, 1869-05-12
WASH keT0N.
"Reminiscences of q Mem
orable Duel
at Blndcuebnrg.
Talk to an Eyewitness.
Glimpses Of Washington Fifty Years Ago,


A New Theory OF this Quarrel.
4 Lesson for the Rhode Island Chaps
tYKox oCR OWN CORRESPONDENT
BLApESsaCR0, May, 1869,
ayers the mAn that saw Decatur shot ~ s1!,l
the barfeeper.
1turned from my supper OF fresh herring,
caught g." tuss yer behlne de tavern in de branch"
and from my roea Of fresh shat 10 look =, the
man who saw Decatur shot
AxAs WHO SAW DECATUR shot.
He was lean, lver-hued old toafef Of tho VII
t&gc OF Bladensburg. Bis Kidneys were Ill dis.
solved In burning whhtey. He wore vile
slouchtd hat, poor clothes the boots OF gentle
man, worn through and patched ~ frequently As
the patches In bis credit, the gaps In his charac-
ter. There Was cane In his haad, Of course, the
takes lsat eceptre. He looked at me With
twinkle Of amlabll1ty and silewtse expression OF
thirst
"Isaw Commodore Decatur morta,,y xonn.le.l,
sir. II WIS on the ed day o! March. lss, SIR
forty nine Eeazs ago. Ny God: how tine nles.
Yes Gr; I'll Jtne you with a little tansy."
The old man took on his hat and balance.li It on
the end Of his stick and leaned 1t against the
wnitewashed wall Then he took al his lquor,
and asked il was from the North
"MArytandes: And from Worcester Es,unty.
Why, that's the gttslns-on place." exclaimed the
old Bladensousger TO my answer. 'Aud now
know why you take an interest IN Decatns'a Iuel;
for Stephen Decatur was born In Slnepuxent Hay,
Worcester County, Maryland, ninety yelssazo
That little peninsula OF De3ewatt and MARYLAND
he called u Naalunl, called the Eastesn sho slr
haA pojuced acme Of o1r biggest naval heoes-
Decatur, Marlborough the Goldsboroaghz, Dupont.
And twoof tatu xeze OF French descent Decatu.'A
grandfather was French m'dshtpman from La
Rochelle. the last 1tEongtold OF the Hugneuors,
who cruised 70 the Wes. indies, took the yellow
fever and was sent to Newport, r l., 10 git WELL
But he fell IN love With Prssy Ht there, qoit the
uAVy Of king Louis Xv., and, entering cur
merchant serrces died soon, poor In PhI1s.lephia.
HIS only son Stephen, went to sea, married Miss
Fine. m Irish gil, became a naval ot!cer and
prtsateetsman In the revolution, and while he wAs
on fighting the English, the British army entered
Philadelphia; his wife moved down 10 SlnepuIent
Bay, where Stephen Decatur, the dtst son, was
born. lie had the three big crosses in hin, slr,
Frelch, 1stsh, and--''
"Yankee7"
Yes, stI" said the old Bladensburger, =" but
the Rhode Tsland Yankee wRs driven out Of New
England proper, aud It Is better breed We had
some hope 10 see to Nj, Spr4yue, Of Rhode
Island, out On our tuenng ground. Eut I'm afraid
have seen my last atais Of honor"
How old are you. may 1sK!'
lam 81 years old, nr Sometimes thlnk re-
member the battle OF BladenAburg, but they tell
me that's only au Idea. But when Decatur was
shot Was t2 rear old We knew there was boou'
to be a tuel BY gentlemen with naval look to EN-
uAf,F F1dfrF NJ
way they aiways did, sir. One party would come
from Da,timore-way and put up yer all night in
BlndensourT. The opposite party Toutd drive ont
from Washington after daylight next dsy and meet
the 1lladenshufR party In The gully haf mile to-
ward Washington. There they d light. and cross
the Destfeck line right aftesward to avoid arrest.
We boys cut or eyes when We saw strangers
round town tate- Next morning, youu be hound,
we was up and hiding tn the trees or bushes along
the edge Of the gully. 1t WAS Barrons party, sir,
that stayed In Biadcnsburg that night. Al gen
teman . house. near BY, have heard tAat some
OF Decatur a family put up, 10 be Timely On hand
after the shots were rred. There were Thousand
stories dying round inter the nght about those
minor matters, only know what saw and was
Informed
Thought to myself how true It was, Indeed,
that what passeA pershes at least to the curiosity
This old parasite and ghoul OF manslaughscr had
only expressed in another way the apology Of Mac-
Ianze to hls Life Of Decatur, that: "The search
for TRUTH however sincere, does not always result
IN its being found. Experience proves that cun-
history is quite as falbe as that Of the
past"
TURN AR0cAD BL1nKS6BURG.
lighted my pipe and purchased for this Oldham
Eatde paper Of ttDfoi tobacco lie entered Into
some little apology upon bis fallen coudltiou.
