Our website is made possible by displaying online advertisements to our visitors.
Please consider supporting us by disabling your ad blocker.

Responsive image


First Barbary War

First Barbary War
Part of the Barbary Wars

USS Enterprise fighting the Tripolitan polacca Tripoli by William Bainbridge Hoff, 1878
DateMay 10, 1801 – June 10, 1805
(4 years and 1 month)
Location
Off the Mediterranean coast of Tripoli; Derna
Result

Peace treaty

  • The United States paying ransom
  • Tripolitania ships allowed to inspect American ships
  • Freeing prisoners of American ships
Belligerents
 United States
 Sweden[citation needed]
 Sicily[1][2]
 Ottoman Tripolitania[3][4]
 Morocco (1802)
Commanders and leaders
United States Thomas Jefferson
United States Richard Dale
United States Richard Morris
United States William Eaton
United States Edward Preble
United States Stephen Decatur
Sweden Gustav IV Adolf
Sweden Rudolf Cederström
Ottoman Tripolitania Yusuf Karamanli
Ottoman Tripolitania Rais Mahomet Rous
Ottoman Tripolitania Hassan Bey
Ottoman Tripolitania Shadi Nazmi Reis
Morocco Slimane of Morocco
Strength
United States
First Squadron:
4 frigates
1 schooner
Second Squadron:
6 frigates
1 schooner
Third Squadron:
2 frigates
3 brigs
2 schooners
1 ketch
Swedish Royal Navy:
3 frigates
William Eaton's invasion:
8 US Marines, William Eaton, 3 midshipmen, and several civilians
Approx. 500 Greek and Arab mercenaries
Various cruisers
11–20 gunboats
4,000 soldiers

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,[5][6] besides the smaller American–Algerian War (1785–1795).

  1. ^ "Tripolitan War". Encyclopedia.com (from The Oxford Companion to American Military History). 2000. Retrieved 11 February 2017.
  2. ^ "War with the Barbary Pirates (Tripolitan War)". veteranmuseum.org. Retrieved 11 February 2017.
  3. ^ Joseph Wheelan (21 September 2004). Jefferson's War: America's First War on Terror 1801–1805. PublicAffairs. pp. 128–. ISBN 978-0-7867-4020-8.
  4. ^ Tucker, Spencer C. (2014). The Encyclopedia of the Wars of the Early American Republic, 1783–1812: A Political, Social, and Military History [3 volumes]: A Political, Social, and Military History. ABC-CLIO. p. 430. ISBN 978-1-59884-157-2.
  5. ^ Ellis, Chris. "Research Guides: Battle Studies, Country Studies, & Staff Rides: Barbary Wars & the Battle of Tripoli". grc-usmcu.libguides.com. Retrieved 21 March 2024.
  6. ^ "Barbary Wars, 1801–1805 and 1815–1816". Office of the Historian. Retrieved 21 March 2024.

Previous Page Next Page