Stephen Decatur fought Barbary corsairs hand to hand, defeated a British frigate in the War of 1812, and became the most famous military hero in America, only to die at 41 in a duel with a fellow officer. This episode follows his life to show how the traits that made him unstoppable also led to his downfall.

We cover his boyhood voyage prescribed for whooping cough, his start as a midshipman on the USS United States, the daring 1804 raid to burn the captured USS Philadelphia in Tripoli harbor, and his revenge for his brother James. Then come his victory over HMS Macedonian, his honorable surrender of the USS President, gunboat diplomacy at Algiers and the fatal duel with James Barron, arranged at eight paces by his jealous second, William Bainbridge.

• How a ruse with a disguised captured ship, the Intrepid, let 80 volunteers retake and burn the USS Philadelphia
• The hand-to-hand fight to avenge his brother and the sailor Daniel Frazier who took a blow to save him
• Defeating HMS Macedonian, the beaver hat wager, and why surrendering the USS President still made him a hero
• The Second Barbary War treaty dictated off Algiers and his famous toast to his country, right or wrong
• The honor culture behind his duel with James Barron and what it reveals about rigid mindsets