In the early 1800s, state-sponsored pirates terrorized American ships at sea…and it was about to lead to war.
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Thomas Jefferson won the presidency, and with his office, he inherited a wide range of problems.
Perhaps one of the most concerning was the Barbary states — Algiers, Tunis, Tripoli, and Morocco — continually attacking American merchant ships traveling to Europe.
Pirates & Bribes
When these pirates attacked, they customarily kidnapped all aboard, only to torture, murder, or sell them into some form of slavery later.
To add further insult to injury, the Barbary states singled out American ships with little intention of attacking British, French, or Spanish ships in the region.
Jefferson discovered the reason no other nation faced this problem was that they regularly paid bribes — “protection money” — to the Barbary states to keep them at bay.
While Jefferson was opposed to the idea, America agreed to pay protection money for 15 years but found out rates kept rising and people were still being kidnapped.
But war was on the horizon and things were about to change…
War Breaks Out
On May 14, 1801, the ruler of Tripoli declared war on America, believing that he was treated unfairly and that the protection money rate from America was too low.
For two years, small skirmishes took place amongst the nations, but in 1805 the U.S. Marines landed on Tripoli shores.
Led by William Eaton and Presley O’Bannon, six Marines arrived to wage battle. But eight men weren’t enough, so the team enlisted the help of 400 mercenaries.
The men set out on March 8.
Journey to Derna
Six hundred miles of Libyan desert stretched before them. If they could somehow make it across that expanse of sand, they would be able to reach their target destination — the coastal city of Derna.
It took the men 50 days to finally reach the end of the sand, coming to the town of Bomba. They were still 38 miles away from Derna, but if they could take Bomba, they’d have taken a strategic hold in the area that would allow the American Navy to enter the fray.
This wasn’t some haphazard, last-minute plan, though. This was the intent all along.
As Eaton and O’Bannon’s men approached, American ships began to bombard the town. Then, the Marines attacked, despite facing 10-to-1 odds.
The nation had been expecting this, however, and significantly strengthened defenses. The first wave of Americans was repelled by intense firepower.
But within two hours, the city was taken, and O’Bannon waved the American flag over the ramparts.
Hearing of the attack, Tripoli soldiers move to retake Bomba, encircling the city. While the fighting pushed the Marines back to the inner parts of the city, they still managed to hold their ground, repulsing the attackers.
Peace at Last
A treaty was signed on June 10, 1805, and the First Barbary War came to a sudden end. Three hundred American POWs were released as a condition of the treaty, saved by the Marines.
And O’Bannon? He was awarded an elegant, curved sword by Hamet. The same style of sword would be incorporated into the U.S. Marine uniform years later.
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