# Reuben James

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For the 1970 Kenny Rogers and the First Edition song "Reuben James", see [Ruby, Don't Take Your Love to Town (album)](/source/Ruby,_Don't_Take_Your_Love_to_Town_(album)). For U.S. Navy ships named Reuben James, see [USS Reuben James](/source/USS_Reuben_James).

**Reuben James** (c. 1776 – December 3, 1838) was an American sailor who served as a [boatswain's mate](/source/Boatswain's_mate_(United_States_Navy)) in the [United States Navy](/source/United_States_Navy).[1] He is best known for purportedly saving the life of his commanding officer, [Stephen Decatur](/source/Stephen_Decatur), during the [First Barbary War](/source/First_Barbary_War) in 1804, though most historians agree he was wrongly credited for the actions of shipmate [Daniel Frazier](/source/Daniel_Frazier).

## Biography

James was born in [Delaware](/source/Delaware) around 1776. By 1799, he was serving in the United States Navy aboard the frigate [USS *Constellation*](/source/USS_Constellation_(1797)) during the [Quasi-War](/source/Quasi-War) with France, participating in the victories over *[L'Insurgente](/source/USS_Constellation_vs_L'Insurgente)* and *[La Vengeance](/source/HMS_Vengeance_(1800))*. During the First Barbary War, James was serving aboard the [USS *Enterprise*](/source/USS_Enterprise_(1799)) when the frigate [USS *Philadelphia*](/source/USS_Philadelphia_(1799)) was captured by [Barbary pirates](/source/Barbary_pirates) after running aground near [Tripoli, Libya](/source/Tripoli,_Libya).[2][3]

On August 3, 1804, during the naval blockade of Tripoli, Lieutenant [Stephen Decatur](/source/Stephen_Decatur) led a [boarding party](/source/Boarding_party) onto a Tripolitan gunboat that he believed was crewed by the men who had [feigned surrender](/source/Perfidy) 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 intercepted by a sailor in Decatur's party who had sacrificed himself, suffering a head wound as a result.[4]

Many traditional accounts credit James with saving Decatur's life, while modern scholarship credits Quartermaster [Daniel Frazier](/source/Daniel_Frazier).[a][4][5] As late as 1865, Rear Admiral [Charles Stewart](/source/Charles_Stewart_(United_States_Navy_officer)), 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 *[Naval History](/source/United_States_Naval_Institute)* magazine, calls James taking the blow meant for Decatur "a myth."[6] In 1937, Lieutenant Commander R. C. Bartman wrote that James and Frazier "each might be worthy of recognition without detracting from the other."[7] Both men have had U.S. Navy ships named for them.

After the Barbary War, James continued his naval career, serving under Decatur during the [War of 1812](/source/War_of_1812) aboard the [USS *United States*](/source/USS_United_States), participating in its capture of the [HMS *Macedonian*](/source/HMS_Macedonian). James later served aboard the [USS *President*](/source/USS_President), and was [taken prisoner](/source/Prisoner_of_war) when that vessel was [captured by the British](/source/Capture_of_USS_President) in January 1815. Later that year, he saw action in the [Second Barbary War](/source/Second_Barbary_War), sailing with Decatur in the fleet that captured the Algerian flagship *[Mashouda](/source/Mashouda)*. Declining health forced his retirement in 1836, and an old musket ball wound necessitated the amputation of a leg.[8] James died on December 3, 1838 at the U.S. Naval Hospital in [Washington, D.C.](/source/Washington,_D.C.)[2]

## Honors

Three United States Navy ships have been named the [USS *Reuben James*](/source/USS_Reuben_James):

- [USS *Reuben James* (DD-245)](/source/USS_Reuben_James_(DD-245)), (1919–1941), a [*Clemson*-class destroyer](/source/Clemson-class_destroyer)
- [USS *Reuben James* (DE-153)](/source/USS_Reuben_James_(DE-153)), (1942–1971), a [*Buckley*-class destroyer escort](/source/Buckley-class_destroyer_escort)
- [USS *Reuben James* (FFG-57)](/source/USS_Reuben_James_(FFG-57)), (1983–2017), an [*Oliver Hazard Perry*-class frigate](/source/Oliver_Hazard_Perry-class_frigate)

[James Island](/source/James_Island_(San_Juan_Islands)) in Washington state is also named for James.[9]

