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{{Short description|War between United States and the Barbary states, 1801–1805}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=February 2014}}
{{For|an earlier Barbary war|Dutch–Barbary war}}
{{Infobox military conflict
| conflict          = First Barbary War
| partof            = the [[Barbary Wars]]
| image             = EnterpriseTripoli.jpg
| image_size        = 300
| caption           = [[Action of 1 August 1801|USS ''Enterprise'' fighting the Tripolitan polacca ''Tripoli'']] by William Bainbridge Hoff, 1878
| date              = May 10, 1801 – June 10, 1805<br>({{Age in years, months, weeks and days|month1=05|day1=10|year1=1801|month2=06|day2=10|year2=1805}})
| place             = Off the [[Mediterranean]] coast of [[Tripoli, Libya|Tripoli]]; [[Derna, Libya|Derna]]
| result            = See {{section link||Outcome}}
| territory         = 
| combatant1        = {{flag|United States|1795}} <br>{{flag|Sweden|naval}}<ref>{{cite web | title=Libysk återblick | work=Sjöfartstidningen | url=https://www.sjofartstidningen.se/bloggar/utkiksbloggen/libysk-aterblick/ | date=2012 | publisher=[[sjöfarts tidningen]] | access-date=3 March 2025}}</ref> <br>{{flagcountry|Kingdom of Sicily}}<ref>{{cite web | title=Tripolitan War | url=http://www.encyclopedia.com/history/asia-and-africa/north-african-history/tripolitan-war | date=2000 | publisher=[[Encyclopedia.com]] (from The Oxford Companion to American Military History) | access-date=11 February 2017}}</ref><ref name="VeteranMuseum">{{cite web | title=War with the Barbary Pirates (Tripolitan War) | url=http://www.veteranmuseum.org/war-history/war-barbary-pirates-tripolitan-war | website=veteranmuseum.org | access-date=11 February 2017}}</ref>
| combatant2        = {{flag|Ottoman Tripolitania}}<ref>{{cite book|author=Joseph Wheelan|title=Jefferson's War: America's First War on Terror 1801–1805|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=7kl8t_8WWb4C&pg=PA128|date=21 September 2004|publisher=PublicAffairs|isbn=978-0-7867-4020-8|pages=128–}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|last=Tucker|first=Spencer C.|title=The Encyclopedia of the Wars of the Early American Republic, 1783–1812: A Political, Social, and Military History &#91;3 volumes&#93;: A Political, Social, and Military History|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=sApvBAAAQBAJ|year=2014|publisher=ABC-CLIO|isbn=978-1-59884-157-2|page=[https://books.google.com/books?id=sApvBAAAQBAJ&pg=PA430&dq=%22morocco%20declared%20war+on+the+united+states+in+june+1802%22 430]}}</ref><br />
| commander1        = {{flagicon|US|1795}} [[Thomas Jefferson]]<br>{{flagicon|US|1795}} [[Richard Dale]]<br>{{flagicon|US|1795}} [[Richard Valentine Morris|Richard Morris]]<br>{{flagicon|US|1795}} [[William Eaton (soldier)|William Eaton]]<br>{{flagicon|US|1795}} [[Edward Preble]]<br>{{flagicon|US|1795}} [[Stephen Decatur]]<br>{{flagicon|SWE|naval}} [[Gustav IV Adolf]]<br>{{flagicon|SWE|naval}} [[Rudolf Cederström]]
| commander2        = {{flagicon|Ottoman Tripolitania}} [[Yusuf Karamanli]]<br>{{flagicon|Ottoman Tripolitania}} Rais Mahomet Rous<br>{{flagicon|Ottoman Tripolitania}} Hassan Bey<br>{{flagicon|Ottoman Tripolitania}} Shadi Nazmi Reis
| strength1         = '''United States'''<br />'''First Squadron:'''<br />4 frigates<br />1 schooner<br />'''Second Squadron:'''<br />6 frigates<br />1 schooner<br />'''Third Squadron:'''<br />2 frigates<br />3 brigs<br />2 schooners<br />1 ketch<br />'''Swedish Royal Navy:'''<br />3 frigates<br />'''William Eaton's invasion:'''<br /> 8 [[United States Marine Corps|US Marines]], William Eaton, 3 [[United States Navy|midshipmen]], and several civilians <br />Approx. 500 [[Greeks|Greek]] and Arab mercenaries
| strength2         = Various cruisers<br />11–20 gunboats<br />4,000 soldiers
| campaignbox       = {{Campaignbox First Barbary War}}
{{Thomas Jefferson series}}
}}

The '''First Barbary War''' (1801–1805), also known as the '''Tripolitan War''' and the '''Barbary Coast War''', was a conflict during the 1801–1815 [[Barbary Wars]], in which the United States fought against [[Ottoman Tripolitania]]. Tripolitania had declared war against the United States over disputes regarding tributary payments in exchange for a cessation of Tripolitanian commerce raiding at sea. United States President [[Thomas Jefferson]] refused to pay this tribute. The First Barbary War was the first major American war fought outside the [[New World]], and in the [[Arab world]],<ref>{{Cite web |last=Ellis |first=Chris |title=Research Guides: Battle Studies, Country Studies, & Staff Rides: Barbary Wars & the Battle of Tripoli |url=https://grc-usmcu.libguides.com/battle-studies/barbary-wars |access-date=2024-03-21 |website=grc-usmcu.libguides.com |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Barbary Wars, 1801–1805 and 1815–1816 |url=https://history.state.gov/milestones/1801-1829/barbary-wars |access-date=21 March 2024 |website=Office of the Historian}}</ref> besides the smaller [[American–Algerian War (1785–1795)]].

