Barron, James, CAPT

James Barron was an officer in the United States Navy.  He served in the Quasi-War and the Barbary Wars, during which he commanded a number of famous ships, including USS Essex and USS President.  As commander of the frigate USS Chesapeake, he was involved in the Chesapeake–Leopard affair in 1807 which led to the surrender of his ship to the British and resulted in him being court-martialed for his actions during incident.

After criticism from some fellow officers, the resulting controversy led Barron to a duel with Stephen Decatur, one of the officers who presided over his court-martial.  Suspended from command, he pursued commercial interests in Europe during the War of 1812.  Barron finished his naval career on shore duty, becoming the Navy's senior officer in 1839.

Killed Commodore Stephen Decatur in a duel on March 22, 1820.
In 1820, Commodore James Barron challenged Decatur to a duel, relating in part to comments Decatur had made over what he considered Barron's poor conduct in the Chesapeake-Leopard Affair of 1807. Decatur had served as one of the members of the Court Martial that had found Barron guilty of unpreparedness in the affair, and had barred him from a command for the next five years.

Barron's second was Captain Jesse Elliott, known for his antagonism to Decatur. Decatur asked his supposed friend Commodore William Bainbridge to be his second, to which Bainbridge consented. However, Decatur unknowingly had selected a man who had harbored a long-standing jealousy of Decatur.

The two officers fought at Bladensburg Duelling Field in Bladensburg, Maryland (now in Colmar Manor, Maryland), on 22 March 1820. Before the duel, Barron spoke to Decatur in words of suggestive conciliation, but the seconds did nothing to halt the altercation. Decatur, an expert marksman with a pistol, intended only to wound Barron. However, Decatur was mortally wounded by a shot in the abdomen. (Decatur had likewise inflicted a severe, though not mortal, wound to Barron's hip.)