THE BURNING OF THE "PHILADELPHIA” T is difficult to conceive that there ever was a to a It is be made for such action was that we merely fol lowed the example of Christendom. The civilized people of the world were then in the habit of ing sums of pay order to secure immunity for their merchant vesmoney to these miserable pirates, in sels in the Mediterranean. For this purpose Con gress appropriated money, and treaties were made by the President and ratified by the Senate. On one occasion, at least, Congress actually revoked the authorization of some new ships for the navy, and appropriated more money 103 than was was required 104 to build the men-of-war in order to Barbary powers. The fund for this disgr pose was known as the "Mediterran and was intrusted to the Secretary of be disbursed by him in his discretion. had our brush with France, however, in after frigate curred to our government that perhaps t more direct as well as a more manly dealing with the Barbary pirates than b paying them tribute, and in 1801 a small ron, under Commodore Dale, proceeded At the same time events occurred which s strikingly the absurdity as well as the weak this policy of paying blackmail to pirates. of Tripoli, complaining that we had more money to some of the Algerian min than we had to him, and also that we had pres Algiers with a frigate, declared war upon us cut down the flag-staff in front of the residen the American consul. At the same time, and fo same reason, Morocco and Tunis began to gru at the treatment which they had received. The was that, with nations as with individuals, w the payment of blackmail is once begun there is squadron in the Mediterranean showed at once superiority of a policy of force over one of cowardly submission. Morocco and Tunis immedifree to deal ately stopped their grumbling and came to terms with the United States, and this left us f with Tripoli. Commodore Dale had sailed before the declaration of war by Tripoli was known, and he was therefore hampered by his orders, which permitted him only to protect our commerce, and which forbade actual hostilities. Nevertheless, even under these limited orders, the Enterprise, of twelve guns, commanded by Lieutenant Sterrett, fought an action with the Tripolitan ship Tripoli, of The engagement lasted three hours, when the Tripoli struck, having lost her mizzenmast, and with twenty of her crew killed and thirty wounded. Sterrett, having no orders to make captures, threw all the guns and ammunition of the Tripoli overboard, cut away remaining masts, and left her with only one spar single sail to drift back to Tripoli, as a hint fourteen and a guns. her to the Bashaw of the new American policy. the command of our fleet in the Mediterranean was taken by Commodore Preble, who In had 1803 just Morocco for an attack made succeeded in forcing satisfaction from upon men by a vessel from Tangier. claimed to our merchantHe also pro preparing I a blockade of Tripoli and was p enforce it when the news reached him that |