==Background and overview==
{{See also|Barbary slave trade|Moroccan seizure of the Betsey|American–Algerian War (1785–1795)}}
[[Barbary corsairs]] and crews from the quasi-independent<ref>{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=rWIJAQAAIAAJ&pg=PA2|title=Biographie universelle, ancienne et moderne|date=1834|language=fr}}</ref> North African [[Ottoman Empire|Ottoman]] provinces of [[Regency of Algiers|Algiers]], [[Beylik of Tunis|Tunis]], [[Ottoman Tripolitania|Tripoli]], and the independent [[Sultanate of Morocco]] under the [[Alaouite dynasty]] (the [[Barbary Coast]]) were the scourge of the [[Mediterranean]].<ref>Masselman, George. [https://www.questia.com/read/59497520/the-cradle-of-colonialism ''The Cradle of Colonialism'']{{dl|date=May 2024}} {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170904062150/https://www.questia.com/read/59497520/the-cradle-of-colonialism |date=4 September 2017 }}. New Haven: Yale University Press, 1963. {{OCLC|242863}}. p. 205.</ref> Capturing merchant ships and enslaving or ransoming their crews provided the rulers of these nations with wealth and naval power. The [[Trinitarian Order]], or order of "Mathurins", had operated from [[Kingdom of France|France]] for centuries with the special mission of collecting and disbursing funds for the relief and ransom of prisoners taken by Mediterranean pirates. According to Robert Davis, between 1 and 1.25 million Europeans were captured by Barbary pirates and sold as slaves between the 16th and 19th centuries.<ref>{{cite book |author=R. Davis |url=https://archive.org/details/trent_0116405722392/page/ |title=Christian Slaves, Muslim Masters: White Slavery in the Mediterranean, The Barbary Coast, and Italy, 1500–1800 |publisher=Palgrave Macmillan UK |year=2003 |isbn=978-1-4039-4551-8 |pages=23 |url-access=registration}}</ref>

Barbary corsairs led attacks upon American merchant shipping in an attempt to extort ransom for the lives of captured sailors, and ultimately [[tribute]] from the United States to avoid further attacks, as they had with the various European states.<ref>Rojas, Martha Elena. "'Insults Unpunished' Barbary Captives, American Slaves, and the Negotiation of Liberty." ''Early American Studies''. 1.2 (2003): 159–186.</ref> Before the [[Peace of Paris (1783)|Treaty of Paris]], which formalized the United States' independence from [[Kingdom of Great Britain|Great Britain]], United States shipping was protected by France during the revolutionary years under the [[Treaty of Alliance (1778)|Treaty of Alliance]] (1778–83). Although the treaty does not mention the Barbary states in name, it refers to common enemies between both the United States and France. As such, piracy against United States shipping only began to occur after the end of the [[American Revolution]], when the United States government lost its protection under the Treaty of Alliance.

[[File:BainbridgeTribute.jpg|thumb|upright=0.8|left|Captain [[William Bainbridge]] paying tribute to the [[Dey|Dey of Algiers]], 1800]]
This lapse of protection by a European power led to the first American merchant ship being seized after the Treaty of Paris. On 11 October 1784, Moroccan pirates seized the [[brigantine]] ''Betsey''.<ref>Battistini, Robert. "Glimpses of the Other before Orientalism: The Muslim World in Early American Periodicals, 1785–1800." ''Early American Studies: An Interdisciplinary Journal''. 8.2 (2010): 446–474.</ref> The Spanish government negotiated the freedom of the captured ship and crew; however, Spain advised the United States to offer tribute to prevent further attacks against merchant ships. The United States Minister to France, [[Thomas Jefferson]], decided to send envoys to Morocco and Algeria to try to purchase treaties and the freedom of the captured sailors held by Algeria.<ref name="Parton1872">{{cite magazine|last=Parton|first=James|title=Jefferson, American Minister in France|magazine=Atlantic Monthly|volume=30|date=October 1872|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=oUk6AQAAMAAJ&pg=PA413 |page=413}}</ref> Morocco was the first Barbary Coast state to sign a treaty with the United States, on 23 June 1786. This treaty formally ended all Moroccan piracy against American shipping interests. Specifically, article six of the treaty states that if any Americans captured by Moroccans or other Barbary Coast states docked at a Moroccan city, they would be set free and come under the protection of Morocco.<ref>Miller, Hunter. United States. [http://avalon.law.yale.edu/18th_century/bar1786t.asp "Barbary Treaties 1786–1816: Treaty with Morocco June 28 and July 15, 1786"]. [http://avalon.law.yale.edu The Avalon Project], Yale Law School.</ref>

American diplomatic action with Algeria, the other major Barbary Coast state, was much less productive than with Morocco. Algeria began piracy against the United States on 25 July 1785 with the capture of the [[schooner]] ''Maria'', and ''Dauphin'' a week later.<ref>Battistini, 450</ref> All four Barbary Coast states demanded $660,000 each (equivalent to ${{Inflation|US|0.66|1785|r=0}}&nbsp;million in {{Inflation/year|US}}). However, the envoys were given only an allocated budget of $40,000 ({{Inflation|US|40000|1785|fmt=eq|r=-4}}) to achieve peace.<ref name="Parton1872"/> Diplomatic talks to reach a reasonable sum for tribute or for the ransom of the captured sailors struggled to make any headway. The crews of ''Maria'' and ''Dauphin'' remained enslaved for over a decade, joined by crews of other ships captured by the Barbary states.<ref>Rojas, 176</ref>

