Stephen Decatur and Oliver Hazard Perry: The Lives and Careers of America's Most Famous Naval Officers during the War of 1812

Americans had few things to celebrate during the Barbary Wars or the War of 1812, but one of them was the growing prestige of the U.S. Navy, and among those who were instrumental in its development, few were as influential as Stephen Decatur Jr. Decatur had an impact on nearly every war America fought in between the 1780s until his death in 1820, and his stardom ensured that he was a fixture among Washington, D.C.'s elite in his own lifetime. As with John Paul Jones during the American Rev...