In 1829, a desperate widow of the patriot and hero of the War of 1812, Stephen Decatur appealed to President Andrew Jackson to save her and the Decatur house from despair. Mrs. Stephen Decatur was deep in debt and had become a victim of the heated election of 1828. Without a dollar to her name, she was desperately waiting on a claim filed with the U.S. Navy that had been ignored by the outgoing administration due to the "political sentiments of [her] intimate friends and associates". The election of 1828, Andrew Jackson, Henry Clay, a slave fighting for her freedom, one of America's greatest heroes, and a historic house all play a role in this amazing story.
On March 22nd, Commodore Stephen Decatur hero of both the Barbary Wars and War of 1812 was mortally wounded in a duel with disgraced Navy Commodore James Barron. Although once friends, Commodore Barron had accused Decatur of ruining his reputation and career, and now they faced each other eight paces apart. They carefully raised their pistols and fired at each other simultaneously. Barron survived the wounds, but Decatur was brought back to his home and died in "terrible agony" ten hours later. It is a sad beginning to what today is the one of the oldest and most prestigious homes in Washington. Decatur's home was the first private residence in Washington D.C. and still stands today on Lafayette Square at the corner of H Street and Jackson Place. Decatur purchased the land and built the house with the prize money he was awarded for his many naval conquests in the War of 1812. Benjamin Henry Latrobe was commissioned to design the house, and the Mr. and Mrs. Decatur moved in with high expectations of celebrating their social position with lavish parties.
After the death of the Commodore, Mrs. Susan Decatur now a widow could not bring herself to stay in the house, and instead rented it out to well-known and wealthy men. Unfortunately, Mrs. Decatur fell into significant debt in part due to a Russian ambassador who lived there for several years as a recluse and fled the country without paying a significant amount of back rent. Mrs. Decatur remained in good standing in Washington and was working with our ambassadors to remedy the situation, but in the final years of the Adams administration, she had fallen on bad terms with the administration. In the Spring of 1829, Mrs. Decatur reached out to President Jackson to request he and his family join her for a "social cup of tea". In the letter, Mrs. Decatur shared with Jackson that "the late administration in consequence of the political sentiments of my intimate friends and associates, not only broke of their acquaintance with me, themselves, but they moreover endeavor'd to prevail upon my friends of the Diplomatic corps to drop my acquaintance also". Mrs. Decatur did not explain the reasons for this change in relations, but it seems very much tied to the election of 1828. It is also very likely that she had gotten mixed up in the affairs of former Secretary of State Henry Clay and a lawsuit over the freedom of one of his slaves.
Henry Clay lived in the Decatur House while he served as Secretary of State and brought with him their house slaves Aaron and Charlotte Dupuy. Charlotte also known as "Lottie" believed that the promise of freedom from her previous owner had been transferred to Henry Clay when he purchased her in 1806. At the behest of his slave Aaron, Clay purchased Lottie at a high price and brought both of them into his Ashland home to help with the children. Henry Clay was a member of the American Colonization Society but became shocked and angry when Lottie's lawsuit called into question his belief in gradual abolition. Clay was convinced that Lottie had become a pawn of his political enemies, who even in victory would do anything to discredit him and damage his reputation as a benevolent master. Adjudicating these matters took time, and by instructions of the court were that Lottie was to be left at the Decatur house when the family left Washington for Ashland. While Clay's attorneys handled the case, Lottie worked as a domestic servant for Martin Van Buren the new Secretary of State. There is no direct evidence that Mrs. Stephen Decatur supported Andrew Jackson and opposed Henry Clay in the election 1828, but her letter seems to indicate that at least some of her "intimate friends and associates" did. Whether, Mrs. Decatur herself was politically active or not, it was clear that the friends of Henry Clay treated her as the enemy. In December of 1829, Mrs. Decatur shared with Jackson some correspondence that she received as an example of the vindictive and malicious nature in Washington D.C. In the letter she wrote, "I take the liberty to send you the enclos'd epistle, to let you see what a malicious and vindictive community is contain'd with the ten mile Square!"
Thus, it was in 1829 that Andrew Jackson closed out his first State of the Union Address with an urgent request save the widow of the Commodore Decatur and the Decatur House. Jackson reminded Congress of the how Commodore Decatur had recaptured the USS Philadelphia during the Barbary Wars. The Ship had gone a wreck in 1803 on the shores of Tripoli and was captured by Algerian pirates when a young Stephen Decatur led a group of men to recover the ship and subsequently burn it, denying the pirates a 36-gun sailing frigate as a prize. President Jackson urged Congress to remember the "fruit of a deed of patriotic and chivalrous daring which infused life and confidence into our infant Navy and contributed as much as any exploit in its history to elevate our national character" with gratitude.
