North Carolina Newspapers

. AlED;Lra.A "M'TIWELo i V NEWBERN, SATURDAY, APRIL 22, 1820 NUMBER;109. 4 : - TH&LATE.DUEL. CORRESPONDENCE Between the, late Commodore Stephen ' Dicatur. and Commodore James Bar ron, which led to the unfortunate meet ing of the twenty-second of March. The friends; of tjje late Commodore Decatur have learriedjth very great re gret, that misconception injurious to him prevails, and are extending, relative to the difference between -him" 2?nd Commodore Barron. To place the subject in its true light, they have thought it necessary to submit to the public, without comment, the "whole correspondencejsvhich prece ded the meeting. ' ' t NO. 1. rJ ' Hampton, (Va.) 'June 12 1819. Sir I have been informed in Norfolk, thit you -.have said that you' could insult me with impunity, or words to that effect. If you have said so, you will no doubt a- vo w it, and I shall expect to hear from you. I am, r, your obedient servant, JAMES BARRON. To Commodore Stephen Decatur, Washington. . No. 2. Washington Yitli June, 1819. Sir I have received your communi cation of the 13th instant. Before you tould have been entitled to the informa tion you have asked. of,, me, you should have given up the name or yourmrormer. hat iranKness wnicn ougiu to cnurac- erise our profession required it. I shall ot, however, refuse to answer you on hat account, but shall be as candid in y communication to you as your letter r tne case win wiii emu Whatever I may have thought, or said, the very frequent and free conrersa- ions 1 nave nau respecting yuu u.uiyuur. conduct, I feel a thorough conviction that I never could have jnuch egotism as to Jnsult you" (or any been euiltv or so could "with say that. "I. other man V JlUUUlUlVt I am, sir, your obedient servant, STEPHEN DECATUR. fTo Commodore James Barron, 1 Hampton, Virginia. r I ' No. 3. ::-'!;. Hampton, ( Va.) June 25&, 1S19. Sir Your communication of the 17th instant, in answer to mine of the 13th, I have received. ; J The circumstances that urged me to jcall on you for the information request ed in my letter, would, I presume, have instigated you, or any other person, to the same conduct that I pursued. Sever al gentlemen in Norfolk, not your ene- live, told me that such a report was in jcirculation, but could not now be traced to its origin. I, therefore, concluded to ap peal to you, supposing, under suchc ircuni Viances, that I could not outrage any rule of decorum or candour. This, I trust ViU be considered as a just motive for the course I have pursued. Your ' decla jration, if I understand it correctly, re lieves ray mind from the apprehension - that you had so degraded my character, as I had been induced to allege f I am, sir, your obe'dient servant, 4 JAMES BARRON. To Commodore Stephen Decatur. ' No. 4. . j: f Washington, June 29, 1819- I Sir 1 have received your communi I cation of the 25th, in -answer to mine of the 17th, and, as you hare expressed vourself doubtfully, as to vour correct un- derstanding?if my letter of the aforesaid date, I have now to State, and I request I you to understand distinctly, that meant wo more than to disclaim the specific and V particular expression to which your in ' quiry was directed, to wit : that I had a- said that I could insult you with impuni ty. As to the motives of the " several gen : itlemen in Norfolk," your informants, or s me rumors wnich " can not be traced to iftheir origin," on which the information ; was founded, or who they are, is a matter ' of perfect indifference to me, as is also your motives in making such an upon such information. inquiry i our obedient servant, STEPHEN DECATUR. To Commodore JamesiBarron, . Hampton, Virginia. .- No. 5- ' Hampton, October 23, 1819. Sir r had supposed that the measure of your ambition was nearly completed, and that your good fortune had rendered your reputation for acts of magnanimity too dear to be risked wantonly on occa sions that can never redound to the hon or of him that would be great. I had also concluded that your rancor towards me was fully satisfied, by the cruel and unmerited sentence passed upon me . by With respect to the date of this let ter, it may be proper to observe, that, al though it is 12th of June, yet the fig ure 2, as made, might well be mistaken lor a 3 : hence in Cora. Decatur's letter ot rv j)ly, he considered the date to be the -13th June. On referring Jiowever, to jthe post mark on the back of the letter, it was found to have been put into the post office on the 12th : hence, in Com. Decatur's letter to Com. Barron, of $e j ' 1819' a 19 recogoizedas the court of which yrou were a member; and, after an exile from my country, fam ily, and friends, of nearly seven years, I had concluded that T should now be al- lowed, at least, to enjoy that solace, with V this society, that lacerated feelings like t mine reqmreu, ana max you wuum ijac suffered me to remain in quiet possession of those eniovments : but scarcely had I set my foot on my native soil, ere