macedonian" would not be recaptured should the ship emerge victorious, as he suspected it would be. After several communications it was ascertained that neither side could trust the other and so the proposal floundered, never coming to fruition.


title: Stephen Decatur

text: In May 1814, Decatur transferred his commodore's pennant to "President", a frigate with 44 guns. By December 1, 1814, Secretary of the Navy William Jones, a staunch proponent of coastal defense, appointed Decatur to lead a four-ship squadron comprising "President", which would be the flagship of his new squadron, along with "Hornet", a sloop bearing 20 guns, bearing 22 and bearing 12 guns. In January 1815, Decatur's squadron was assigned a mission in the East Indies. However, the British had established a strict blockade in the squadron's port of New York, therefore restricting any cruises. On January 14, a severe snowstorm developed, forcing the British squadron away from the coast, but by the next day the storm had subsided, allowing the British fleet to take up positions to the northwest in anticipation of the American fleet trying to escape. The next day "President" emerged from the west, and Decatur attempted to break through the blockade alone in "President" and make for the appointed rendezvous at Tristan da Cunha, but encountered the British West Indies Squadron composed of razee bearing 56 guns, under the command of Captain John Hayes, along with the frigates , bearing 40 guns, commanded by Captain Henry Hope, , bearing 38 guns, commanded by Captain John Richard Lumley, and , bearing 38 guns, commanded by Captain Hyde Parker. Decatur had made arrangements for "pilot boats" to mark the way for clear passage out to sea, but due to a plotting error the pilot boats took up the wrong positions and consequently "President" was accidentally run aground.


title: Stephen Decatur

text: After an hour upon the sandbar, with Decatur's ship procuring damage to the copper and pintles, the ship finally broke free. Decatur continued the attempt to evade his pursuers and set course along the southerly coast of Long Island.


title: Stephen Decatur

text: As "Endymion" was the fastest ship in the engagement, she was the only ship to catch up to and engage "President". After a fierce fight lasting several hours, during which both ships were severely damaged ("Endymion"s headsails & "President"s hull), Decatur reluctantly surrendered to "Endymion" as there were four remaining British ships he would have to fight. Decatur's command suffered 35 men killed and 70 wounded, including Decatur himself who was wounded by a large flying splinter.


title: Stephen Decatur

text: "Endymion" had sustained severe damage to the rigging, and her captain, Hope, decided to carry out repairs before tying up "President". While this was happening Decatur made an attempt to escape. Decatur's frigate was finally overtaken by "Pomone". Unaware that Decatur had surrendered, and then tried to flee, "Pomone" fired two broadsides into "President" before they realized that the battle was over. When boats from "Pomone" boarded "President" Decatur said "I surrender my sword to the captain of the black ship", a reference to Hope of HMS "Endymion". After surrendering a second time, Decatur later claimed, "my ship crippled, and more than a four-fold force opposed to me, without a chance of escape left, I deemed it my duty to surrender." Soon "Majestic" caught up with the British fleet. Decatur, now dressed in full dress uniform, boarded "Majestic" and surrendered his sword to Captain Hayes. Hayes in a gesture of admiration returned the sword to Decatur saying that he was "proud in returning the sword of an officer, who had defended his ship so nobly." Before taking possession of "President", Hayes allowed Decatur to return to his ship to perform burial services for the officers and seamen who had died in the engagement. He was also allowed to write a letter to his wife. Decatur along with surviving crew were taken prisoner and held captive in a Bermuda prison, arriving January 26, and were held there until February 1815. Upon arrival at the prison in Bermuda the British naval officers extended various courtesies and provisions that they felt were due to a man of Decatur's stature. The senior naval officer at the prison took the earliest opportunity to parole Decatur to New London, and on February 8, with news of the cessation of hostilities, Decatur traveled aboard (32), landing in New London on February 21. On February 26, Decatur arrived in New York City, where he convalesced in a boarding house.


title: Stephen Decatur

text: At war's end Decatur received a sword as a reward and thanks from Congress for his service in Tripoli and was also awarded the Congressional Gold Medal for distinguished service in the War of 1812.


title: Stephen Decatur

text: Now that war with Britain was over, the United States could concentrate on pressing matters in the Mediterranean, at Algiers. As had occurred during the First Barbary War American merchant ships and crews were once again being seized and held for large ransoms. On February 23, 1815, President Madison urged Congress to declare war. Congress approved the act but did not declare war against Algiers. Madison had chosen Benjamin Williams Crowninshield as the new Secretary of the Navy, replacing William Jones.


title: Stephen Decatur

text: Two squadrons were then assembled, one at New York, under the command of Stephen Decatur, and one at Boston, under the command of Commodore William Bainbridge. Decatur's squadron of ten ships was ready first and set sail for Algiers on May 20. At this time it was the largest US fleet ever assembled. Decatur was in command of the flagship . Aboard was William Shaler who had just been appointed by Madison as the consul-general for the Barbary States, acting as joint commissioner with Commodores Decatur and Bainbridge. Shaler was in possession of a letter authorizing them to negotiate terms of peace with the Algerian government.[64] Because of Decatur's great successes in the War of 1812 and for his knowledge of and past experience at the Algerian port, Crowninshield chose him to command the lead ship in the naval squadron to Algiers.