In March 1786, Jefferson and [[John Adams]] went to [[London]] to negotiate with Tripoli's envoy, ambassador Sidi Haji Abdrahaman (or Sidi Haji Abdul Rahman Adja). When they enquired "concerning the ground of the pretensions to make war upon nations who had done them no injury", the ambassador replied:

<blockquote>It was written in their Koran, that all nations which had not acknowledged the Prophet were sinners, whom it was the right and duty of the faithful to plunder and enslave; and that every mussulman who was slain in this warfare was sure to go to paradise. He said, also, that the man who was the first to board a vessel had one slave over and above his share, and that when they sprang to the deck of an enemy's ship, every sailor held a dagger in each hand and a third in his mouth; which usually struck such terror into the foe that they cried out for quarter at once.{{refn|"American Peace Commissioners to John Jay," March 28, 1786, "Thomas Jefferson Papers," Series 1. General Correspondence. 1651–1827, Library of Congress. [http://memory.loc.gov/master/mss/mtj/mtj1/005/0400/0430.jpg LoC: March 28, 1786] (handwritten). <br />^ {{cite book |title=Making of America Project|url={{Google books|nWQCAAAAIAAJ|page=413|plainurl=yes}}|page=413|author=Philip Gengembre Hubert|year=1872|publisher=The Atlantic Monthly, Atlantic Monthly Co.}}<br/>Some sources confirm this wording,<ref>{{cite book |author=Richard Lee|title=In God We Still Trust: A 365-Day Devotional|url= https://books.google.com/books?id=xgI535e9Xt4C|year=2011|publisher=Thomas Nelson Inc|isbn=978-1-4041-8965-2|page=[https://books.google.com/books?id=xgI535e9Xt4C&pg=PA69 69]}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|author=Harry Gratwick|title=Hidden History of Maine|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=GQX8SYLjKckC|year=2010|publisher=The History Press|isbn=978-1-59629-815-6|page=[https://books.google.com/books?id=GQX8SYLjKckC&pg=PT52 52]}}{{Dead link|date=August 2024 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}</ref> some other sources report this quotation with slight differences in wording.<ref>{{cite book |author=United States. Dept. of State|title=The diplomatic correspondence of the United States of America|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=od6PAAAAMAAJ |year=1837|publisher=Printed by Blair & Rives|page=[https://books.google.com/books?id=od6PAAAAMAAJ&pg=PA605 605]}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |author1=Priscilla H. Roberts|author2=Richard S. Roberts|title= Thomas Barclay (1728–1793): Consul in France, Diplomat in Barbary |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=4PmWSLcoGCoC|year=2008|publisher=Associated University Presse|isbn=978-0-934223-98-0|page=[https://books.google.com/books?id=4PmWSLcoGCoC&pg=PA184 184]}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |author= Frederick C. Leiner|title=The End of Barbary Terror: America's 1815 War Against the Pirates of North Africa|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=sRWhmVTnndoC|year=2006|publisher=Oxford University Press|isbn=978-0-19-518994-0|pages=[https://archive.org/details/endofbarbaryterr00lein/page/17 17–18]}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |title=United States Congressional Serial Set, Serial No. 15038, House Documents Nos. 129–137|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=CaPylhG5Ee0C|publisher= Government Printing Office|page=[https://books.google.com/books?id=CaPylhG5Ee0C&pg=RA2–PA8& 8]|id=GGKEY:TBY2W8Z0L9N}}</ref>}} </blockquote>

Jefferson reported the conversation to Secretary of Foreign Affairs [[John Jay]], who submitted the ambassador's comments and offer to [[United States Congress|Congress]]. The incident convinced Jefferson that paying further tribute would do nothing to prevent more attacks. Although Adams agreed with Jefferson, he believed that circumstances forced the United States to pay tribute; the United States had just fought an exhausting war, which put the nation deep into debt and unable to finance the establishment of a navy.<ref name="London2005pp40–41">{{Harvnb|London|2005|pp=40, 41}}.</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=http://founders.archives.gov/documents/Jefferson/01-10-02-0058|title=Founders Online: From Thomas Jefferson to John Adams, 11 July 1786|website=founders.archives.gov}}</ref>

Various letters and testimonies by captured sailors described their time in captivity. Barbary Coast imprisonment was different from that practiced by the United States and the European powers of the time.<ref>Rojas, 168–169.</ref> Prisoners were able to obtain wealth and property, along with achieving status beyond that of a slave. One such example was [[James Leander Cathcart]], who rose to the highest position a Christian slave could achieve in Algeria, becoming an adviser to the ''[[dey]]'' (governor).<ref>Rojas, 163</ref> Even so, most captives could expect little more than lives of hard labor and abuse, and struggled under extremely poor conditions that exposed them to [[vermin]] and disease. As word of their treatment reached the United States, through freed captives' narratives and letters, Americans pushed for Congress to take military action against the Barbary states.

On 19 July 1794, Congress appropriated $800,000 (equivalent to ${{Inflation|US|0.8|1794}}&nbsp;million in {{Inflation/year|US}}) for the release of American prisoners and for a peace treaty with Algiers, Tunis, and Tripoli.{{sfn|Farber|2014|p=207}} On 5 September 1795, American negotiator Joseph Donaldson signed a peace treaty with the dey of Algiers that included an upfront payment of $642,500 in specie (''silver coinage'', equivalent to ${{Inflation|US|0.6425|1795|r=0}}&nbsp;million in {{Inflation/year|US}}) for peace, the release of American captives, various expenses for their care, and various gifts for the dey's royal court and family.{{sfn|Farber|2014|p=204}} An additional indefinite yearly tribute of $21,600 ({{Inflation|US|21600|1795|fmt=eq|r=-4}}) in shipbuilding supplies and ammunition would be given to the dey.{{sfn|Farber|2014|p=204}} The treaty, designed to prevent further piracy, resulted in the release of 115 American sailors held captive by the dey.<ref>Rojas, 165.</ref>

