To the Shores of Tripoli: The Birth of the U.S. Navy and Marines (Bluejacket Books)

Whipple's rousing narrative is filled with fascinating personalities. In addition to Jefferson, there is Commodore Edward Preble, the quarter-deck tyrant who commanded the first naval forces into battle; the bold junior officer Stephen Decatur; the tyrannical bashaw, Yusuf Karamanli; William Eaton, an early-day Lawrence of Arabia; Marine lieutenant Presley O'Bannon; and a host of others.

In the late 18th and early 19th centuries, the Barbary states of North African pursued a state policy of attacking Christian shipping for the purpose of taking prizes as well as prisoners who could be released for ransom or sold into slavery. The traditional response to this practice by the great European powers was the payment of annual tribute to the states in order to purchase immunity from seizure for their merchantmen. Ironically, it was the Unites States, a new nation brimming with little more than enthusiasm, which chose Mar's response to this challenge.

The bellicose response of the U.S. can be most clearly attributed to Thomas Jefferson. As consul in France, Jefferson had lobbied for a military response to the Barbary pirates. As President, he had the opportunity to make his wishes policy. One necessary step to implement this policy was for the U.S. to build a Navy, the cost of which made the proposal very controversial. Two of the vessels built for the expedition, the Constitution of Boston and the Constellation of Baltimore, remain on public display in the harbors in which they were built. Others, such as the Nautilus and Enterprise, were part of a long line of traditional naval names which have continued to recent times.

With fleets built and assembled, the Mediterranean squadron set sail for duty. Remaining in the Mediterranean for several years, the fleet had an inconsistent history of waiting and striking, success and failure. Several changes of commander were necessary before the right combination of men and ships was achieved in order to make decisive action possible. Throughout the process, U.S. actions were hampered by the delay in communications between Washington and the front.

Through a combination of diplomatic pressure, naval attack and land based assaults involving U.S. Marines and local insurgents, the U.S. succeeded in extracting the release of American prisoners and treaties of peace between the U.S. and the Barbary States.

This story does give an insight into several themes of history. The problems resulting from decisions made in Washington being based on stale information reminds us of the power and responsibility of theatre commanders in eras in which direction from the political powers took months to transmit. There was no micro management from Washington in this war!

A study of the Tripolitan Wars may provide insights into similarities to contemporary policy challenges. In Jefferson's day, as well as in Bush's, it was the United States, not European powers, which determined to rid the world of evil through force, rather than to work out an accommodation with it. Jefferson, as Bush, used combined forces of American and local origin. The resolution of the Tripolitan Wars, as in the case of Desert Storm, achieved the immediate objectives, but left the primary Evil Enemies in power. The Evil Persons of the Barbary Coast, as the Evil Persons of the Gulf, would return to make mischief after the U.S. forces had left the theatre.

"To the Shores of Tripoli" demonstrates that for over two centuries of U.S. history the U.S. has remained a country guided by its principles. Whereas other nations often chose pragmatism over principle, the United States, whether led by a Jefferson, a Bush, or any of those in between, remains a nation rooted in its beliefs and its ideals. Whether virtually impotent, ass in the times of the Tripolitan Wars, or powerful, as today, the U.S. has always drawn strength form its ideals. This is the spirit which enabled America to rally to Wilson's call to make the world safe for democracy, or to respond to Roosevelt's call to make America the Arsenal of Democracy. From the Shores of Tripoli to the deserts of Afghanistan, it has been the U.S., if anyone, who has lead the forces of good versus evil. To learn how this tradition began, "To The Shores of Tripoli" is a great place to start.

God Bless the U.S.A.!


It needs a map!!   November 18, 2001
5 out of 6 found this review helpful

Beyond that a very good work. Somewhat more scholarly than the Tuchman history's I have come to enjoy but still keeps things moving. It does speak to events of our time which really is why I got the bood. Draw your own conclusions, just have an Atlas nearby until the locations mesh with the story.


Over the Hills, and Very Far Away...   June 17, 2001
Kevin F. Kiley
7 out of 7 found this review helpful

This is a slam-bang account of the first overseas campaign waged by the United States. With a new, expert little Navy, and an even smaller Marine Corps, the young United States, after great success against the Revolutionary French Navy in the Quasi-War, the cocky country, fed up with foreign blackmail and extortion, sends a squadron to the Mediterranean to deal with the problem. This is adventure and high deeds at its best. Naval historian ABC Whipple is definitely up to the challenge here and he has produced a winner of a tale and a book.

All of the elements of high suspense are here: daring raids into dark harbors, ships exploding in the night from unknown causes, the roar and rush of boarders from gun deck to gun deck, dedicated seamen and Marines sacrificing themselves for their comrades, the mystery of the Arab world, and the double dealing of what was essentially a group of pirate states, a daring march across the North African desert with a motley army of Arabs, Greek mercenaries, and 'a few Marines' who, at the end of their journey launch a neck-or-nothing assault against a fortified city and take it, raising the US flag, for the first time, 'over a fortress of the Old World.'

This is history at its best and this book rekindled an interest in the young US Navy, which has blossomed into a mini-collection of excellent books on the subject, of which this was the first. This book should be read by everyone with an interest in US history. A great read, an excellent book, and superb history.


misleding title   May 29, 2001
pete saussy (columbia sc csa)
7 out of 8 found this review helpful

Mr Whipple's To the Shores of Tripoli is a good read about a little known [to non-navy/marine historical buffs] period in U>S history. The title is somewhat misleading since it deals with the diplomacy and operations against the Barbary Pirates rather than an organizational history. Primarily the adventures or better, misadventures of the U.S. consul/former soldeir, William Eaton, it shows the problems inherent in our dealing with belligerent islam, problems still bedeviling us. As in most histories i have seen, the maps are poor or entirely lacking. reading this soon after reading Douglas Porch's Conquest of the Sahara and his Conquest of Morocco, the similarities are interesting. The natives are the same, the casus belli similar and the inability of both the french and U.S. to understand its "enemy" the same. there are a few techical errors which i will leave the avid nit-picker to find, but on the whole this book is well worth reading by the general history reading public

pete saussy