title: Stephen Decatur

text: The US was demanding the release of Americans held captive as slaves, an end of annual payments of tribute, and finally to procure favorable prize agreements. Decatur was prepared to negotiate peace or resort to military measures. Eager to know the Bey's decision, Decatur dispatched the president's letter which ultimately prompted the Bey to abandon his practice of piracy and kidnapping and come to terms with the United States.


title: Stephen Decatur

text: On May 20, 1815, Commodore Decatur received instructions from President James Madison to take command of the frigate USS Guerriere and lead a squadron of ten ships to the Mediterranean Sea to conduct the Second Barbary War, which would put an end to the international practice of paying tribute to the Barbary pirate states. His squadron arrived at Gibraltar on June 14.


title: Stephen Decatur

text: Before committing himself to the Mediterranean, Decatur learned from the American consuls at Cadiz and Tangier of any squadrons passing by along the Atlantic coast or through the Strait of Gibraltar. To avoid making known the presence of an American squadron, Decatur did not enter the ports but instead dispatched a messenger in a small boat to communicate with the consuls. He learned from observers there that a squadron under the command of the notorious Rais Hamidou had passed by into the Mediterranean, most likely off Cape Gata. Decatur's squadron arrived at Gibraltar on June 15, 1815. This attracted much attention and prompted the departure of several dispatch vessels to warn Rais of the squadron's arrival. Decatur's visit was brief with the consul and lasted only for as long as it took to communicate with a short letter to the Secretary of the Navy informing him of earlier weather problems and that he was about to "proceed in search of the enemy forthwith", where he at once set off in search of Hamidou hoping to take him by surprise.


title: Stephen Decatur

text: On June 17, while sailing in "Guerriere" for Algiers, Decatur's fleet encountered near Cape Palos the frigate , commanded by Hamidou and the Algerian brig , which were also en route to Algeria. After overtaking the "Mashouda", Decatur fired two broadsides, crippling the ship, killing 30 of the crew, including Hamidou himself, and taking more than 400 prisoners. "Lloyd's List" reported that the Algerine frigate , which had been under the command of the Algerine admiral, had arrived at Carthagena on June 20 as a prize to Decatur's squadron. The newspaper also reported that Decatur's squadron had run another Spanish frigate onshore near Carthagena.


title: Stephen Decatur

text: Capturing the flagship of the Algerian fleet at the Battle off Cape Gata Decatur was able to secure sufficient levying power to bargain with the Dey of Algiers. Upon arrival, Decatur exhibited an early use of gunboat diplomacy on behalf of American interests as a reminder that this was the only alternative if the Dey decided to decline signing a treaty. Consequently, a new treaty was agreed upon within 48 hours of Decatur's arrival, confirming the success of his objectives.


title: Stephen Decatur

text: After bringing the government in Algiers to terms, Decatur's squadron set sail to Tunis and Tripoli to demand reimbursement for proceeds withheld by those governments during the War of 1812. With a similar show of force exhibited at Algiers, Decatur achieved concessions to all of his demands and promptly sailed home victorious. Upon his arrival Decatur boasted to the Secretary of the Navy that the settlement had "been dictated at the mouths of our cannon." For this campaign, he became known as "the Conqueror of the Barbary Pirates".


title: Stephen Decatur

text: After his victory in the Mediterranean, Decatur returned to the United States, arriving at New York on November 12, 1815, with the brig "Enterprise", along with Bainbridge of "Guerriere" who arrived three days later. He was met with a wide reception from dignitaries and countrymen. Among the more notable salutations was a letter Decatur received from the Secretary of State James Monroe that related the following tidings of appreciation: "I take much interest in informing you that the result of this expedition, so glorious to your country and honorable to yourself and the officers and men under your command, has been very satisfactory to the President."


title: Stephen Decatur

text: The Secretary of the Navy, Benjamin Williams Crowninshield, was equally gracious and thankful. Since a vacancy was about to occur in the board of Navy commissioners with the retirement of Commodore Isaac Hull, the Secretary was most anxious to offer the position to Decatur, which he gladly accepted. Upon his appointment Decatur made his journey to Washington, where he was again received with cordial receptions from various dignitaries and countrymen. He served on the Board of Navy Commissioners from 1816 to 1820. One of his more notable decisions as a commissioner involved his strong objection to the reinstatement of James Barron upon his return to the United States after being barred from command for five years for his questionable handling of the "Chesapeake", an action that would soon lead to Barron challenging him to a duel.


title: Stephen Decatur

text: During his tenure as a Commissioner, Decatur also became active in the Washington social scene. At a social gathering in April 1816, Decatur uttered an after-dinner toast that would become famous: