The Wyandot pioneer. (Upper Sandusky, Ohio) 1853-1868, 1866-12-27

anchorage in Hampton Roads, ard
stood out to sea, bound for the Medi-
terranean. About the same hour the
British frigate Leopard, fifty guns,
which had been lying for some time
at the same anchorage, also put to sea,
and being in better trim than the
Chesapeak and much better manned,
cot ahead of her some miles. But at
three in the afternoon she wore round,
bore down upon the Chesapeake, and
sent boat to her, with a despatch de-
madding to search the American ship
for four deserteJs from the englich ma
Wy. Commodore Barron replied that
he knew ofno such deserters, and that
his orders did not allow his crew to
be mustered by any officers but their
own. No sooner had the boat return
ed with the reply, than the British ship
fired q broadside full into the Ameri
can at short range The Chesapeak.
her decks Uttered with stores and ami
mails, her crew undisciplined, her war
like apparatus all unreadv for use,
could not fire a shot in her d efence, land
consequently, when, by the continuous
fire of the Leopard, three of the Am
erican crew had been killed and eigh-
teen wounded, one Of whom was the
commodore himself, and when there
were twenty-on shot in the hull of the
Chesapeake, Barron struck his colors
Tne english captain made the search,
took away the four alleged deserters,
and sailed off, leaving the crippled
Chesapeake to get back to Hampton
Rords as Lest she could.
Commodore Barron was tried by q
courtmartial for going to sea unpre-
pared to defend his ship, and the pub
lie clamored for his punishment His
defense was that his captain had in
formed him in writing that the ship
was ready to sail, and that, the United
States and Great Britain being at peace,
the attack was not to have been antici
pated The court pronounced the de
fence insufficient, and sentenced him
to three years suspension withoutpay
When the war broke out in 1912, he
was not appointed to ship.
Among those who opposed the rein
statement of Barron were the majority
of the naval captains, and no one op-
posed it so openly and decidedly as
Decatur. He thought that Barron had
5eed to blame in the affair of the Chesa-
peale. He also thought that. as there
we're so few ships in the navy, they
ought to be commanded by men who
had distinguished themselves during
the war. 1t is evident, too, that he
lad lent a too credulous ear to the
cal1mnies in circulation respecting Bar
ron's conduct since the Chesapeake
disaster. In short, he had a very bad
opinion Of Commodore Barron as an
officer, and this bad opinion he was in
the habit of expressing with the care
less frankness of sailor Mean in
termeddlcrs communicated the fact
with the usual exagerations, to Barron
who was sore and sensitive from his
long endurance of what he felt to be
injustice. In June, 1919, he addressed
q note to Decatur to this effect:
''SIR-I have been informed in Norfolk
that you have said that you could ins ult
me with impunity, or words to that effect
III you have said so, you will no doubt
avow it, and shall expect to hear from
you"
Commodore Decatlr's reply was evi-
IDENTIFY intende / to be offe, sve. The
italics are his own:
''SIR-I have received your communica-
ton of the 18th inst. Before you could
Lave been entitled to the information you
have asked of me, you should have given
mp the name of your infOrmer. That
frankness which ought to characterize ou1
profession required it. | shall not. how
ever, refuse to answeryou on that account
but shall be as candid in my communities
ton to you as your letter or the case will
warrant.
"Whatever | may have thought or said. IN
the uery frequent and free conversations hau.
thorough conviction that | never could
have been guilty of so much egotism as tc
say that 1 could insult you' Cor any other
man) with impunity.'"
Commodore Barron, in his reply
said:
''Your declaration, if 1 understand il
correctly. relieves my mind from the ap-
prehension that you had so degraded my
character
Here the correspondence ought to
have closed. Decatur, however, as
though determined upon q quarrel
wrote again, and more stingingly than
before:
CAS- you have expressed yourself doubt
fully as to your correct understanding oi
1oAG1 L,
to state, and L request you to understand
distinctly. that meant no more than to
declaim the specific and particular express
sion to which your inquiry was directed,
tOwit. that | had said that could insult
you with impunity. As to the motives OF
the several gentlemen of Norfolk your
infosmants, or the rumors which cannot
be traced 10 their origin on which their
information was founded, or who they are
it is a matter of perfect Indifference to me-
as are also your motives in making such
an inquiry upon such information"
Commodore Barron justly interpreted
this letter as a defiance, and he i'm
ediately challenged Decatur. A very
long correspondence follOwed,in jim which
it is evident that Barron did not de-
sire hostile meeting, and that Decatur
was irreconcilably opposed to a friend
ly termination of the dispute. Deca-
tur's letters were most exasperating.-
He concluded the last Of his long let
ters in these words:
You offering your life to me would be
quite affecting, and might (as you evi-
IDENTIFY intend) excite sympathy, if it were
not ridiculous. 1t will not be lost sight o1
that your jeopardizing your life depends