Jefferson continued to argue for cessation of the tribute, with rising support from President [[George Washington]] and others. With the recommissioning of the [[United States Navy]] in 1794 and a rush of new ships and weapons, it became increasingly possible for America to cease payments, although the established habit was difficult to change.{{sfn|Kilmeade|Yaeger|2015|pp=45–46}} The continuing demand for tribute ultimately led to the formation of the [[United States Department of the Navy]], founded in 1798<ref>Blum, Hester. "Pirated Tars, Piratical Texts Barbary Captivity and American Sea Narratives." ''Early American Studies: An Interdisciplinary Journal''. 1.2 (2003): 133–158.</ref> to prevent further attacks upon American shipping while resolving the issue of Barbary piracy. [[Federalist]] and [[Anti-Federalist]] forces argued over the needs of the country and the burden of taxation. Jefferson's own [[Democratic-Republican Party|Democratic-Republicans]] and anti-navalists believed that the future of the country lay in [[Territorial evolution of the United States|westward expansion]], arguing that the Atlantic trade threatened to siphon money and energy away from the nation while entangling it in the wars and intrigue of the [[Old World]].<ref name="London2005pp40–41"/> During the divisive [[1800 United States presidential election|1800 presidential election]], Jefferson defeated incumbent President John Adams. Jefferson was poised to order naval actions against the Barbary states.{{sfn|Kilmeade|Yaeger|2015|pp=45–46}}

==Declaration of war and naval blockade==
[[File:PortraitVanYusufKaramanli.jpg|thumb|Portrait of Yusuf Karamanli]]
Just before Jefferson's inauguration in March 1801, Congress passed naval legislation that, among other things, provided for [[Original six frigates of the United States Navy|six frigates]] that "shall be officered and manned as the President of the United States may direct." In the event of a declaration of war on the United States by the Barbary powers, these ships were to "protect our commerce and chastise their insolence—by sinking, burning or destroying their ships and vessels wherever you shall find them."<ref>{{cite web |last1=Huff|first1=Elizabeth|title=The First Barbary War|publisher=[[Thomas Jefferson Foundation]]|url=http://www.monticello.org/site/research-and-collections/first-barbary-war|website=monticello.org|access-date=18 May 2019}}</ref> On Jefferson's inauguration, [[Yusuf Karamanli]], the ''[[Pasha]]'' (or ''Bashaw'') of Tripoli, demanded $225,000 (equivalent to ${{Inflation|US|0.225|1801|r=1}}&nbsp;million in {{Inflation-year|US}}) from the United States. It was a long-standing tradition that if a government was changed or the consular was changed, said government would have to pay 'consular' gifts, in either gold or in goods, usually military and naval stores.<ref name="auto">Folayan, Kola. “The Tripolitan War : A Reconsideration of the Causes.” [[Africa: Rivista trimestrale di studi e documentazione|Africa: Rivista Trimestrale Di Studi e Documentazione Dell’Istituto Italiano per l’Africa e l’Oriente]], vol. 27, no. 1, 1972, pp. 615–626. {{JSTOR|41852623}}. Accessed 27 May 2021.</ref> (In 1800, federal revenues totaled a little over $10 million, equivalent to ${{Inflation|US|10|1800|r=-1}}&nbsp;million in {{Inflation/year|US}}.) Finally able to put his long-held beliefs into practice, Jefferson refused the demand. Consequently—along with the Americans not paying the money nor the gifts as stated in the [[Treaty of Tripoli]] signed in 1796 between Tripoli and America—<ref name="auto"/> on 10 May 1801, Karamanli declared war on the United States, not through any formal written documents but in the customary Barbary manner of cutting down the flagstaff in front of the [[List of diplomatic missions of the United States|United States Consulate]].<ref>{{cite book |last=Miller|first=Nathan|title=The U.S. Navy: a history|url=https://archive.org/details/usnavyhistory00mill|url-access=registration|access-date=9 May 2011|date=1997|publisher=Naval Institute Press|isbn=978-1-55750-595-8|page=[https://archive.org/details/usnavyhistory00mill/page/46 46]}}</ref> Algiers and Tunis did not follow suit.

[[File:PhiladelphiaAground.jpg|thumb|left|An artist's depiction of the {{USS|Philadelphia|1799|2}} aground off Tripoli, in October 1803]]

Before learning that Tripoli had declared war, Jefferson sent a small squadron consisting of three frigates and one schooner, under the command of Commodore [[Richard Dale]], with gifts and letters to attempt to maintain peace with the Barbary powers.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Huff|first1=Elizabeth|title=The First Barbary War|url=http://www.monticello.org/site/research-and-collections/first-barbary-war|website=monticello.org|access-date=14 October 2014}}</ref> However, if war had been declared, then Dale was instructed to "protect American ships and citizens against potential aggression"; Jefferson made it clear that he was "unauthorized by the [[Constitution of the United States|constitution]], without the sanction of Congress, to go beyond the line of defense." He told Congress: "I communicate [to you] all material information on this subject, that in the exercise of this [[War Powers Clause|important function confided by the constitution to the legislature exclusively]] their judgment may form itself on a knowledge and consideration of every circumstance of weight."<ref name=Woods>[[Thomas Woods|Woods, Thomas]] (2005-07-07) [http://www.lewrockwell.com/woods/woods45.html Presidential War Powers], ''[[LewRockwell.com]]''</ref> Although Congress never voted on a formal declaration of war, it authorized the president to instruct the commanders of armed American vessels to seize all vessels and goods of the Pasha of Tripoli "and also to cause to be done all such other acts of precaution or hostility as the state of war will justify." The American squadron joined a Swedish flotilla under [[Rudolf Cederström]] in blockading Tripoli, the Swedes having been at war with the Tripolitans since 1800.{{Citation needed|date=December 2024}}

On 31 May 1801, Dale's successor, Commodore [[Edward Preble]], traveled to [[Messina]], Sicily, to the court of King [[Ferdinand I of the Two Sicilies|Ferdinand IV]] of the [[Kingdom of Naples]]. The kingdom was at [[War of the Second Coalition|war with Napoleon]], but Ferdinand saw an opportunity and supplied the Americans with manpower, craftsmen, supplies, gunboats, mortar boats, and the ports of Messina, [[Syracuse, Sicily|Syracuse]], and [[Palermo]] to be used as naval bases for launching operations against Tripoli. Tripoli was a fortress city protected by 150 pieces of heavy artillery and manned by 25,000 soldiers, assisted by a fleet of 10 ten-gunned brigs, 2 eight-gun schooners, two large [[galley]]s, and 19 [[gunboat]]s.<ref>Tucker, Glenn. [https://www.questia.com/read/5653611/dawn-like-thunder-the-barbary-wars-and-the-birth ''Dawn like Thunder: The Barbary Wars and the Birth of the U.S. Navy'']{{dl|date=May 2024}} {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171201182723/https://www.questia.com/read/5653611/dawn-like-thunder-the-barbary-wars-and-the-birth |date=1 December 2017 }} Indianapolis, Bobbs-Merrill, 1963. {{OCLC|391442}}. p. 293.</ref> 

The [[Action of 1 August 1801|first action of the campaign]] took place on 1 August 1801, when the armed schooner {{USS|Enterprise|1799|2}} (commanded by Lieutenant Andrew Sterret) defeated the 14-gun Tripolitan corsair ''Tripoli'' in battle.

In 1802, in response to Jefferson's request for a formal authorization of anti-piracy efforts, Congress passed "An act for the protection of commerce and seamen of the United States against the Tripolitan cruisers", authorizing the president to "employ such of the armed vessels of the United States as may be judged requisite... for protecting effectually the commerce and seamen thereof on the Atlantic Ocean, the Mediterranean and adjoining seas."<ref>{{Harvnb|Keynes|2004|p=[https://books.google.com/books?id=f9kT6Az5HIsC&pg=PA191 191] (note 31)}}</ref> The statute authorized American ships to seize vessels belonging to the pasha of Tripoli, with the captured property distributed to those who brought the vessels into port.<ref name=Woods />

The United States Navy went unchallenged on the sea, but the question of how far to push the conflict remained. Jefferson pressed the issue the following year, with an increase in military force and deployment of many of the Navy's best ships to the region throughout 1802. {{USS|Argus|1803|6}}, {{USS|Chesapeake|1799|2}}, {{USS|Constellation|1797|2}}, {{USS|Constitution}}, ''Enterprise'', {{USS|Intrepid|1798|2}}, {{USS|Philadelphia|1799|2}}, {{USS|Vixen|1803|2}}, {{USS|President|1800|2}}, {{USS|Congress|1799|2}}, {{USS|Essex|1799|2}}, {{USS|John Adams|1799|2}}, {{USS|Nautilus|1799|2}}, [[Quatre frères (1796 ship)|''Scourge'']], {{USS|Syren|1803|2}}, and {{USS|Hornet|1805 sloop|2}} (joined in 1805) all saw service during the war, under the overall command of Preble. Throughout 1803, Preble set up and maintained a blockade of the Barbary ports while taking action to seize and harass their fleets.

==Battles==
{{Main|Second Battle of Tripoli Harbor|Battle of Derna (1805)}}

[[File:Burning of the uss philadelphia.jpg|thumb|upright|An 1897 painting of the burning of the USS ''Philadelphia'']]

In October 1803, Tripoli's fleet captured the USS ''Philadelphia'' intact after the frigate ran aground on a reef while patrolling Tripoli harbor. Efforts by the Americans to refloat the ship while under fire from shore [[Artillery battery|batteries]] and Tripolitan naval units failed. The ship, her captain [[William Bainbridge]], and all officers and crew were taken ashore and held as hostages. ''Philadelphia'' was subsequently converted into a floating battery for harbor defense.

On the night of 16 February 1804, Captain [[Stephen Decatur]] led a small detachment of [[United States Marines Corp|United States Marines]] aboard the captured Tripolitan [[ketch]] rechristened ''Intrepid'', thus deceiving the guards on ''Philadelphia'' to float close enough to board her. Decatur's men stormed the ship and overpowered the Tripolitan sailors. With fire support from American warships, the Marines set fire to ''Philadelphia'' and destroyed her.

Preble attacked Tripoli on 14 July 1804, kicking off a series of inconclusive battles, including an unsuccessful attempt to use ''Intrepid'' under Captain [[Richard Somers]] as a [[fire ship]], packed with explosives and sent to enter Tripoli harbor. ''Intrepid'' was destroyed, possibly by enemy gunfire, before she achieved her goal, killing Somers and his entire crew.<ref>Tucker, 2005, pp. 326–331.{{cnf|date=April 4, 2021<!-- NOTE: could be either of these (Tucker 2005) books: https://books.google.com/books?id=1ETOxH58_kUC, https://books.google.com/books?id=qiU7V8maI2oC -->}}</ref>

[[File:Decatur Boarding the Tripolitan Gunboat.jpg|thumb|A painting of [[Stephen Decatur]] boarding a Tripolitan gunboat during a naval engagement, 3 August 1804]]
The turning point in the war was the Battle of Derna (April–May 1805). Ex-consul [[William Eaton (soldier)|William Eaton]], a former Army captain who used the title of "[[general officer|general]]", and Marine Corps 1st Lieutenant [[Presley O'Bannon]] led a force of eight Marines<ref>Eaton had requested 100 Marines, but had been limited to eight by Commodore Barron, who wished to budget his forces differently. {{Harvnb|Daugherty|2009|pp=[https://books.google.com/books?id=Ir-hm6IGWnEC&pg=PA11 11–12]}}.</ref> and 500 mercenaries—[[Greeks]] from Crete, [[Arabs]], and [[Berber people|Berbers]]—on a march across the desert from [[Alexandria]], Egypt, to capture the Tripolitan city of [[Derna, Libya|Derna]]. This was the first time the United States flag was raised in victory on foreign soil. The action is memorialized in a line of the [[Marines' Hymn]]—"the shores of Tripoli".<ref>{{cite web|website=Militaryhistory.about.com|url=http://militaryhistory.about.com/od/battleswars1800s/p/derne.htm|title=Battle of Derna|access-date=15 March 2009|archive-date=16 February 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120216230227/http://militaryhistory.about.com/od/battleswars1800s/p/derne.htm|url-status=dead}}</ref> The capturing of the city gave American negotiators leverage in securing the return of hostages and the end of the war.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Fye|first1=Shaan|title=A History Lesson: The First Barbary War|url=http://atlasbusinessjournal.org/a-history-lesson-the-first-barbary-war/|website=The Atlas Business Journal|access-date=20 January 2016}}</ref>
[[File:Attack on Derna by Charles Waterhouse 01.jpg|thumb|A painting of Lieutenant [[Presley O'Bannon]] at [[Battle of Derna (1805)|Derna]], April 1805]]

==Peace treaty and aftermath==
Wearied of the blockade and raids, and now under threat of a continued advance on Tripoli proper and a scheme to restore his deposed older brother Hamet Karamanli as ruler, Yusuf Karamanli signed the [[Treaty of Tripoli (1805)|Treaty of Tripoli]] ending hostilities on 10 June 1805. Article 2 of the treaty reads:
<blockquote>The Bashaw of Tripoli shall deliver up to the American squadron now off Tripoli, all the Americans in his possession; and all the subjects of the Bashaw of Tripoli now in the power of the United States of America shall be delivered up to him; and as the number of Americans in possession of the Bashaw of Tripoli amounts to three hundred persons, more or less; and the number of Tripolino subjects in the power of the Americans to about, one hundred more or less; The Bashaw of Tripoli shall receive from the United States of America, the sum of sixty thousand dollars, as a payment for the difference between the prisoners herein mentioned.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://avalon.law.yale.edu/19th_century/bar1805t.asp |title=Treaty of Peace and Amity, Signed at Tripoli June 4, 1805 |website=Avalon.law.yale.edu}}</ref></blockquote>

In agreeing to pay a ransom of $60,000 (equivalent to ${{Inflation|US|0.06|1805|r=1}}&nbsp;million in {{Inflation/year|US}}) for the American prisoners, the Jefferson administration drew a distinction between paying ''tribute'' and paying ''ransom''. At the time, some argued that buying sailors out of slavery was a fair exchange to end the war. Eaton, however, remained bitter for the rest of his life about the treaty, feeling that his efforts had been squandered by the American emissary from the [[United States Department of State]], diplomat [[Tobias Lear]]. Eaton and others felt that the capture of Derna should have been used as a bargaining chip to obtain the release of all American prisoners without having to pay ransom. Furthermore, Eaton believed the honor of the United States had been compromised when it abandoned Hamet Karamanli after promising to restore him as leader of Tripoli. Eaton's complaints generally went unheard, especially as attention turned to the strained international relations which would ultimately lead to the withdrawal of the United States Navy from the area in 1807 and to the [[War of 1812]].<ref>Herring, George C. [https://www.questia.com/read/121354597/from-colony-to-superpower-u-s-foreign-relations ''From Colony to Superpower: U.S. Foreign Relations since 1776''] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170818133935/https://www.questia.com/read/121354597/from-colony-to-superpower-u-s-foreign-relations |date=18 August 2017 }} New York: Oxford University Press, 2008. {{ISBN|978-0-19-507822-0}}. p. 100.</ref>

