The Wars of the Barbary Pirates: To the shores of Tripoli: the rise of the US Navy and Marines (Essential Histories)

Fremont-Barnes has produced a fast-reading brief history of an important but little known chapter in American history. Just a dozen years after the adoption of our constitution, with a small, financially strapped government, we were conducting an active foreign policy and projecting naval power thousands of miles away. Following on the heels of another little remembered conflict--the Quasi War with France, in which our tiny navy acquitted itself marvelously--the Barbary conflict helped forge a national identity of America as the Home of the Brave--bold, self-confident, dignified and worthy of respect. A hundred years later, Teddy Roosevelt refreshed the lesson with the global cruise of the Great White Fleet."The Wars of the Barbary Pirates" is short--just 60 concise pages with plenty of pictures covers the First Barbary War (1801-1805). The Second Barbary War (1815) is polished off in only four pages. Fremont-Barnes stills finds room for plenty of telling details not often found in brief histories. Exemplary here is the vignette that a certain Captain Truxtun would have been an excellent squadron commander for the Barbary conflict but for his inflated ego. Truxton, it seems, alienated Congress by insisting on being named an Admiral even though that title did not then exist in the US Navy. Thus, a brave and talented commander threw away his career for want of a sobriquet to his liking.A useful feature in the structure of the book is a three-page chronology (p, 13-15), but that's where the problems begin: A series of factual errors sure to irk the careful reader. For example, the entry for 1794 states the the Congress allocated "over $1 million for the construction of six frigates." Actually, the figure $688,888. That precise number is not hard to find. It is widely quoted in numbers of sources, both contemporary and modern, so why fudge the number? Yes, in following years, costs for those ships rose to over $1 million, but not in 1794.Another small but irksome error is found on a map purporting to show Commodore Preble's use of gunboats to attack at the mouth of the harbor at Tripoli. Names of commanders of these small craft are listed, including Stephen Decatur and his younger brother, James. Inexplicably, the name Bainbridge is shown next to one of these small boats. Captain Bainbridge was, at the time, a prisoner in Tripoli, having wrecked the frigate Philadelphia on a reef outside the harbor almost a year before. How he would have traveled from prison to the attacking gunboats, then back to prison, is left to the reader's imagination.A more forgivable error is found in a picture caption for a dramatic picture of Stephen Decatur fighting off a Tripolitan gunboat captain (p. 53-54), with Decatur being rescued by the wounded gunner Reuben James. The alleged heroics of Reuben James have received a good deal of historians' ink in recent years, with the real character now generally believed to be one Daniel Fraser. I'm surprised that Fremont-Barnes, an apt historian, didn't pick up on this detail.Another error that smacks of carelessness is found in another picture caption (and also in the text), this one showing Decatur meeting representatives of the Dey of Algiers aboard his frigate, the Guerriere. Fremont-Barnes writes, "the symbolism behind his command of a former British warship cannot have been lost on his host." In reality, Decatur's Guerriere was a year-old American frigate. The British frigate of that name was defeated by the USS Constitution in 1812, burned to the waterline and sunk. One presumes that the symbolism was indeed lost on the host, as there was none, except the symbolism of 53 American cannon pointed at the nearby Algerine ships.Yet these complaints are mere niggles. It's what happens when a truly capable Oxford historian dashes off a quick book for a quick buck. The overall picture this book paints is vivid, interesting and informative. It is all that's needed to keep up your end of the conversation at a cocktail party, but not a good source for a student relying on it for a college paper. For that, I would recommend the scrupulously footnoted "The Crescent Obscured," by Robert J. Allison (University of Chicago Press, 1995). Allison's book is really the gold stand of literate, readable history, meticulously researched.

Great detail and research done!!

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.

A current interest in the War of 1812 led me to this book by Gregory Fremont-Barnes, who holds a doctorate in history from Oxford University. The very long title for a relatively small book tells you exactly what to expect from it. Its 95 pages are so well presented, so succinct yet so full of information, that it is a pleasure to read. Illustrations on every page -- maps, reproductions of historical paintings and line drawings are indeed worth thousands of words. The two-column pages offer a journalistic feel -- that current news is being presented by top reporters.A three-page chronology summarizes the contents of the book for those who want to find facts instantly. The Introduction is also all-encompassing -- it tells all that the book contains. A "Further Reading" list at the end leads readers and researchers to other sources on this fascinating subject. An index pinpoints all the events, people, places and shipping vessels found in the book.I was seeking information on the USS Epervier, the ill-fated ship that was lost at sea returning to America from North Africa bearing the Treaty of Ghent which formalized the end of the War of 1812 between the British and the Americans. I also wanted information on Stephen Decatur and other prominent commodores and captains of US ships of that era. This book far exceeded my expectations. I am so very pleased that Google pointed me to it and Amazon.com had it in stock. I love this book, and recommend it without reservation to anyone wanting a palatible source of information on this pivotal period of our history that is so woefully lacking in below-college-level schools.

This book is for "source information only" because it is not written as a narrative. However the information, although short, is good in that it does create interest in seeking more information in full stories of these events.

Love reading (with the wonderful paintings for illustration) about America's FIRST WAR as a Nation!

Very fast paced and easily read. I liked the clearly portrayed maps, the brevity of words and the many illustrations. I thoroughly enjoyed it and felt that it was well worth the read.

GREAT

Très bon livre dans la droite ligne de la série à laquelle il appartient. Il revient sur un épisode peu connu de l’histoire américaine et en donne un bel éclairage. Un bémol, la partie sur l’expédition Lewis et Clark qui n’apporte strictement rien au sujet!!