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ALS, one page both sides, 7.5 x 12.75, September 11, 1811. Addressed from aboard the heavy frigate USS United States, a handwritten letter from Decatur to Revolutionary naval officer Captain James Josiah, in full: “I have agreeably to the wishes of your family, discharged John Marsh, from the service, & at the same time informed him, that I would at any time go with him to the custom-house & obtain for him a protection. He declined this offer, & informed me that there was a person in New-York who would testify to his nativity. Some time before I received your last letter, my wife informed me that it was the wish of the family that John Marsh should be discharged. I then offered him his discharge, but he then said he would prefer remaining onboard, until the term for which he had entered had expired. The fact is, as you well know, that persons unaccustomed to confinement are always dissatisfied on first going on board ship, particularly if much in port, this was the case with John, he however ultimately, became perfectly reconciled to the life, & had for many months conducted himself with the greatest propriety.
I cannot but think that had he been permitted to remain on board the other year of his term it would have been better for him, as he was becoming acquainted with his duty, & was out of the way of dissipation. My wife mentioned to me, that she had heard something about a letter that had been addressed to me by Mrs. Marsh about the time I left Norfolk last; she understood it contained money. I have never received but one letter containing money – it covered 50 Dollars, & was received a few months after John joined the ship – this money was placed in the hands of the Purser, subject to John’s disposition. I beg you to give my love to Mrs. Josiah, & to make my best respects to Col’l Marsh.” The reverse of the second integral page is addressed by Decatur and bears remnants of the original red wax seal. In very good to fine condition, with tears and seal-related paper loss only to the integral address leaf.
In May 1810, Stephen Decatur took command of the 44-gun heavy frigate USS United States, a ship he had earlier helped oversee during construction and on which he had begun his naval career as a midshipman under Commodore John Barry. Throughout 1811, Decatur cruised along the eastern seaboard, maintaining readiness and protecting American commerce during a period of increasing tension with Great Britain.
Following the declaration of the War of 1812 on June 18th, the United States sailed with Commodore John Rodgers’s squadron before separating for independent operations. On October 25, 1812, Decatur engaged HMS Macedonian off the Azores in a sustained and hard-fought action. The British frigate was dismasted and compelled to surrender, and Decatur brought his prize back to the United States. It was the first British warship ever captured and brought into an American harbor.
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