The outcome of the war is a matter of dispute among historians. Many historians view the war as an American victory.{{refn|<ref>{{Cite book |last=Frazier |first=Paul |url= |title=American Foreign Policy: Examining the Facts |date=2024-12-26 |publisher=Bloomsbury Publishing USA |isbn=978-1-4408-7942-5 |page=67 |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |title=Conflict and conquest in the Islamic world: a historical encyclopedia |date=2011 |publisher=ABC-CLIO |isbn=978-1-59884-336-1 |editor-last=Mikaberidze |editor-first=Alexander |location=Santa Barbara, Calif |page=195}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |last=Stapleton |first=Timothy Joseph |title=Encyclopedia of African colonial conflicts |date=2017 |publisher=ABC-CLIO, an imprint of ABC-CLIO, LLC |isbn=978-1-59884-837-3 |location=Santa Barbara, Calif |page=87}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |last=Trimmer |first=Earl Dusty |url= |title=Unbreakable Hearts: A True, Heart-wrenching Story About Victory...Forfeited! |date=2019-05-16 |publisher=Dog Ear Publishing |isbn=978-1-4575-6856-5 |page=153 |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |last=Lombardo |first=Jennifer |url= |title=Piracy: From the High Seas to the Digital Age |date=2018-07-15 |publisher=Greenhaven Publishing LLC |isbn=978-1-5345-6383-4 |page=24 |language=en |quote=During the war, the United States was successful in defeating Trip-oli and raised the U.S. flag in victory on foreign soil for the first time.}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |last=Wood |first=Gordon S. |url= |title=Empire of Liberty: A History of the Early Republic, 1789-1815 |date=2009-10-28 |publisher=Oxford University Press |isbn=978-0-19-974109-0 |page=639 |language=en}}</ref>}} But some historians claim that the war was inconclusive<ref>{{Cite book |last=Knott |first=Stephen F. |title=Secret and sanctioned: covert operations and the American presidency |date=1996 |publisher=Oxford University Press |isbn=978-0-19-510098-3 |location=New York |page=23}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |last=Lehr |first=Peter |title=Pirates: a new history, from Vikings to Somali raiders |date=2019 |publisher=Yale University Press |isbn=978-0-300-18074-9 |location=New Haven, Connecticut |page=140}}</ref> or was a long-term success for Tripoli.<ref>Joshua E. London (2005), Victory in Tripoli: How America's War with the Barbary Pirates Established the U.S. Navy and Shaped a Nation, p. 229.[https://archive.org/details/victoryintripoli00lond/page/229/mode/1up]</ref><ref>Ronald Bruce St John (2013), Libya and the United States, Two Centuries of Strife, p. 52. "The outcome of the 1801-5 conflict between Libya and the United States represented a significant achievement for the Karamanli regime. Military success against the United States enhanced Tripoli’s international status as a maritime power on the Barbary coast, a key strategic objective of the Libyan government. In addition, the failure of the abortive American scheme to replace Yusuf Karamanli with his brother ensured the continuity of the former’s regime".</ref> The First Barbary War was beneficial to the reputation of the United States' military command and war mechanism, which had been up to that time relatively untested. The First Barbary War showed that the United States could execute a war far from home, and that American forces had the cohesion to fight together as Americans rather than separately as [[Georgia (U.S. state)|Georgians]], [[New York (state)|New Yorkers]], etc. The United States Navy and United States Marine Corps became a permanent part of the [[Federal government of the United States|United States government]] and United States history, and Decatur returned to the United States as its first post-revolutionary war hero.<ref>Tucker, 2005, p. 464.{{cnf|date=April 4, 2021<!-- NOTE: could be either of these (Tucker 2005) books: https://books.google.com/books?id=1ETOxH58_kUC, https://books.google.com/books?id=qiU7V8maI2oC -->}}</ref>

However, the more immediate problem of Barbary piracy was not fully settled. By 1807, Algiers had reassembled its fleets and resumed taking American ships and seamen hostage. Distracted by the preludes to the War of 1812, the United States was unable to respond to the provocation until 1815, with the [[Second Barbary War]], in which naval victories by Commodores William Bainbridge and Stephen Decatur led to treaties ending all tribute payments by the United States.<ref>Gerard W. Gawalt, [http://lcweb2.loc.gov/ammem/collections/jefferson_papers/mtjprece.html America and the Barbary Pirates: An International Battle Against an Unconventional Foe], [http://loc.gov U.S. Library of Congress].</ref>

==Monument==
The [[Tripoli Monument (sculpture)|Tripoli Monument]],<ref>{{Citation |url=http://www.dcmemorials.com/index_indiv0003204.htm |title=Tripoli Monument at the U.S. Naval Academy in Annapolis, Maryland |author=Giovanni C Micali |publisher=dcmemorials.com |access-date=20 January 2007 |archive-date=26 April 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200426071309/http://www.dcmemorials.com/index_indiv0003204.htm |url-status=dead }}</ref> the oldest military monument in the United States, honors the American heroes of the First Barbary War: Somers (by then promoted to the rank of [[master commandant]]), Lieutenant James Caldwell, James Decatur (brother of Stephen Decatur), Henry Wadsworth, [[Joseph Israel (naval officer)|Joseph Israel]] and John Dorsey. Originally known as the ''Naval Monument'', it was carved of [[Carrara marble]] in Italy in 1806 and brought to the United States on board ''Constitution'' ("Old Ironsides"). From its original location in the [[Washington Navy Yard]], it was moved to the west terrace of the national Capitol and finally, in 1860, to the [[U.S. Naval Academy#Monuments and memorials|United States Naval Academy]] in [[Annapolis, Maryland]].<ref>Tucker, 2005, p. 332.{{cnf|date=April 4, 2021<!-- NOTE: could be either of these (Tucker 2005) books: https://books.google.com/books?id=1ETOxH58_kUC, https://books.google.com/books?id=qiU7V8maI2oC -->}}</ref>
==See also==
* [[Barbary treaties]]
* [[Islamic views on slavery]]
* [[Military history of the United States]]
* [[Slavery in the Ottoman Empire]]
* [[Capture of Manuel Briones]]

