It is still an incredible fact that someone of such a tender age could be given an appointment in the United States Navy. And, as it is stated, it is a unique situation that has not been repeated since. I think his father may have also been named Samuel Barron, a captain in the USN who had died in 1810, two years before junior's appointment in the USN. Could he have been under the care of fellow officers of his father's, and who may have decided to get him the appointment? I certainly would like to know the circumstances of the case.