The Wars of the Barbary Pirates: To the shores of Tripoli: the rise of the US Navy and Marines

Osprey Essential Histories #66

by Gregory Fremont-Barnes

The Barbary War - the first American war against Libya - was the first war waged by the United States outside national boundaries after gaining independence and unification of the country. The four Barbary States of North Africa - Morocco, Algiers, Tunis, and Tripoli - had plundered seaborne commerce for centuries. This was piracy on an extraordinary scale: they controlled all trading routes through the Barbary waters and North Africa: demanding ransom and booty for safe passage.
In 1801 the newly elected President Jefferson ordered a naval and military expedition to North Africa in order to put down regimes that endorsed piracy and slavery. The Pasha of Tripoli declared war on the United States. Under the leadership of Commodores Richard Dale and Edward Preble, the US Navy blockaded the enemy coast and engaged in close, bitterly contested gunboat actions. On 16 February 1804 LT Stephen Decatur led 74 volunteers into Tripoli to burn the captured American frigate The Philadelphia. British Admiral Lord Nelson called the raid "the most daring act of the age". In 1805 Marines stormed the Barbary pirates' harbor fortress stronghold of Derna (Tripoli), commemorated in the Marine Corp Hymn invocation "To the Shores of Tripoli."
The US Navy troops were recalled before they could secure their gains, but returned after the War of 1812. Their success then won worldwide admiration for the Americans and their Navy. They marked the way for the European nations to finally quash the Barbary States and end the piracy.

This event marks the true birth of the US Navy and Marines and is ever remembered in the Marines' battle hymn.

Genres: History, Nonfiction, Africa, American History, Military History, War

96 pages, Paperback

First published November 28, 2006

Reviews

[Yusuf · Rating 4 out of 5]

Concise and Informative

Why use the name ‘Barbary Pirates’ in the title of this book when the author explains that the Ottoman military states of North Africa were not pirates but privateers, also called corsairs, sanctioned and given letters of marque by their rulers? Other than this criticism, I can see no reason not to recommend this little volume to anyone with an interest in the early encounters of the United States with the corsairs who held the keys to the Mediterranean trade so coveted by Yankee traders. In recent years, a good deal of literature on the subject has been published in English, making it possible for the reader or student to gain a fair understanding of this interesting region and its place in early modern history. Fremont-Barnes has produced an even-handed and informed study that might serve as an excellent introduction to the subject.

[Greg Schroeder · Rating 3 out of 5]

Though the book is only 90 pages long the author seemed to have difficulty finding sufficient subject matter to fill it out. Like all Osprey books it is lavishly illustrated and well-done. However chapters include the Lewis and Clark expedition, and, though ostensibly about the US-Barbary Wars, a relatively long section on Exmouth's British campaigns in 1816 and a shorter chapter on the French campaign of 1830.

It is well-done. A goo introduction to the period, but a little light on the actual topic.

[Sean · Rating 3 out of 5]

Usually, these books have the issue of struggling to fit the topic within 90 illustrated pages. A full section on the unrelated Lewis and Clark expedition is provided, demonstrating here a perceived need to do the opposite. This is odd, as while the history of the wars overall from an American perspective is good, there are elements- such as the brief collaborations with Swedish and Kingdom of Naples forces, or the 83/84 bombardments by non-American coalitions- which certainly could have been expanded.

Still, whats provided is a good concise history.

[Declan Waters · Rating 4 out of 5]

A conflict I knew nothing about before reading this book, this details America's difficulties with protecting it merchant shipping in the Mediterranean Sea against the Pirates of North Africa.

With the paying of tributes they managed to free the white slaves taken, but eventually had to resort to force to make their merchants free from attack, the in the same manner as the British and the French were.

An interesting read into the challenges being faced by the new country, and a superb summary at the end detailing the differences and similiarities in the white slaves in North Africa (eg 3,000 in Algiers) and the black slaves in America (700,000).

[Fredrick Danysh · Rating 3 out of 5]

Good historiacal write up of the war against the Barbary pirates and the beginning of the Marine Corps role as a projection of force overseas.