Lt. Decatur and Midshipman MacDonough Boarding a Tripolitan Gunboat

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Description

This is a copy of the oil painting “Decatur Boarding the Tripolitan Gunboat” by Dennis Malone Carter. It depicts Midshipman Thomas MacDonough and his commanding officer, Lieutenant Stephen Decateur, attempting to board a Tripolitan Gunboat amid fighting. The full title is “Lieutenant Stephen Decatur and Midshipman Thomas Macdonough boarding a Tripolitan gun boat during attack on Tripoli by the squadron under Commodore Preble on August 3, 1804.”

Citation

This primary source comes from the Records of the Office of War Information.

National Archives Identifier: 535740

Full Citation: Photograph 208-LU-25H(2); Lieutenant Stephen Decatur and Midshipman Thomas Macdonough boarding a Tripolitan gun boat during attack on Tripoli by the squadron under Commodore Preble on August 3, 1804. Copy of painting by Dennis; 8/3/1804 (artwork 1878) ; Photographs Depicting “Life in the United States”, 1942 – 1946; Records of the Office of War Information, Record Group 208; National Archives at College Park, College Park, MD. [Online Version, https://docsteach.org/document/decatur-macdonough-conflict/, May 27, 2026]

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