## In literature

An 1895 poem by [James Jeffrey Roche](/source/James_Jeffrey_Roche), "Reuben James," chronicles the sailor's exploits in Tripoli. Similarly, in *Reuben James: A Hero of the Forecastle*, a 1906 novel by [Cyrus Townsend Brady](/source/Cyrus_Townsend_Brady), James is again portrayed as Decatur's savior.[5]

## Notes

1. In 1924, Charles Lee Lewis wrote that [A. S. Mackenzie](/source/Alexander_Slidell_Mackenzie)'s *Life of Stephen Decatur* (1846) was the first work to attribute James as Decatur's savior, though even Mackenzie acknowledged that "Some have said this noble act of self-devotion was performed by Daniel Frazier, which left the name of the individual somewhat uncertain." Previous to Mackenzie, several authors, such as Thomas Clark (1814), S. Putnam Waldo (1822), and [James Fenimore Cooper](/source/James_Fenimore_Cooper) (1839) simply attributed the heroism to one of Decatur's crew. In Charles W. Goldsborough's *Naval Chronicle* (1824), he names Frazier as the hero.[5]

## References

1. ["USS *Reuben James*"](https://web.archive.org/web/20110226234528/http://www.public.navy.mil/surfor/FFG57/Pages/ourship.aspx). [United States Navy](/source/United_States_Navy). Archived from [the original](http://www.public.navy.mil/surfor/FFG57/Pages/ourship.aspx) on 2011-02-26. Retrieved 2012-02-10.

1. [U. S. Navy Naval History Division](/source/Naval_History_and_Heritage_Command) (1976). [*Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships*](https://www.google.com/books/edition/Dictionary_of_American_Naval_Fighting_Sh/v25052hy3pkC?hl=en&gbpv=1&pg=PA85&printsec=frontcover). Washington, D.C.: [United States Government Printing Office](/source/United_States_Government_Printing_Office). p. 85. Retrieved 2025-05-02.

1. Wheelan, Joseph (2003). [*Jefferson's War: America's First War on Terror, 1801–1805*](https://archive.org/details/jeffersonswarame0000whee_n8r2/page/205/mode/2up/). New York: [Carroll & Graf](/source/Carroll_%26_Graf). p. 205. ISBN 0-7867-1404-2. Retrieved 2025-05-02.

1. Whipple, A. B. C. (2001). [*To the Shores of Tripoli: The Birth of the U.S. Navy and Marines*](https://archive.org/details/toshoresoftripol0000whip/page/320/mode/2up/). Annapolis, Maryland: [Naval Institute Press](/source/Naval_Institute_Press). pp. 154–155; 321. ISBN 1-55750-966-2. Retrieved 2025-05-02.

1. Lewis, Charles Lee (March 1924). ["Reuben James or Daniel Frazier?"](https://archive.org/details/marylandhistoric1919mary/page/30/mode/2up/). *Maryland Historical Magazine*. Vol. 19, no. 1. pp. 30–36. Retrieved 2025-05-02.

1. Dunne, W. M. P. (December 1993). ["The Norfolk War Scare"](https://archive.org/details/navalhistoryvol70000unse/page/6/mode/2up/). *[Naval History](/source/United_States_Naval_Institute)*. Vol. 7, no. 4. p. 7. Retrieved 2025-05-02.

1. Guttridge, Leonard F. (2007). [*Our Country, Right or Wrong: The Life of Stephen Decatur, the U.S. Navy's Most Illustrious Commander*](https://www.google.com/books/edition/Our_Country_Right_or_Wrong/6mhaNWwGkysC?hl=en&gbpv=1&pg=PT230&printsec=frontcover). New York: [Forge](/source/Tor_Books). p. 230. ISBN 978-1-4668-3993-9. Retrieved 2025-05-11.

1. Maclay, Edgar Stanton (1906). [*A History of the United States Navy from 1775 to 1901*](https://www.google.com/books/edition/A_History_of_the_United_States_Navy_from/fStCAAAAIAAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&pg=PA659&printsec=frontcover). New York: [D. Appleton & Company](/source/D._Appleton_%26_Company). pp. 659–660. Retrieved 2025-05-02.

1. Blumenthal, Richard W. (2009). [*Charles Wilkes and the Exploration of Inland Washington Waters: Journals from the Expedition of 1841*](https://books.google.com/books?id=nD1F1dmFW5MC&pg=PA76). Jefferson, North Carolina: McFarland. p. 76. ISBN 978-0-7864-5397-9.

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Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Reuben James](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Reuben_James) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Reuben_James?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.