Telegram-herald., 1890-03-02
THE BARRoN-DEcATUR DUEL.
One OF the Many Meetings That Occupied
at Bladeusburg, Bid.

One OF the Many Meetings That Occupied
at Bladcnsburg, BID.
In the naval history Of the United
States Stephen Decatur's name ranks on
the first page. On the ship Preble, be-
fore Tripoli, as a lieutenant, he won
promotion, and his rise thereafter was
steady and brilliant. The only tarnish
In his honorable life was his death at Bla-
iensburg. Barron, like Decatur, was an
officer in the United States navy. He
had been suspended from service for five
years before the war of 1212-14. because
his ship, the Chesapeake, unprepared,
was boarded by the British ship Leopard.
The tinge Of cowardice naturally colored
his life and reflected all his acts. he went
abroad, broken man, and being In Eng
land when the war broke out, was neces-
sarily detained during its continuance.
On his return he applied for active SER
vice and ship. His application met
With assistance; he was despised by his
Fellow officers, and his absence from the
country during her hour of need was Sc
verely commented upon. Gossip became
busy, and it was reported to Barron that
Decatur was the foremost of his persecu-
tors. Then there began a long CORE
spondence between the two. Mutual
friends widened the breach, End at last
Barron, stung to madness at the imputa-
ton of cowardice everywhere thrust
upon him, challenged Decatur.
No man of his time was more skilled
in the use of weapon than Decatur; no
man more of an adept in dueling. 1t
had been to him a pastime from his
school days up. He unhesitatingly ac-
cepted Barron's challenge, and with fas-
tidious niceness prepared his worldly
affairs. He wrote his will, kissed his
sleeping wife good-by, and rode out on
the raw, chilly morning Of March p,
1920, to seek his death at the accursed
spot of Bladensburg. Great personages
were t11ey, who stood in that narrow
gully at the meeting. The American
navy was we'll represented. Great de-
corum prevailed in the choice of corners
and the measure of distance. The two
principals, naughty, dignified, self pos
sessed ever, observed in silence the ar
rangements made for the death of one,
and the question must have suggested IT.
self. Which?
All being in readiness, the principals
were placed back to back; their orders
were to turn at the word Present. and
not to fire before the word cone" nor
after the word Three" Eight PAGES
distant from each other, they swung
around at the word Present, each saw
the face Of the other, the rising sun and
the barren landscape; one for the last
time, but which?
At the cry "Onew each took deadly
aim; TO miss fire meant death.
"Two." Both pistols were discharged
simultaneously and both men fell. Boil
men were wounded in the hip; the bal
which struck Decatur glanced upward
severing the blood vessels in the abdo
men. His time had come. Both mer
were hustled from the field; Barron
away from the city and chance prosecu
tion. Decatur back TO his elegant home
He fingered far into the night and die'
in great agony. The affair created In
tense excitement all over the country
"a cursed shamer said the few opposes
to murder disguised under the name o
the duel. Unfortunate in its results.
exclaimed the many advocating the code
Barron suffered from his wounds 70
many months and finally died in 1851
having gained nothing in life that clun
70 his name with the tenacitv Of his reT
utation a. the slayer Of Decatur.-Gen
Riley in New York Star.