Reuben James
Reuben James | |
|---|---|
 James, wounded after battle in Tripoli, as painted by Dorothy Short (1944) | |
| Born | c. 1776 Delaware |
| Died | December 3, 1838 (aged 61–62) Washington, D.C., U.S. |
| Allegiance | United States of America |
| Service | United States Navy |
| Years of service | c. 1790s–1836 |
| Rank | Boatswain's mate |
| Battles / wars | |
Reuben James (c. 1776 – December 3, 1838) was an American sailor who served as a boatswain's mate in the United States Navy.[1] He is best known for purportedly saving the life of his commanding officer, Stephen Decatur, during the First Barbary War in 1804, though most historians agree he was wrongly credited for the actions of shipmate Daniel Frazier.
Biography
[edit]James was born in Delaware around 1776. By 1799, he was serving in the United States Navy aboard the frigate USS Constellation during the Quasi-War with France, participating in the victories over L'Insurgente and La Vengeance. During the First Barbary War, James was serving aboard the USS Enterprise when the frigate USS Philadelphia was captured by Barbary pirates after running aground near Tripoli, Libya.[2][3]
During the naval blockade of Tripoli, the most intense engagement was the Gunboat Battle of August 3, 1804. Lieutenant Stephen Decatur boarded a Tripolitan gunboat that he believed was crewed by the men who had feigned surrender before mortally wounding his brother.[3] While a wounded Decatur was locked in combat with the Tripolitan commander, another enemy sailor swung his sword at him. The Tripolitan's blow was absorbed by a sailor in Decatur's party, who suffered a head wound. Many traditional accounts credit James with saving Decatur's life, while modern scholarship credits Quartermaster Daniel Frazier.[4][5] As late as 1865, Rear Admiral Charles Stewart, a friend of Decatur's, said that "...Reuben James, a sailor, thrust out his arm and had it cleaved off by the blade of the weapon intended for his commander." Yet James was one of the few Americans to survive the battle uninjured, while Dr. Lewis Heermann, the surgeon aboard the Enterprise, described Frazier's injuries as "two incised wounds on the head, one of them severe; one bad wound across the wrist, and seven slightly about his hands." W. M. P. Dunne, writing for the U.S. Naval Institute's Naval History magazine, calls James taking the blow meant for Decatur "a myth."[6]
After the Barbary Wars, James continued his naval career, serving under Decatur in the War of 1812, and was taken prisoner by the British in January 1815. Later that year, he saw action in the Second Barbary War. Declining health forced his retirement in 1836, and an old musket ball wound necessitated the amputation of a leg.[7] James died on December 12, 1838 at the U.S. Naval Hospital in Washington, D.C.[2]
Honors
[edit]Three United States Navy ships have been named the USS Reuben James:
- Reuben James (DD-245) (1919–1941), a Clemson-class destroyer
- Reuben James (DE-153), (1942–1971), a Buckley-class destroyer escort
- Reuben James (FFG-57), (1983–2017), an Oliver Hazard Perry-class frigate
James Island in Washington state is also named for James.[8]
References
[edit]- ^ "USS Reuben James". United States Navy. Archived from the original on February 26, 2011. Retrieved February 10, 2012.
- ^ a b U. S. Navy Naval History Division (1976). Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships. Washington, D.C.: United States Government Printing Office. p. 85. Retrieved May 2, 2025.
- ^ a b Wheelan, Joseph (2003). Jefferson's War: America's First War on Terror, 1801–1805. New York: Carroll & Graf. p. 205. ISBN 0-7867-1404-2. Retrieved May 2, 2025.
- ^ Whipple, A. B. C. (2001). To the Shores of Tripoli: The Birth of the U.S. Navy and Marines. Annapolis, Maryland: Naval Institute Press. p. 154–155; 321. ISBN 1-55750-966-2. Retrieved May 2, 2025.
- ^ Lewis, Charles Lee (March 1924). "Reuben James or Daniel Frazier?". Maryland Historical Magazine. Vol. 19, no. 1. pp. 30–36. Retrieved May 2, 2025.
- ^ Dunne, W. M. P. (December 1993). "The Norfolk War Scare". Naval History. Vol. 7, no. 4. p. 7. Retrieved May 2, 2025.
- ^ Maclay, Edgar Stanton (1906). A History of the United States Navy from 1775 to 1901. New York: D. Appleton & Company. pp. 659–660. Retrieved May 2, 2025.
- ^ Blumenthal, Richard W. (2009). Charles Wilkes and the Exploration of Inland Washington Waters: Journals from the Expedition of 1841. Jefferson, North Carolina: McFarland. p. 76. ISBN 978-0-7864-5397-9.
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