Cindy Vallar's Blog - Posts Tagged "tripoli"

To the Walls of Derne: William Eaton, the Tripoli Coup, and the End of the First Barbary War by Chipp Reid

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


To the Walls of Derne begins where Intrepid Sailors (2012) ends in the U. S. Navy’s war with Tripoli. The conflict came about because of this Barbary State’s pirates’ frequent incursions on American merchantmen and the bashaw’s demand for payment of tribute, which President Thomas Jefferson and others likened to extortion, to stop such raids. When this book opens, the USS Philadelphia has already been captured and destroyed and her crew imprisoned and forced to endure slave labor, poor rations, and abusive treatment at the hands of the Tripolitans.

Into this tense situation steps an American soldier, diplomat, and would-be adventurer named William Eaton. Popular, arrogant, intelligent, direct, and overly courageous, he has long dreamed of being a hero. His audacious plan to replace the current bashaw with his older brother, with the assistance of the United States, offers him that opportunity if he can convince the president to sanction and fund the expedition. For this plan to succeed, Eaton must first find Hamet Karamanli and then convince him to take up arms against his brother.

Hamet Karamanli is the middle son of Tripoli’s ruling family. Although intelligent, conversant in many languages, and a combatant fighter, he never wanted or expected to rule his country. His primary desire is to take care of his wife and children, while living a life of ease. But his younger brother holds Hamet’s family hostage while Hamet lives in exile somewhere in Egypt.

Astute and ruthless, Yusuf Karamanli is a very ambitious man. As a child, he yearns to rule Tripoli, but is the third and youngest son. To accomplish this goal, he kills his oldest brother and usurps the throne from Hamet. Bashaw Yusuf’s dream is to make Tripoli the equal of any European or Near Eastern country and to fund this desire, his pirates capture ships of other nations to gain slave labor and force a peace that includes hefty payments to insure the safety of seamen and free trade in the Mediterranean. Yet the Americans prove to be irritating thorns. They destroyed their captured frigate. They blockade his harbor, which prevents much-needed grain shipments from arriving. The loss of tribute and the lack of food mean his people are starving and questioning whether he should be ruler. Then there are the whispers from spies who tell him that Hamet may lead an army to unseat Yusuf.

But these three men are not the only players on the stage in this daring scheme. President Jefferson wavers on what is the best option for securing peace. He ultimately decides a three-pronged strategy will be the most effective in curtailing this costly and seemingly endless war. He authorizes Eaton’s plan, but fails to provide Eaton with full control over the expedition. That privilege goes to an ailing Commodore Samuel Barron, who assumes command of the U. S. Navy squadron currently blockading Tripoli. Jefferson’s third maneuver is to send Tobias Lear, who opposes Eaton’s plan, to the Mediterranean with the authority to negotiate peace.

Thus, in April 1805, the stage is set for what becomes a dangerous and bold, 500-mile trek across the desert with a polyglot army. Seven marines and a self-styled general in hostile lands, at times pitted against their own followers, achieve the impossible only to have petty jealousies, diplomatic machinations, and service rivalries prevent them from achieving the ultimate goal. This story – immortalized in a line in the U. S. Marine Corps’ “Marines’ Hymn” – unfolds within the pages of To the Walls of Derne. The book includes maps, notes, a bibliography, and an index, as well as an epilogue in which Reid shares what happened to the principal participants once the expedition ends.

This may not be the most riveting account I’ve read of this episode in American history, but what makes this book an important contribution to studies of our relations with the Barbary States and Barbary piracy, as well as the formative years of our fledging nation, is that Reid doesn’t color his recounting with modern-day concepts of terrorism and radical Islam. He delved beyond the usual sources to examine material about the Karamanlis that are rarely consulted by Western historians. While this four-year conflict failed to solve the problem of paying tribute – that would come later – he also demonstrates how the seven marines who bravely fought in this war prevented the American government from doing away with the U. S. Marine Corps. To the Walls of Derne skillfully shows the price our freedom costs and the depth to which our armed forces are willing to go to defend our country.




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Prisoners of the Bashaw: The Nineteen-Month Captivity of American Sailors in Tripoli, 1803–1805 by Frederick C. Leiner

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


The last day of October 1803 finds the USS Philadelphia sailing near the coast of Tripoli where lookouts spot a xebec heading for the harbor. With orders to prevent such an occurrence, Captain William Bainbridge intervenes. There’s just one problem; the navigator has no chart that accurately depicts the coastline. Although shots are fired, the xebec reaches its destination and Bainbridge issues the command to return to station. Instead, Philadelphia runs aground. His attempts to dislodge the frigate fail; she is stuck fast on the reef at such an angle that the gun ports of her gun deck touch water. When Tripolitan corsairs see this, they hurriedly surround Philadelphia and fire on her.

After being bombarded for four hours and seeing more enemy vessels approaching, Bainbridge consults with his officers. He sees only two options: blow up the ship or surrender. The seamen clamor for him to fight, but he and his lieutenants concur there is no way to successfully defend the frigate with their guns out of commission. Rather than consign the 307 men aboard to death, he orders the Stars and Stripes hauled down. In doing so, he becomes the only commander to twice surrender during the six years of the United States Navy’s existence.

Although orders are given to mitigate the loss, including the flooding of the frigate so it will be of no use to the Tripolitans, not all of these commands are successfully carried out. He also forgets to destroy information vital to national security. After the corsairs swarm over the gunwale, Bainbridge, his officers, and his men become prisoners, but only the officers are treated as such. The majority of men are treated as slaves even though Tripoli and the United States are at war, a war instigated by the bashaw because he failed to receive the tribute he deems his right. The Philadelphians’ captivity will last for nineteen months and not all will survive.

What sets this book apart from other volumes dealing with the Barbary Wars and this particular event is that Leiner shines a spotlight on the captives. He contrasts the living conditions of the officers to those that the rank and file experienced. He shares excerpts from their own letters and remembrances that speak to or hint at the physical and mental effects of their captivity and enslavement. Leiner also discusses diplomatic efforts, both American and European; how the navy dealt with the captured frigate; the ways in which popular culture integrated this historic episode; and what happened to the various participants after the Philadelphians were freed.

Thorny questions, sometimes glossed over in other accounts, are raised as well. One examines the differences in brutal exploitation of people by different cultures, as well as the ethical paradox of white Christians captured far from home and enslaved versus the seizure and bondage Africans experienced in America. A second question addresses paying ransoms. As Leiner writes in the introduction: “The loss of the Philadelphia . . . is sometimes employed as proof of a core precept of principle and policy: the United States does not pay ransom for hostages. This bold statement is wrong historically and sometimes has caused tragic results. As the story of the American prisoners in Tripoli shows, history is not so tidy, and the lessons are not so clear.” (xii)

Illustrations and maps provide readers with an opportunity to understand where these events occurred and to meet some of the individuals involved in them either directly or indirectly. The book also includes end notes, a bibliography, and an index.

Although other books cover these events of the Barbary Wars, this is the first to do so from the captives’ perspectives. The firsthand accounts provide vivid glimpses into what they did, how they survived, and what they suffered. History remembers only a few captives, such as Bainbridge, David Porter, and Daniel Patterson. Prisoners of the Bashaw changes this, making it a worthy addition to history collections.


(This review originally appeared at Pirates and Privateers: http://www.cindyvallar.com/adultpirat...)



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