Evening star., 1942-11-10
Barbury Wars

in the Mediterranean before. No
adequate history of the Barbary
Wars has been prepared, but a good
popular account of the more i'm
portant aspects of them may be
found in quaint old book
entitled Remarkable Voyages, or
Man Upon the Sea-" by Frank B.
Goodrich. The author proudly tells
how the United States, "in the
twenty-ffth year of their existence
as Nation, put an end to humilia-
ton to which the commercial powers
of Europe had submitted for CEN
turies."
1t seems that when the Spanish
Moors were driven from Grenada by
Ferdinand the Catholic, they settled
on the opposite coast and commenced
the practice OF piracy" Gradually,
their colonies - Morocco, Algiers,
Tripoli and Tunis-became notorious
maritime racketeers, preying against
all Christian traffic. "Emboldened
by impunity, they extended their
operations into the Atlantic, seizing
the vessels of all nations (that) did
not pay them tribute. -" The
Dutch, Danes and Swedes, by paying
an annual tax, purchased exemption
from seizure-thus giving the sane
ton of treaty to the outrage and
consenting to wear an odious badge
of servitude" Mr.. Goodrich does not
say so, but 1t is a matter OF record
that the new American Union also
"came across" until 1900, when
Thomas Jefferson refused to remit
additional money. Tripoli declared
war in 1901 and seized several Amer
lean vessels. In retaliation, Com
modore Richard Dale with squad
ron of five ships and later Commo-
dore Richard Valentine Morris with a
similar outfit" were sent to blockade
the port and harbor of Tripoli. The
results were inconsequential. Then
in 1903 Commodore Edward Preble
with the Constitution and other craft
arrived upon the scene and "galvan-
lied the entire force into vigorous
| action"
Next followed one of the most
| colOrful incidents of the whole anti
corsair campaign One of Preble's
vessels-the Philadelphia, with Cap
tain William Bainbridge on board
grounded, was taken by the pirates
and moored under the guns of shore
defenses. Bainbridge, a prisoner
with his crew, communicated to
Preble the suggestion that the ship
be burned and on the night of Febru-
airy Is, 1904, it was set afire by
party led by Stephen Decatur, then
a youthful lieutenant.
On three different occasions Tripoli
subsequently was bombarded with
out making a material impression;
but at last. says Mr.. Goodrich, "a
series of brilliant actions upon land
under General william Eaton, whose
army consisted Of nine Americans,
20 Greeks and 500 Egyptians" and
the arrival of naval reinforcements
in July, 1905, forced the Bashaw of
Tripoli to come to terms; and he
released his prisoners and abandoned
forever the levying Of tribute upon
American ships"
Yet in 1912, "the United States
being at war with England, the Dey
Of Algiers thought our Government
would be unable to cope with two
enemies upon the ocean, and deter
mined to resume piracy upon our
vessels. '" Depredations were i'm
mediately recommended" and there
was not much that President James
Madison could do about them until
the signing of treaty Of peace with
Britain late in 1914. Soon after that
event, however, Decatur and Balm
| bridge, both as commodores, were
| dispatched to the Mediterranean,
each with q squadron. Decatur took
an Agerine frigate and brig, then
boldly sailed into Algiers and sum-
moned the Dey to yield. His de-
mands, perhaps somewhat to his own
surprise, were met by the surrender
Of all American prisoners and prop
erty and the payment Of damages.