Today in U.S. military history: Decatur battles Royal Navy weeks after War of 1812 ends

Today's post is in honor of Sgt. Jayton D. Patterson, who was killed by enemy action on this day in 2005 in Iraq's Babil province. The 26-year-old from Sedley, Va. was assigned to 1st Battalion, 2nd Marine Regiment, 2nd Marine Division, II Marine Expeditionary Force.

1815: Like Andrew Jackson's victory at New Orleans earlier in the month, the Americans and British clash again before word that the War of 1812 is over can cross the ocean. The frigate USS President, under the command of Commodore Stephen Decatur, breaks out of the British blockade at New York Harbor, but is soon intercepted by four British ships. President deals out significant damage to the frigate HMS Endymion but an outnumbered Decatur has to surrender the ship.

1911: (Featured image) At the San Francisco Air Meet, Lt. Myron S. Crissy drops a bomb he designed (along with Lt. Paul W. Beck) from a Wright Brothers airplane flown by Philip O. Parmalee. Although aerial bombs had been used before by hot-air balloon crews, this marks the first-ever deployment of a live bomb from an airplane.

1943: The Pentagon, the headquarters for the Department of Defense and one of the world's largest office buildings, is dedicated. The famous five-sided concrete structure resembles an old star-shaped fortress from the gunpowder era, and houses some 23,000 employees. World War II began shortly after construction starts, and the design had to be altered to accommodate the shortage of materials such as steel.

Thanks. Stephen Decatur led an amazing life and was a bold Naval leader. I first read about him in "Jefferson's War: America's First War on Terror 1801-1805," 2004 by Joseph Wheelan. (that book is well worth reading). I was only vaguely familiar with the name "Decatur" before that, but he was very famous when he was alive and was the first post-Revolution American military hero. From Wikipedia...

His father, Stephen Decatur Sr., was a commodore in the U.S. Navy, and 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.
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 American navy. In almost every theater of operation, Decatur's service was characterized by acts of heroism and exceptional performance. His service in the 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.

Can you imagine being CAPTAIN of a naval ship at age 25? He must have been a truly amazing leader.

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USS Constitution v HMS Guerriere 1812 ping

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The U.S. Navy rank of Commodore used to drive the Royal Navy crazy. At the time, the RN did not have a rank of Commodore. It was an ad hoc rank given a Captain placed in command of a squadron of ships. After the mission, he reverted to the rank of Captain.

So, theoretically, every American Commodore outranked every RN Captain.

“before word that the War of 1812 is over can cross the ocean”

Yes, AND before the US govt ratifies it.

So sick of that “chastisement” about fighting “after” the war - or the Brits deny credit because “after the war”.

Meanwhile - people today probably don’t realize it, but Decatur was a huge hero! I mean, you may not know who he is, but look at how so many places were named after him...he’s almost as popular to the post office as Washington.

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