WAR WITH BARBARY PIRATES
A SQUADRON UNDER RICHARD DALE SENT TO THE MEDITERRANEAN--THE
DEY OF ALGIERS BECAME FRIENDLY, BUT THE BASHAW OF TRIPOLI
SHOWED FIGHT--FIERCE BATTLE BETWEEN THE SCHOONER _ENTERPRISE_
AND THE TREACHEROUS CREW OF THE POLACRE _TRIPOLI_--SLAUGHTER
OF THE PIRATES--TRIPOLI BLOCKADED--GROUNDING AND LOSS OF THE
_PHILADELPHIA_.
The story of the first conflict with the pirates of the Mediterranean
Sea follows that of the small war with France. It was a conflict made
necessary, as already explained, because, in the supposed interests
of her trade, a civilized nation sicked on the Barbary whelps to tear
the peaceful passer-by. Not only did the British agent negotiate a
treaty by which the pirates would be turned loose into the Atlantic,
especially to prey on American commerce; a British subject named Lisle
was admiral of the Tripolitan fleet when the Bashaw of Tripoli, seeing
the success of the Dey of Algiers in levying blackmail on the United
States, declared war against us.
[Illustration: Benjamin Stoddert.
_From a Painting at the Navy Department, Washington._]
On May 20, 1801, the Secretary of the Navy (Congress had established a
Navy Department on April 30, 1798, with Benjamin Stoddert as Secretary)
ordered a “squadron of observation” to the Mediterranean. Capt. Richard
Dale was placed in command, and it consisted of the _President_, Capt.
James Barron; the _Philadelphia_, Capt. Samuel Barron; the _Essex_,
Capt. William Bainbridge; and the twelve-gun schooner _Enterprise_,
that had done such effective work against the French in the West
Indies. She was now under Lieut. Andrew Sterrett, the officer who
shot a sailor on the _Constellation_ for leaving a gun in time of
battle. Under Sterrett was David Porter, who had shown his metal on the
captured _Insurgent_ and elsewhere.
When this fleet appeared off Algiers the Dey found his wrath, which
presents had not appeased, suddenly changed to effusive friendship
for the Americans, but the Bashaw of Tripoli was not so easily awed.
However, it was not until August 1st that a fight occurred. On that
day, while cruising off Malta, the _Enterprise_ fell in with the war
polacre _Tripoli_, carrying fourteen guns and eighty men. By no means
a cheap enemy at any time, she eventually proved a most treacherous
one. After the battle had raged for two hours at point-blank range,
the _Tripoli’s_ flag was lowered. Lieutenant Porter put off in a boat
to take possession, while the crew of the _Enterprise_ in great part
turned to repairing damages to their rigging. Thereat the corsairs
opened a murderous fire and hoisted the red flag again. The men of
the _Enterprise_ quickly returned to their guns, and after a fierce
conflict the corsairs, seeing that in fair fight they were worsted,
once more hauled down their flag in order to catch the Yankees somewhat
off guard. The ruse succeeded again, and Porter was on his way to take
possession, when the corsairs renewed battle more vigorously than ever.
[Illustration: “Captain Sterrett in the _Enterprise_, Paying Tribute to
_Tripoli_.”
_From an old wood-cut._]
“Sink the damned, treacherous creatures to the bottom!” said Sterrett.
Exasperated by the treachery they had seen, the crew started in to obey
the order with a will, and the corsair captain saw his fate before
him. Not only did he then haul down his flag, but he brought it to
the gangway, and throwing it into the sea, he bowed his head to the
deck and begged for quarter. Out of eighty men the corsair had lost
twenty killed and twenty-eight wounded. The _Enterprise_ did not lose
a man. Congress gave Sterrett a sword and every other member of the
crew a month’s pay because of “the aforesaid heroic action.” When the
commander of the corsair reached Tripoli he was paraded through the
streets on a donkey and bastinadoed for surrendering.
[Illustration: A Schooner-of-war, Like the _Enterprise_.