{{Portal bar|United States|Morocco}}

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==Bibliography==
* {{Citation|last=Farber|first=Hannah|title=Millions for Credit: Peace with Algiers and the Establishment of America's Commercial Reputation Overseas, 1795–96.|journal=Journal of the Early Republic|volume=34|number=2|date=2014|pages=187–217|doi=10.1353/jer.2014.0028|s2cid=154186346}}
* {{Citation|surname=Keynes|given=Edward |title=Undeclared War|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=f9kT6Az5HIsC|year=2004|publisher=Penn State Press|isbn=978-0-271-02607-7}}
* {{Citation|surname1=Kilmeade|given1=Brian|surname2=Yaeger|given2=Don|title=Thomas Jefferson And The Tripoli Pirates|publisher=Sentinel|date=2015|location=New York|isbn=978-1-59184-806-6|url-access=registration|url=https://archive.org/details/thomasjeffersont0000kilm}}
* {{Citation|surname=London|given=Joshua E.|year=2005|title=Victory in Tripoli: How America's War with the Barbary Pirates Established the U.S. Navy and Shaped a Nation|place=New Jersey|publisher=John Wiley & Sons, Inc.|isbn=0-471-44415-4|url=https://archive.org/details/victoryintripoli00lond}}
* {{Citation|surname=Whipple |given=A. B. C. |title=To the Shores of Tripoli: The Birth of the U.S. Navy and Marines |publisher=Bluejacket Books |year=1991 |isbn=1-55750-966-2}}

==Further reading==
{{Main|Barbary Wars#Further reading}}

* {{Citation|surname=Adams|given=Henry Brooks|author-link=Henry Brooks Adams|title=History of the United States of America During the Administrations of Thomas Jefferson|publication-date=1891 |edition=[[Library of America]]|year=1986}}
* {{cite book |author-link=Max Boot |last=Boot |first=Max |title=The Savage Wars of Peace: Small Wars and the Rise of American Power |location=New York City |publisher=[[Basic Books]] |isbn=046500721X |lccn=2004695066 |year= 2003 }}
* {{cite book |last=Daugherty|first=Leo J. |title=The Marine Corps and the State Department: enduring partners in United States foreign policy, 1798–2007|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Ir-hm6IGWnEC|year= 2009|publisher=McFarland|isbn=978-0-7864-3796-2}}
* {{Citation|surname=De Kay|given=James Tertius|title=A Rage for Glory: The Life of Commodore Stephen Decatur, USN|publisher=Free Press|year=2004}}
* {{cite book|title=Thomas Jefferson and the Tripoli Pirates: The Forgotten War That Changed American History|author1=Brian Kilmeade|author2=Don Yeager|year=2015|publisher=Penguin Publishing |isbn=978-1591848066|url=https://archive.org/details/thomasjeffersont0000kilm}}
* {{Citation|author=Lambert, Frank|title=The Barbary Wars: American Independence in the Atlantic World|year=2005|publisher=Hill and Wang|location=New York|isbn=978-0-8090-9533-9}}
* {{Citation|surname=Oren|given=Michael B.|author-link=Michael B. Oren|title=Power, Faith, and Fantasy: The United States in the Middle East, 1776 to 2006|location=New York|publisher=W.W. Norton & Co|year=2007|isbn=978-0-393-33030-4|url=https://archive.org/details/powerfaithfantas00oren_0}}
* {{Citation|surname=Smethurst|given=David|title=Tripoli: The United States' First War on Terror |location=New York|publisher=Presidio Press|year=2006}}
* {{Citation|surname=Toll|given=Ian W.|year=2006|title=Six Frigates: The Epic History of the Founding of the U.S. Navy|publisher=W.W. Norton|isbn=978-0-393-05847-5|url=https://archive.org/details/sixfrigatesepich00toll}}
* {{Citation|surname=Wheelan|given=Joseph|title=Jefferson's War: America's First War on Terror, 1801–1805|location=New York|publisher=Carroll & Graf|year=2003}}
* {{Citation|surname=Zacks|given=Richard|title=The Pirate Coast: Thomas Jefferson, the First Marines, and the Secret Mission of 1805|location=New York|publisher=Hyperion|year=2005}} {{ISBN?}}
* {{cite book |last=Toll |first=Ian W.
|title= Six Frigates: The Epic History of the Founding of the U.S. Navy |publisher= W.W. Norton & Company |year=2008|isbn= 978-0393330328}}

==External links==
* [http://avalon.law.yale.edu/19th_century/bar1805t.asp Treaties with The Barbary Powers :]
* [https://ussconstitutionmuseum.org/major-events/first-barbary-war-1803-1805/ USS Constitution Museum :]
* [http://www.ibiblio.org/anrs/barbary.html Naval Documents Related to the United States War with the Barbary Powers]
* {{Citation|url=http://www.victoryintripoli.com/|title=How America's war with the Barbary Pirates Established the U.S. Navy and Shaped a Nation|author=Joshua E. London|publisher=victoryintripoli.com|access-date=17 May 2006|archive-date=18 December 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141218150126/http://victoryintripoli.com/|url-status=dead}}
* {{Citation|url=http://www.heritage.org/research/lecture/victory-in-tripoli-lessons-for-the-war-on-terrorism|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100331013306/http://www.heritage.org/Research/Lecture/Victory-in-Tripoli-Lessons-for-the-War-on-Terrorism|url-status=unfit|archive-date=31 March 2010|date=4 May 2006|title=Victory in Tripoli: Lessons for the War on Terrorism|publisher= Heritage Foundation|author=Joshua E. London}} (Heritage Lecture #940)
* [http://histclo.com/essay/war/bp/abw/abw1.html First American-Barbary War]

{{Thomas Jefferson}}
{{American conflicts}}
{{Barbary Corsairs}}
{{Authority control}}
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Barbary War, First}}
[[Category:First Barbary War| ]]
[[Category:Barbary Wars| ]]
[[Category:Ottoman Tripolitania]]
[[Category:Presidency of Thomas Jefferson]]
[[Category:United States Marine Corps in the 18th and 19th centuries]]
[[Category:Wars involving Morocco]]
[[Category:Wars involving Sweden]]
[[Category:Wars involving the Ottoman Empire]]
[[Category:Wars involving the United States]]
[[Category:1800s conflicts]]