To the Shores of Tripoli: The Birth of the U.S. Navy and Marines, by A.B.C. Whipple

The Barbary War, an often overlooked yet significant and prophetic event in U.S. history, was America’s first battle against an Arab despot and President Thomas Jefferson’s first major challenge to U.S. foreign policy. A.B.C. Whipple provides a vivid account of Jefferson’s decision to meet force with force rather than trade arms for hostages with Barbary Coast rulers who held the crew of an American ship. He describes how the new president’s order to send a squadron of warships to the Mediterranean while Congress was in recess prompted the first major debate on the warmaking powers of a U.S. president and the establishment of the U.S. Navy and Marine Corps to replace the disabled Continental Navy. Whipple’s rousing narrative is filled with fascinating personalities. In addition to Jefferson there is Edward Preble, who commanded the first naval forces into battle; a bold young Stephen Decatur; a tyrannical bashaw; a U.S. Army captain who comes across like a Lawrence of Arabia prototype as he marches his starving foreign legion 500 miles across the desert to invade Tripoli; a tough Marine lieutenant who played the violin; and a host of potentates and politicians, sailors and soldiers of fortune, hostages and harem women.

The prolific A.B.C. Whipple is always reliable, and this visit back to the early glory days of the nascent Navy and Marine Corps is well worth the read for the heritage-conscious officer of today – especially considering its obvious parallels to our current conflict.

ISBN: 1557509662
Format: Paperback, 385 pages
Pub. Date: September 2001
Publisher: Naval Institute Press
Other Formats: Hardcover

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