Yorkville enquirer. [volume] (Yorkville, S.C.) 1855-2006, 1911-10-24
Nlistrllansou5 8raain9.
WAR WITH TRIPoLI
United States Licked Pirates and
Opened Europe's Eyes.

is II gOOQ 1Or! why uOeS lldly WANT
it? Nobody in America ever heard of
Tripoli-except in a soon-to- be-for-
gotten geography lesson, or in the his
tory of-where did Tripoli figure in
that stupid old history We studied in
the grammar school?
At about this point in the average
mans series of mental gymnastics the
light begins to dawn. That scrim-
mage with TripOli, he remembers, was
recorded in the United States history,
along between the chapters that treat
ed of the revolution and those devoted
to the war of 1912. One by one the
names, Decatur, Preble, Somers, Balm
bridge, Hunt, TruXton, Ster ett, come
f1ocking back into his memory, and a
slowly up his spine. 1t was soRIc-
thing great, something spectacular
and heroic, the fine achievement of an
infant navy. Slowly out Of the mist
of forgotten things comes the glorious
tragedy of the fireship intrepid" the
thunderous retort of Ambassador
Pinckney, Millions for defense. but
not one cent for tribute" and finally
the storm center of the entire war, the
American frigate philadelphia"
In the centuries preceding the
Christian era it was tossed from Car
thage to Rome and back again, with
toly a,ho cL
at the oasis dotted desert between
times. After the Arabs took posses
sion in the seventh century, the tenn
pestuous little state was a tolerable
nations at the eastern end of the Med
iterranean, until its final capture by
Turks, in the middle of the sixteenth
century. However, this present men,
authority of Turkey in that turbulent
little Barbary state. In 1714 the Turk
ish yoke was thrown off utterly, and 1t
was not restored until 1885, several
years after the determination Of the
Barbary pirates by the combined ef-
forts of all the Caucasian nations of
the world.
"Barbary pirates" "Corsairs Of the
Mediterranean" Millions for defense
but not one cent for tribute" At last
we have it. That was what 1t was
all about. The bumptious little Amer
lean nation objected to paying ram
SONS for her citizens and sailors who
had been captured and enslaved-a
thing that Europe had been doing
without protest for centuries. Indeed,
it was tacitly understood that the pi-
rates of Tunis, Tripoli, Morocco and
Algiers were countenanced by the
great powers of Europe for the sake
of the injury they could do to the
weaker powers. England encouraged
the piratical attacks on the shipping
of other nations as a part Of her sys-
tenn of securing and maintaining her
vaunted supremacy of the sea-" The
consuls she sent to the Barbary states
went with instructions to make only
a surface show Of opposition to the
merciless treatment to which the
slaves were subjected. And there was
a wonderful roster Of those slaves,
such men as Arago, the great, even,
Cervantes, having fallen into the
clutches of the pirates. The author
of Don Quixote" probably acquired
something Of the adventure that was
during the five years Of his slavery
in northern Africa. Coming closer
to our own times and interest, the
new nation of the Western Hemis-
phere had not forgotten the indig-
mites that had been heaped upon DR..
Daniel Mason, a Harvard graduate,
who died in captivity, when the sys-
tematic capture of American brigs and
schooners was undertaken by all the
Barbary states, following the close of
the revolution. With the connivance
of England, eleven American vessels
were captured within two months, the
men being stripped Of their clothing,
attired in the filthiest of rags and set
TO work at hard labor. Those that
attempted to escape were subjected
to the most frightful torture. 1t was
this condition of affairs, no less than
the published pamphlet of Lord Shelf
field, which announced, in part: 1T
will not be to the interest of any of
the great maritime powers to protect
them (the American veSSelS) from the
Rarbary states. The Americans can
not protect themselves from the lat
ter; they cannot pretend to a navy
that spurred the ambitious young re-
public on until she not only pretended
to a navy, but had given those same
pirates such a drubbing as they never
received at the hands of any Euro
pean power.
Meanwhile it seemed wisest to dig
deep down in the American stocking
and produce tremendous sums of
money with which to appease the
marauders. Under the direction Of
our greatest statesmen. with the no.
table exception of Thomas Jefferson,
we had concluded treaties of 'immun-
ity from piratical capture" with all
the Barbary states. the one with Trip
oil being most cheaply purchased. 1t
was when that state awoke to real
ization that she had received only
$4,000. while Tunis had extracted
100000 as payment for perpetual
peace" that Tripoli forgot all about
her treaty and began in earnest the
capture and enslavement of Ameri-
cans. There is touch of grim humor
in the demand of the "Bey" Of Algiers
fire In the armory had destroyed 40
900 stands and he considered it the
duty of America to redeem one-fourth
of the loss Ambassador Eaton re-
fused TO convey the insulting and al
together prepoSterous demand to his
home government, not only because
America had nothing to do with the
fire. but because he thought she pur-
chased immunity from such demands.
The insolence of Tripoli was even more
irritating to the newborn national
pride of the republic, and when, in
February, 1901, the pasha repudiated
the treaty altogether, demanding a
lump sum of a quarter Of a million,
with $4,000 annually, which was the
sum ne had eXtorted from Sweden.
there seemed nothing left for the
Americans but to fight it out. Our
commerce in the Mediterranean was
growing at such a pace that we could
no longer take the attitude of cring-
ing vasSals to a set Of unprincipled
cutthroats. whose honor was bounded
only by their convenience.
When the new tribute was refused
the bey of Tripoli cut down the Amer
lean flag staff and made formal declar-
alton of war, having been duly inform
ed that war was inevitable. Already a
little squadron had been assembled in
Hampton Roads, consisting of the
President, the Essex, the Enterprise
and the Philadelphia, the latter a
frigate carrying thirty-six guns. These
were followed by other war vessels
&c fast aS the yOuthful war deDart-