. Yankee ships and Yankee sailors : tales of 1812 . cutlass to his lefthand. He was slashed seven times about the cut on the shoulder made him drop his weapon,and just at this moment he saw that Decatur waslying upon the deck with his foeman over him a sinewy man was aiming a deadlyblow directly downward. Reuben James sprangforward. His right arm was useless and his leftalmost so. There was nothing he could interposebetween that deadly blow and his beloved com-mander but his life ! Trying weakly to push backthe Tripolitan, he leaned forward swiftly and caughtthe blow from the
. Yankee ships and Yankee sailors : tales of 1812 . cutlass to his lefthand. He was slashed seven times about the cut on the shoulder made him drop his weapon,and just at this moment he saw that Decatur waslying upon the deck with his foeman over him a sinewy man was aiming a deadlyblow directly downward. Reuben James sprangforward. His right arm was useless and his leftalmost so. There was nothing he could interposebetween that deadly blow and his beloved com-mander but his life ! Trying weakly to push backthe Tripolitan, he leaned forward swiftly and caughtthe blow from the scimitar on his own head. Itfractured his skull, and he fell insensible to the deck. But a Yankee sailor is a hard man to kill — inthree weeks cockswain James was at his post recovery was no doubt due to his wonderfulconstitution and his youth. As soon as the war with Great Britain was de-clared, Reuben made all haste to join his old com-mander, and he served in the frigate United Stateswhen she captured the Macedonian, and afterwards. Reuben James sprang ,JC -; F- Reuben James, Able Seaman 31 in the President when she took the Endymion. Inboth actions he got as near Decatur as he could, andin the last-named conflict he received three suffering greatly, he refused to leave thedeck until after the President had struck her flag tothe squadron that captured her, whereupon ReubenJames was carried below weeping—not from painor anguish, but from sheer mortification and grief. At Decaturs funeral he wept again, honest fellow,and whenever he came to port he would visit hiscommanders grave. Reuben was in actual serviceuntil the year 1836, when he arrived in Washingtonfor the purpose of obtaining a pension. He wassuffering very much at this time from an old musket-shot wound that had caused a disease of the boneof his leg. It was exceedingly painful and becom-ing dangerous. After consultation the doctors or-dered amputation, and as he lay in the h
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