I learnt that the same malignant spirit which had before influenced you to endeavor to ruin my reputation was still at work, and that you were ungenerously tradu cingjny character whenever an occasion occurred which suited your views, and, in many instances, not much to your cre dit as an officer, through the medium of our juniors : such,cenduct cannot fail to p roduce an injurious effect on the dis i cipline and subordination of the navy. A report of this sort,- sir coming from the respectable and creditable sources it did, could not fail to arrest my attention, and to excite those feelings which might naturally be expected to arie inj the heart of every man who professes to en tertain principles of honor, and intends to act in conformity with them. With such feelings I addressed a letter to you under date of the 13tb June last, which produced a correspondence between us, which 1 have since been intormed you have endeavoured to usji to my farther in jury, by sending it o ;N)rf()lk by a re spectable officer of the nkvy, to be shewn to some of my particular friends, with a view of alienating from me their attach ment! I am also informed that you have tauntingly and boastingly "observed, i'that you would cheerfully meet me in the field, and hoped that I would yet act like a man, or that you had used words to that effect : such conduct, sir, on the part Of any one, but especially one occupying the influ ential station under the government which you hold, towards an individual, situated as I am, and oppressed as I have oeeri, and that chiefly by your means, is unbecoming you as an officer and a gen tleman : and "shews a want of magnanim- L . . . ..i t i e I ity which, hostile as l nave iouna you 10 be towards me, I had hoped for, your own reputation you possessed. It. calls loudly for redress at your hands : , I con sider you as having given the invitation, which I accept, and will prepare to meet you at such time and place as our re spective friends, hereafter to be named, shall designate. I also, under all the circumstances of the case, consider my self entitled to the choice of weapons, place, and distance; but, should a dif ference of opinion be entertairied by our friends, I flatter myself, from )four known personal courage, that you would disdain anv unfair advantage, which your supe riority in the use of the pistol, and the natural defect in my vision, increased by age,1 would give you. I will thank you not to put your name on the cover of your answer, as I presume you can have no disposition to give unnecessary pas a to the females of my family. I am, sir, your obedient servant, ! JAMES BARRON. To Commodore Stephen Decatur, j Washington. J! ' No. 6. ,.T Washington, 3 1st October 1819 Sir Your letter' of the 23d inst. has been duly received. Prior to giving it that reply which I intend, its contents suggest-the necessity ot reiernng to our June correspondence. . t . On the;12th of June last you -addressed to me a note, inquiring whether I had said that "I could insult you with im punity." On the 17th June I wrote to you, in reply as follows : " Whatever I may have' thougU or said in the very fre quent and free conversations I have had respecting, you and your conduct, I feel a thorough conviction that I never could have been guilty of so much egotism, as to say that ! could insult you, or any oth er man, with impunity." On the 25th of June, you again wrote to me, and stated, that the report on which you grounded your query of the 12th of June. " could not now be traced to its origin," and your letter is conclu ded in the following words : "your dec laration, if I understand it correctly, re lieves my mind from the apprehension that you had so degraded my character, as I had been induced to allege." Imme diately on receiving your letter of the 25th June, I wrote to you, 29th June, as follows : " As vou have expressed your self firmhtfnlW'hc tn vnnr correct under- standing of my letter of the 17th of June, l have now to state ana disclaim mc p-; cWc and varticular expression, to which your enquiry was directed, to wit: " that I had saidl could insult you with impu nity ." Here ended our June correspon dence, andwith it, all kind of communi cation, till tlie date of your letter, oflhe 234 inst. which I shall now proceedto notice Nearjy four months having elapsed since thejdate of our last correspondence; your letter was unexpected to me, particularly as the terms used by you, in the conclu sion of your letter to me of the 25th of June, and yourl silence since receiving my letter.of the 29th June, indicated, as 1 thought, satisfaction on your part. But, it seems that you consider yourself ag grieved by my sending our June corres- Jondence to Norfolk. I did not send the une correspondence to Norfolk until three months had expired after your last letter, and hot then, until I Bad been, in- of this information, Captain Lewis refers formed by a captain of the navy,-that ato Mr. Thomas Goodwin of Baltimore" female