_From a wood-cut in the “Kedge Anchor.”_]
Following--though, of course, not because of--this action a good many
changes were made in the American squadron--changes such as increasing
its force and putting in new commanders two or three times; but
eventually it appeared that, although here was a good squadron for
open-sea fighting, the Americans were not armed for battering down a
city so well fortified as Tripoli, and the Bashaw refused to make a
treaty. A weary blockade of the port followed. There were conflicts of
small moment with gunboats that tried to steal away to sea, and even
the land forces were bombarded at times. A party under Porter once
landed and fired some gunboats that had been hauled out on the beach,
and on this occasion the Arabs fought by throwing handfuls of sand in
the faces of the Americans, hoping to blind them.
[Illustration: Scene of Naval Operations IN THE MEDITERRANEAN SEA.]
Finally, the 31st of October, 1803, came on, and it was a memorable day
in the history of the American navy. The frigate _Philadelphia_, Capt.
William Bainbridge, that had been maintaining the blockade off Tripoli,
had been blown away from her station by a furious gale, and, while
returning during the morning of the 31st, saw a corsair stealing into
port. The Yankee brig _Vixen_, that had helped hold the station, was
nowhere in sight, and the _Philadelphia_ made sail in chase. There was
a fine breeze blowing, and the _Philadelphia_ gained rapidly, but the
corsair hugged the coast, and Captain Bainbridge found he was getting
into shoal water. Had he been provided with accurate charts he would
have seen he was in worse than shoaling waters, for he was running
among reefs, the channels of which were well known to the corsairs.
[Illustration: William Bainbridge.
_From an engraving by Edwin._]
By 11 o’clock, with only her topsails and courses set, the
_Philadelphia_ was bowling along at eight knots an hour. The bow guns
were already throwing shot at the flying corsair and almost reaching
him, while the walls of the city rose scarcely three miles away. The
three men who were in the chains heaving the lead had called eight
fathoms of water with drawling regularity for some time, when one man
suddenly cried out seven fathoms, and fifteen seconds later another but
six and a half.
Instantly the helm was thrown hard over and the ship came up to the
wind, headed for the open sea, and then with a shock that threw many of
her crew to the deck, she struck the reef. The bow rose six feet out of
the water, while the cordage and masts creaked and groaned under the
tremendous strain.
For a moment the crew looked about in silence, and then the voice of
the captain was heard calling for lead-lines over the bow and stern.
It was found that there was but twelve feet of water forward and
seventeen aft. A boat was lowered and a party sent to sound around the
ship. They found that she had left the channel when the helm was put
down. Thereat every sail was set aback; anchors and guns were thrown
overboard forward or run aft to reduce the load at the bow. Even the
foremast was cut away, but all to no purpose. She was hard and fast
ashore.
Meantime the enemy’s gunboats had come out and opened fire on the
grounded frigate. The Americans replied with such few guns as could be
brought to bear, but eventually the tide ebbed, and the _Philadelphia_
keeled over until nothing could be done in her defence. So the magazine
was flooded, the pumps were disabled, holes were bored through her
bottom, and at 5 o’clock her flag was hauled down.
For some time the Tripolitans held aloof, fearing the sort of treachery
they were accustomed to among themselves, but as night fell they
boarded and plundered everything and everybody in sight. Even the
clothing was stripped from many of the crew.
In all, 315 men surrendered. Among the officers was Lieutenant Porter,
already mentioned; Jacob Jones, James Biddle, and James Renshaw, who,
though now prisoners, were to help make history in notable fashion in
another war to come.
Two days later a strong wind from the north piled the water of the
Mediterranean high on the reef. The stern of the _Philadelphia_
floated, anchors and cables were put out astern, and having stopped up
the holes the Americans had bored, and having brought a strain on the
cables, the corsairs hauled her off, and she was towed to an anchorage
under the Bashaw’s castle. And more than that, the Tripolitans
succeeded in getting up and replacing the guns, anchors, and most of
the shot that had been thrown overboard to lighten her.
That Bainbridge was eventually honorably acquitted when tried by
court-martial for losing his ship, scarcely need be said.