Thomas Jefferson and the Tripoli Pirates: The Forgotten War That Changed American History
This is the little-known story of how a
newly independent nation was challenged by four Muslim powers and what
happened when America’s third president decided to stand up to
intimidation.
When Thomas Jefferson became president in 1801, America faced a
crisis. The new nation was deeply in debt and needed its economy to grow
quickly, but its merchant ships were under attack. Pirates from North
Africa’s Barbary coast routinely captured American sailors and held them
as slaves, demanding ransom and tribute payments far beyond what the
new country could afford.Over the previous fifteen years, as a diplomat and then as secretary of state, Jefferson had tried to work with the Barbary states (Tripoli, Tunis, Algiers, and Morocco). Unfortunately, he found it impossible to negotiate with people who believed their religion justified the plunder and enslavement of non-Muslims. These rogue states would show no mercy—at least not while easy money could be made by extorting America, France, England, and other powers. So President Jefferson decided to move beyond diplomacy. He sent the U.S. Navy’s new warships and a detachment of marines to blockade Tripoli—launching the Barbary Wars and beginning America’s journey toward future superpower status.
As they did in their previous bestseller, George Washington’s Secret Six, Kilmeade and Yaeger have transformed a nearly forgotten slice of history into a dramatic story that will keep you turning the pages to find out what happens next. Among the many suspenseful episodes:
* Lieutenant Andrew Sterett’s ferocious cannon-battle on the high seas against the treacherous pirate ship Tripoli.
* Lieutenant Stephen Decatur’s daring night raid of an enemy harbor, aiming to destroy an American ship that had fallen into the pirates’ hands.
* General William Eaton’s unprecedented five-hundred-mile land march from Egypt to the port of Derna, where the marines launched a surprise attack and an American flag was raised in victory on foreign soil for the first time.
Few today remember these men and other heroes who inspired the Marine Corps hymn: “From the Halls of Montezuma to the Shores of Tripoli, we fight our country’s battles in the air, on land and sea.”Thomas Jefferson and the Tripoli Pirates recaptures this forgotten war that changed American history, with a real-life drama of intrigue, bravery, and battle on the high seas.
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