"I can not close this communication without bringing to your view the just claim of the representatives of Commodore Decatur, his officers and crew, arising from the recapture of the frigate Philadelphia under the heavy batteries of Tripoli. Although sensible, as a general rule, of the impropriety of Executive interference under a Government like ours, where every individual enjoys the right of directly petitioning Congress, yet, viewing this case as one of very peculiar character, I deem it my duty to recommend it to your favorable consideration. Besides the justice of this claim, as corresponding to those which have been since recognized and satisfied, it is the fruit of a deed of patriotic and chivalrous daring which infused life and confidence into our infant Navy and contributed as much as any exploit in its history to elevate our national character. Public gratitude, therefore, stamps her seal upon it, and the meed should not be withheld which may here after operate as a stimulus to our gallant tars."
In a follow-up letter to Mrs. Decatur, President Jackson gave his assurance that he believed her claim to be just and righteous and that Congress would approve of it, but he warned her to be very cautious to stay away from any and all politics, "avoiding every thing that may by possibility be calculated to produce the least feeling on the part of the members of Congress." I do not know the details of the claim, but in 1836 Mrs. Decatur was forced to sell the Decatur House.
References
Presidency.ucsb.edu. (2018). First Annual Message | The American Presidency Project. [online] Available at: https://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/documents/first-annual-message-3 [Accessed 16 Dec. 2018].
Heidler, D. and Heidler, J. (2010). Henry Clay. New York: Random House, pp.216-218.
HISTORY. (2018). Naval hero killed in duel. [online] Available at: https://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/naval-hero-killed-in-duel [Accessed 18 Dec. 2018].
Jackson, A., Smith, S., Owsley, H. and Moser, H. (1980). The papers of Andrew Jackson. Knoxville: University of Tennessee Press, p.659.
Stoler, M., Stoler, M. and profile, V. (2018). Decatur's Duel. [online] Havechanged.blogspot.com. Available at: https://havechanged.blogspot.com/2015/03/decaturs-duel.html [Accessed 18 Dec. 2018].
The Library of Congress. (2018). Andrew Jackson to Susan Wheeler Decatur, January 2, 1830. [online] Available at: https://www.loc.gov/resource/maj.01074_0252_0255/?st=gallery [Accessed 18 Dec. 2018].
The Library of Congress. (2018). Susan Wheeler Decatur to Andrew Jackson, May 26, 1829. [online] Available at: https://www.loc.gov/resource/maj.01073_0093_0096/?st=gallery [Accessed 18 Dec. 2018].
WHHA (en-US). (2018). The Historic Decatur House. [online] Available at: https://www.whitehousehistory.org/the-historic-decatur-house [Accessed 18 Dec. 2018].
The following letters were used in this blog post
MRS. SUSAN DECATUR TO JACKSON. Union Hotel, Washington, May 26, 1829. My Dear General, I have requested the favor of Major and Mrs. Donelson and the other members of your family, to come and take a social cup of tea with me tomorrow afternoon, or the first afternoon that might be more convenient to themselves; and shall I be particularly grateful if you would have the kindness to help me. Among the few friends whom you haven't chance to visit - The late administration in consequence of the political sentiments of my intimate friends and associates, not only broke of their acquaintance with me, themselves, but they moreover endeavor'd to prevail upon my friends of the Diplomatic corps to drop my acquaintance also, and finally succeeded with the French and Dutch Ministers; and it wou'd be a satisfaction to me to be able to shew them that I am in some degree restor'd to Executive favor! S. Decatur
MRS. SUSAN DECATUR TO JACKSON. George Town, December 3, 1829. My Dear General, I have been watching the Newspapers, with intense anxiety to see the Report of the Naval Committee upon my claim; for I am afraid it will be thrown so low on the Docket, that it may share the same fate it has hitherto done from being taken up on the last days of the Session; and rejected more from the hurry and impatience of the members than from and decided object to the Bill - The Naval committee consists of the same members who compos'd it last year, and who weigh'd all its merits, and I hope there can be no new stumbling block thrown in the way - May I therefore entreat you, My Dear General, to remind Mr. Hofman (the Chairman) of it, and of the great importance it is to me to have it settled as speedily as possible - for I can with truly assure you that I have not a single dollar! and I implore you to use all your influence to have me reliev'd from such a painful and humiliating situation!
I take the liberty to send you the enclos'd epistle, to let you see what a malicious and vindictive community is contain'd with the ten mile Square!
I beg you, My Dear General, to accept my best wishes for many years of happiness to yourself, and of increasing usefulness and happiness to yourself, and of increasing usefulness to your Country; and i pray you to accept the assurance of my cordial esteem and gratitude and to believe always most sincerely and respectfully yours. S. Decatur
TO MRS. SUSAN DECATUR, January 2, 1830. My D'r Madam, I have the pleasure of acknowledging the receipt of your note of Thursday last, together with its enclosure. You may rest assured, Madam, that my services shall be most cheerfully accorded in aid of getting your claim allowed by Congress. I believe it a just and righteous claim, and should long since have been recognised and paid by the Government. I have too much confidence in the disposition of Congress to do justice to those gallant men and their representatives to believe for a moment they will refuse to mete to them the same measure of justice which has so often been extended to others in similar situations. It will, however, be necessary for you and your friends to act with great caution and circumspection, studiously avoiding everything that may by possibility be calculated to produce the least feeling on the part of the members of Congress.
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