Box 1

Scope and content:

Scope and Contents

Genealogical notes on the Barron Family are to be found in this box together with an autobiographical note by James Barron (1768-1851) and "Revolutionary Reminiscences" by his father, James Barron the Elder (d. 1787). (A genealogical chart of the Barron Family is to be found in the Samuel Barron Papers, Box 1, folder 1.) Naval commissions of James Barron together with his personal and naval correspondence from 1803 to 1807 are included in this first box. Correspondence of 1803 to 1805 covers the period from Barron's first commission through his command of the U.S. Frigates New York and President in the Mediterranean Squadron during the war with Tripoli. Several letters concern his duties as assistant to his brother, Commodore Samuel Barron, who was commander of the Squadron before relinquishing the command to Capt. John Rodgers because of ill health. The papers of the 1806-1807 period begin with the preparations for Barron to leave Norfolk on the U.S. Ship Chesapeake to take command of the Mediterranean Squadron with the rank of Commodore. The correspondence with Comm. Rodgers, which nearly ended in a duel but was amicably settled by the seconds is included. A description of the affair with the British warship Leopard describes the brief skirmish and the capitulation of Barron. The request of his officers for his arrest as a result of the capitulation, the passing of the command of his ship to Capt. Stephen Decatur, the preparations for the Court Martial, the testimony, and the sentence of suspension are in the material found in this box. Opinions regarding the unfairness of the sentence by B. Cocke of Washington and Robert Saunders, President of William and Mary College, and others, are included.

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