of your acquaintance ; had stated, the brother of Captain Ridge1y,.bf the that such a correspondence bad taken . navy, who received it from : Mr. Lvnn place. . It that correspondence, has, in any degree, " alienated your friends from yuu, &ucu cucvi is it uc aiuiuuicu iu uic correspondence itself. I thought the pa- , pers would speaic ior tnemseives, ana sent them without written comment. - With respect to the court martial upon you for the affair of the Chesapeake,; to ; which vou have been pleased to,; refer, I shall not treat the officers, who compo sed, that court, with so much disrespect as to attempt a vindication of theii pro ceedings. The Chief Magistrate of our country approved them ; the nation; ap proved them : and tlie sentence had been Carried into effect. But, sir, there is a part of my conduct oh that occasion, which it does not appear irrelevant to re vive in your, recollection. It is this : ; I was present at the court of enquiry upon you, and heard the evidence then adduc ed for and against you ; thence I drew an Opinion altogether unfavorable to. you; and, when I was called upon, by the sec retary of the navy, to act as member of tne court martial oroerea ior your inai, i begged to be excused the duty, on the ground of my having" formed . such an opinion.' The honorable Secret ary was pleased to insist on my ser ving ; still anxious to be relieved from this service, I did, -prior to making my seat as a member,of the court, commu nicate to your able advocate, gen: Taylor, the opinion I had formed,1 and my cor respondence with the navy department upon thejsubject, in order to afford, you an opportunity, should you deem it ex pedient, jo protest against my being a member, on the ground o( my not 'only having formed, but expressed an opinion unfavorable to you. You did not protest against my being a member. Duty con strained me, however unpleasant it was, to take' my seat as a member; I did so, and discharged the duty imposed upon" me. You, I find, are incapable of esti mating jthe. motives: which guided my conduct in this transaction. For my conduct as a member of t that court martial, I do not consider myself as, in any way, accountable to yow. But, sir, "you have thought fit to deduce, from your- impressions tof my conduct - as a member of that court martial,' inferen ces of personal hostility towards you. Influenced by feelings thence arising, you commenced the June correspondence, a correspondence which I had hoped would have terminated our communica-. tions. v -.' ' j ; Between you, and myself, there never has been a personal difference ; but I have entertained, and do still entertain the opinion that your conduct as an officer, since thp affair of the Chesapeake,- has been such as ought to forever bar your re admission into the service. In my lettef" to you of the 17th . June, although I disavowed the particular ex pressions to ! which you invited my atten- tion, candor irequired that 1 should ap prise you of my not . having been silent respecting you. I informed )rou that I had had very frequent and free conversa tions1 respecting you and your conduct ; and ! the words were underscored, that they might nqt fail to attrict your parti cular attention. Had you have i- asked what those frequent and free conversa tions were, I should, with the same frank ness, nave ioki you., uui, msir.tu ui. ma king a demand of this kind, you reply to my letter of the 17th June, . " That re declaration, if correctly understood by you,' relieved your! mind&c. That you might correctiy understand what I did mean, I addressed you, as before obser ed,on the 29th June, and endeavored, by underscoring I certain precise terms, to t ' . I.... i j r w convey to you my precise meaning, To this last letter I never received a reply. Under these circumstances, I have judged it expedient at this time, to state, as distinctly as may be in my power, the facts upon "which Ij ground the unfavor able! opinion which! I entertain, and 1 have expressed, of your conduct as an officer, -Since tne cuun uwumi upuu I disclaim all personal enmity towards yOU.1 ' ! r : - - - i ... ' A : ' Some time after you had been suspen ded from the service, for your conductm the affair of the Chesapeake, you pro ceeded in a merchant brig, from Norfolk to Pernambuco; and by a communica tion from the late 'Capt. Lewis, whose honorj and veracity were never yet ques tioned, it ; appearsthat s you stated to Mr. Lyoh; the British ConsuUt Pernam buco, with whom; you .lived, " That if the Chesapeake had been ? prepared lor action, vou would not have resisted the attack of the Leopard ; assigning, as a reason, that you knew, (as did also our government,) there were deserters on board your ship; that the President of the United States knew there were de serters on board, and of the intention of the British to take them; and that the ProC;(Unt vnn to ro out in a de- .fenceess state, for the! express purpose dis- j? nt'tiavino rmir shm fittacked ana - o . See the extract from Captain Carter's himsell. Keterertce was made to Mr.' Goodwin, who, in an official communica- v-uumuicu au mdi VKipuiin uewts had said. The veracity and respectabil- ity of Mr Goodwin -are; also beyond question. - You will be enabled to judge 1 of the impression made uDOn - Caotain Lewis's mind, - by the following strong . r- - A . - remarks he made on the subject: , l am now convinced that Barron is a traitor, br I can call by no other name uiau nuu wuuiq iai& in mis, way 10 un Englishman, and ari Englishman in ot fice." t v.; " :. : .r . These communications are now in the archives of the navy department. ; . :" If, sir, the affair of the Chesapeake ex cited the indignant feelings of the nation towards Great Britain ; and was, as eve ry One admits one of the principal causes which produced the late war, did it not ' oenove you to take an active part in the; war, for vour own sake ? Patriotism nut of the question But, sir, instead of findr ing you in the foremost ranks on an oc casion which so emphatically demanded your best exertions, it is said, and is credited, that you were, after thecom mencement of the war, tone found in the command of a vessel sailing under Brit ish license ! .Though urged," by your. friends, to avail yourself of some one of the opportunities which were every day occurring, in privateers, or other fast sailing merchant vessels, sailing from F ranee, and other places, to return to your country during the war; it is not known that you manifested adisposition to do so, excepting in the single instance by the cartel John Adams, in whicti vessel you must have known, you could nor be permitted to return, without violating her character as a cartel. i J You say you have been oppressed. You know sir, that by absenting your self, as you did for years, from the coun try, without leave from the government, you subjected yourself to be striken from the rolls. You know, also, that, by the 10th article-6f the act for the better go vernment of the Navy, all persons in the Navy holding intercourse with an enemy, become subject to the severest punish ment known to our laws. You have not, for the offences before stated, to my knowledge, received evert a reprimand ; and I do know, that your pay, even during your absence, has been continued to you. As to my having spoken of you inju riously to "junior officers," I have to remark, that such is the state of our ser vice that we-have but few seniors. If I speak with officers at all, the probability is, it will be with a junior. On your return to this country, your efforts to re-establish yourself in the ser vice were known, and become a subject of conversation with officers as well as others. In the many and free conver sations! have had respecting you and your, conduct, 1 have said, for the causes above enumerated, that, in my opinion, you ought hot to be received again into the naval service ; that there was not employ ment for all the officers who had faithfully discharged. their duty to their country in the hour of trial ; and that it would be do ing an act of injustice to employ you, to the exclusion of any one of them. In speaki ng thus, and endeavouring to prevent your re-admission, I conceive I was perform ing a, duty I owe to the service; that I wascontributing to the preservation of its respectability. .Had you have made no effort to be re-employed, after the war, it is more than probable I might not have spoken of you. If you continue your efforts, I shall certainly, from the same feelings of publicduty by which IJiave hitherto been actuated, be con strained to continue the expression of my opinions ; and I can assure you, that, in the interchange of opinions with other officers, respecting you, 1 have never met, with more than one who did not entirely concur with me. The objects of your communication of th o'iri: asrnrpssed bv vou. now claim -" "7 1 J ' . mv notice. You profess to consider me -as having given you "an invitation." You sav that you have been toio, mat j have " tauntingly and boastingljr observ ed, that I would cheertuily meet you in the field, and hoped you would yet act like a 'mail.''' - i. One- would naturally : have supposed, that, after having been so recently led in to error by rumors" which could not be traced, you would have received with some caution, subsequent rumors ; at all events, that you would have endeavored to have traced them, before again ventu ring tact upon them as if they were true. Had you hare pursued this course, you would have discovered, that the latter rumors were equally unfounded as the former." I never invited you to the field ; nor have I expressed a hope that you would call me out. I was informed, by a gen tleman with whom you had conferred up on the subject, that vou left Norfolk for 1 this place, sometime before our June cor- ! AJonm. with thp intention of callihjr man, 1 have toal. o,h, V,,h whom 1 have I conversed upon this subject, that, if you Side the call, X wald meet