The first was under the command of Captain William Bainbridge and assembled at Boston, and the second, under Captain Stephen Decatur, was organized at New York.

Decatur was the first to get under way, sailing on May 20 with a squadron consisting of ten vessels, mounting 210 guns.

He had under his direct command nearly all the seamen who had served under him and survived the last war.
It may seem that Decatur had an easy task before him, but Maclay shows that the force against which he sailed was really the stronger.

It consisted of 5 frigates, 6 sloops of war and 1 schooner--all carrying 360 guns, which exceeded those of the American squadron by 50 per cent.
The Algerian admiral was the terror of the Mediterranean.

He had risen from the lowest to the highest rank by his indomitable valor and skill.
He once captured by boarding in broad daylight a Portuguese frigate within sight of Gibraltar.