"Mefe down tolabul pore In Bisdensb1rg these
days, atF. They took two thtng1 from us, sir, that
would ruin ang people-our river and Gu. nlggesa
They give us a railroad. anu that busted US COM
pletely. Bladensbnsg stood before Georgetown or
Washington were thought ol, sir. It WIS called
Garrison Landing as far hack as the year 1909.
People round here live to this day who can temcu-
Der vessels clearing from the foot Of this
street for the West Indies and for Liy-
e7sooL Then the capital vas established
close BY us and stages ran through Baltimore to
the numher Of Thirty or FORTY q day. Meantime the
rlEef began to get shailower every year till our
port was broken up: for the soil nereaoout runs
or or wears into deep gulleya, and We hadn't the
Northern knowledge to make 1t stay. What we
lost on our land 1lled up our river. Then the
railroad wsa laid thirty yeat ago, and 1t broke up
the brtsLneas Of our way eravel Finally, when
The land was 30 pore that 1t wouldn't keep mig.
Ecr, supern1ou8 bad lack took even our nIgKers.
And, between you and me. sir, ns AArJlandcrs the
nggers amt certainly no wuss Oh than they vaa,
and We are Huss Oh eye1y way. III take some
gin, If you're agreeable
AT this time ny car11age came up, and, II ter
gong tnsoo9h the notel male the complete cir
cult Of the village.
Tha celebrated tavern Is frame building, with
a lawn In the rear, fiunt porch, I bar-room at
the end, and the har-room gives access to stable
sard, which Is open On the side next the street
and has hitchfug Etalls set round about
=. .ne psesens ~ oss tals Ase1n Is Tue andlspoted
". ntausoale. An9 :nlsaensou1R Is tne
"e's. "" pVse'.ss - ~ ceeu 'to4ea '"eFe
- - mole Hnu "ote AaefseA.s o"us Oh
y. asaA e1ns. ~ aueu.a ~ 1At
.... 80 .. ~. t!eSsus Iss .osItns! 1ne
~. p'.,s* ~ a.s .. lsa. ~" aeetn
-. $3.50 VIC ee ~ ~ NC r.lu .e'ss
~ ~. -. ~. "..s>ue wv w. usIA ui0a u,
= "u1u aiAi euea1 "llauut neeo' uepaeea a. =!
luuA eAeets upon tue SonIsiJ .n.PuIuoa W
W" Aut - @ease" VIII 'uas p'oosANistt-
nessa ana 'nt.suness otnef~Met "aien ca!!a aan
ioHots 70 tne ne!a. lts pfouhcss fecoHect'on
Is tna1 IL VAS lae p4ckea piaee Iof mortal conhss,
ano 1etH Vas ene scene OF tne most coHasuy
nAtue ever 1ouSnt on Inc American Eonslheht,
pasue wherein 1e~ bfnsh aanos1 md soidlefS
sew tns mmua OF Al this countr1slde a. they ran
HAe uoss, lea'tns on toen u3as tue earlso! OF sne
eoauu- 70 e outaea ano tae feaaen1 OF tue
~ .ouutls " os eapse!.N -1nu u tae easnons o.
.a.a a.s. -. =. ~: oase1 Aa uaauso'uess
v.nes4 - w. aa- "e nayatu y! tne seas a.
Nv .A-fa. ~. ..A.4.-sett s.-L Asoes II
,s s.s ".a ~ ~ IL ns o"e" Aoo "is la1 III
VI. sa,s sA.s =, up.
s ~ ntsasnsDotK ~ esse nnA@ .pe eane
N.. "u.n Dea.a! . suo ~ nas1on 'ousas
~ - y. .. 9.As ~ Men' Ia1o@ '"aaslue
10y W su.ss VI Ioai a0nnteo peop1e a tae
cs0ss'ne et tne EaT bsaaea o1 me Potomac nve
miles NON tne cap'tet a. Warrington. IL prin-
aiA etFees bsletenes aone uas moor Of sand.
sausty, uke Tue el'i1ens, and u. Al bo&a ends,
stopped ~ lord and bridges Tot the branch
makes nafn round TIC bottom OF the village and