yoU- that, if you j made the call, I but that, on all scores, I should lie much better pleased, to have nothing to , do with you I do not think that fighting ; duels, under any circumstances, can raise . the reputation of any man, and have long since discovered, that it is not even an un erring (Criterion of personal courage I should regret the necessity of fighting with any man, but, in my opinion, the man who makes arms His profession is not at liberty to' decline an invitation from any person, who is not so far degraded, as to be beneath his notice. Having incautious ly said I would meet you, I will not now consider this to be your case, although many think so and if I had not pledged" myself, I might re-consider the case. 1 As to ." weapons, place, and distance," if we are to meet, those points will, as U tisual, be committed to the friend I may 'select on the occasion. As far, however, as it may be left to me, hot having any particular prejudice in favor of any par ticular arm, distance, or mode, (but, on the contrary, disliking them all) I should not be found fastidious on those points, but should be rather disposed to jrield yon any little advantage of this kind. ,, As to my skill in the use of the pistol it exists more in your-imagination T than in reali ty. 'For the last twenty years I have had but little practice-i-and the' disparity in our ages, to which you have been pleased ! to refer, is, I believe, not more than five t or six years. It would have been out of the common course of nature, if the vision of either of us had been improved by. years. From your manner of proceeding, ' it appears to me, that you have come to the determination to fight someone and that you have selected me' for that pur pose ; and I must take leave to Observe, that your object would have been better attained, had you have made this decision during our late war, when your fighting might have benefited your country as well as rourself. ' The style Of your com- munication, and the matter, I did not de serve so dispassionate arid historical a no tice as I have given it ; and had I be lieved it would receive no other inspection than yours, I should have spared myself the trouble. The course I adopted with, j our former correspondence, I shall pur- j sue with this, if I shall deem it expedient. . I am, sir your obedient servant, STEPHEN DECATUR. ) To Commodore James Barron Hampton Virginia. V extract vl ! Norfolk, 2ith Aug. 1819 My Dear Commodore Nothing had transpired here previous to my arriv al on the subject of the correspondence : buC 7 a Lady, a Miss ., I think her name s from Hampton, has stated, that a , cor- respondence had -taken place between, you and B. which she feared would end iu a meeting. The fears of this lady are at direct variance with the opinion of your friends here, who think that he does not purpose saying more on the subject. 1 As it seems that hvwas known at Hamp ton, and even here, that letters had pass ed between you and B. may I Venture to ask you to send a copy of them to Mr. Tazewell, who I have just left. He will, with great pleasure, he I says, attend to your wisheso ! Receive the best wishes of your friend, W. CARTER. ' Commodore Decatur, j "i ! I ' No. 7. . - 4- Washington, JVw. 1819. Sir. -Since my communication to yr.11 of the 31st ult. I have been informed by a gentleman leuiilled to the fullest credit, that you ! werenot afloat till after ho peace ; consequently the report wliich I noticed of y pur having sailed under - British license must be unfounded. I am, sir, your obedient serva r.t. STEPHEN DECATUR. Com. James Barron, i ;: - ' No. 8.' )'" ; Hampton. Kirr. 20, J S19. . Sir Unavoidable interruption has pre vented my answering your two last com munications, as early s it was my wish to have done, but in a few days you shall have my reply. I am, sir, vour obedient servant, V J AS. BARRON. Com. Stpehen Decatur. No. y. Hampton, 30th Nov. 1819. ?if T dkl not receive, until Tuesday, the 9th inst. your very lengthy, elaborate, and historical reply, without date, tony letter to you of the 23d ultimo ; which, from its nature and object j did not, I con ceive, require that yon should have crX tered so ntuch into detail, in defence of the hostile: and unmanly "course you have pursued towards me; since the " afair oi the Chesapeake," as- you lenn it. A much more laconic answer wou!d nave served my purpose, which, for the pres ent, is nothing more than obtain at your hands honorable mi: for th? ac cumulated insults whickyot;. lr: is par tipular, above all my enemies, bate tl tempte'd to heap upon me. in every h?.v in which tbey could be oJTWrt. lait volumiuuus htttr? U :r; .wCft-n, ftr. if rtiinp ther exiteii, ith ranr 1 corous disposition MIUVIl ----- -- . . you etuctiui- "- - I me, and the extent to which you have. carried it. The letter 1 snouiu u titan rnrplv to iuJorill OU it. had reacnea , lS.ik&d , to metx cu in ih? fad un cmy uu had reached me, and that 1 am pF-" w toe . y . . A ! - r '