CHAPTER XIII.
Captains Carden and Decatur--Cruise of the _Macedonian_--Battle with the Frigate _United States_--Decatur's Chivalry.
Before the war broke out between England and the United States the naval officers naturally were on the best of terms with one another.

They exchanged visits, had dinners together and talked in the most friendly terms over the relations of their respective countries.

Brave men always feel thus, and no matter how fiercely they have been fighting, they become friends again as soon as peace is declared.
You have already been told considerable about Stephen Decatur, one of the bravest and most chivalrous men that ever drew a sword.

At the breaking out of the War of 1812 he was given command of the frigate _United States_, of 44 guns, built in 1798, and one of the finest in the American navy.

While lying at Norfolk, some months before war was declared, the British frigate _Macedonian_, of about the same strength, was in port, and the officers and crews became well acquainted.
The commander of the _Macedonian_ was Captain John Surman Carden, one of the finest officers in the British service.