Stephen Decatur

This c. 1820 portrait of Stephen Decatur (1779-1820) attributed to Charles Bird King after Gilbert Stuart hangs in the National Gallery of Art in Washington, DC.

"Stephen Decatur first rose to fame in 1804 during the war with the Barbary pirates, when he com­manded the daring party that boarded and burned the captured frigate Philadelphia while it lay anchor­ed under the citadel at Tripoli in North Africa. Dur­ing the War of 1812, he was awarded a congressio­nal gold medal for "gallantry, good conduct, and service." Sent back to the Mediterranean in 1815, Decatur intimidated the dey of Algeria into signing a treaty that ended demands for tribute and brought th,e Barbary Wars to a final close. Feted upon his return, Decatur offered the toast: "Our country! In her intercourse with foreign nations may she always be in the right; but our country, right or wrong." Mortally wounded in a duel, Decatur died with a sigh 'that it was not in his country's cause.'" -- National Portrait Gallery

This engraving from The Life and Character of Stephen Decatur by S. Putnam Waldo is obviously based on the King/Stuart painting.

And the following two renditions refer to a painting by Thomas Sully.  This one appeared in  Jared Sparks' 1864 biography of Decatur.

And this one appeared in Stephen Decatur by Cyrus Townsend Brady, 1900.

In this engraving from Nautical Illustrations of Old Line Ships of the United States Navy  by Herbert Booker Lt. Stephen Decatur's fights with Algerian Pirates at Tripoli while Reuben James interposes his head to save the life of his commander.

An 1852 painting by Thomas Chambers, in the Smithsonian American Art Museum shows the capture of the H.B.M Frigate Macedonian by U.S. Frigate United States, October 25, 1812.

"The rolling waves and swirls of smoke in this painting convey the noise and excitement of battle. To patriotic nineteenth-century Americans, the victory of the frigate United States over the British ship Macedonian in 1812 marked a triumph against British sea power. Off the Canary Islands, Stephen Decatur's ship damaged the Macedonian's hull, dismasted, and captured her. Decatur became an American hero who famously proclaimed "Our country-...may she always be in the right; but our country, right or wrong." -- The Smithsonian American Art Museum.