Putnam patriot., 1911-11-24
A Forgotten Incident of History
BY GARDNER RICHARDSON

Since the outbreak of hostilities be- tween Italy and Turkey there has been noticed in the padding of meager news paper dispatches and in editorials written by former students of history occasional vague references to one Will liam Eaton, an American adventurer, who figured prominently in the histo- " of Tripoli over hundred years ago.
 Little additional information Is given, except that this soldier of fortune, known as General Eaton, led an army of 800 men across a barren desert and
 held the Dey, who had been the terror of the civilized world, in the hollow of his hand. Only the lack of support from the home government at Wash ington deprived the expedition of the permanent fruits of victory.
 But who was this daring American of so long ago2 To answer this ques
 ton requires many hours of patient study among the dusty volumes of a
 library, and many evenings of search
 among ancient magazines and news | papers. When the facts are gathered
 we have trae incident history that rivals the most imaginative novel. | William Eaton was born in Wood stock, Conn, on February 20, l764, the second son of Nathan Eaton. Contem- porary historians record that "Wil- | liam early discovered intellectual wig or and eeeentriclty.n To labor he was | extremely averse in his boYhood. IL is
 also noted thnt hi, fearless and adven turous spirit led Aim to climb a cherry
 tree one Sunday on his return from | public worship. He fell, dislocating his shoulder, and was rendered uneon.
 scious for three days At the age Of sixteen he ran away from home and | enlisted in the army, attaining the
 rank of sergeant. | pon leaving the
 army, in order 10 secure an education, | he entered Dartmouth College and graduated in l790, Two years later he received n commission as captain in
 the United States Army, and fought with distinction agaInst the Indians
 in the vicinity of Pittsburgh.
 The actual career that brought him
 into worlds history began with his ap. pointment in l79S as United States Consul to Tripoh. IL Is hard to realize at this time the power that the Barba
 " States then exercised over the civil ized world Rather than go To the expense and loss of life necessary 10 subdue these piralical powers, il was customary to pay tribute for the pro
 lection of traders and merchantmen.
 The United States paid S22,000 aS an annual tribute This was the price
 for not having a navy strong enough to protect our commerce in the Medi-
 his duties as Consul he received noti-
 iication that the Dey of Tripoli requir-
 ed 10000 stand of arms al once from
 the nited States. The demand, with
 yelled threat of war, greatly angered
 Eaton, He wrote the government al
 W ashington that if, instead of tribute
 and presents, they would send him a 44,gun frigate he would undertake to destroy the Dey and his palace. But President Jefferson failed to approve.
 Altho the Government at Washing ton was timid General Eaton was made of sterner stuff and waited for an op- portunity 10 strike on his own account. Not until November, isoi, did the chance come for which Eaton had waited The de facto Dey of Tripoli was Yusef Ksrsmauli, who had de- posed and banished his brother Hsmet, the legitimate ruler, The deposed ru-