#OnThisDay in 1820, Commodore Stephen Decatur was killed in a duel against a rival naval officer. Decatur, a native of Maryland’s Eastern Shore, had served a distinguished career in the early decades of the newly formed American Navy, serving on ships in the Barbary War, the Quasi-War, and the War of 1812. At 9 o’clock in the morning on March 22, Decatur met Commodore James Barron at the Bladensburg Dueling Grounds outside Washington to settle what Barron considered to be a stain on his reputation. At a distance of only eight paces, they both received direct shots, Barron (who survived) being hit in the abdomen and Decatur in the pelvic region. Commodore Decatur was brought back to his home where he died later that evening. His funeral was attended by President James Monroe, the justices of the Supreme Court, and most of Congress. A seaman in attendance proclaimed, “He was the friend of the flag, the sailor's friend; the navy has lost its mainmast." Image: Stephen Decatur, Jr. (1779-...