1779-1820. US naval hero who, during the war 
with Tripoli 1801-05, succeeded in burning 
the Philadelphia, which the enemy had 
captured. During the War of 1812 with 
Britain, he surrendered only after a 
desperate resistance in 1814. In 1815, he was 
active against Algerian pirates. He was 
killed in a duel. Decatur coined the phrase 
`our country, right or wrong'.