The End of Barbary Terror: America's 1815 War against the Pirates of North Africa [Paperback]

Frederick C. Leiner (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: June 11, 2007

When Barbary pirates captured an obscure Yankee sailing brig off the coast of North Africa in 1812, enslaving eleven American sailors, President James Madison sent the largest American naval force ever gathered to that time, led by the heroic Commodore Stephen Decatur, to end Barbary terror once and for all.
Drawing upon numerous ship logs, journals, love letters, and government documents, Frederick C. Leiner paints a vivid picture of the world of naval officers and diplomats in the early nineteenth century, as he recreates a remarkable and little known episode from the early American republic. Leiner first describes Madison's initial efforts at diplomacy, sending Mordecai Noah to negotiate. But when the ruler refused to ransom the Americans--"not for two millions of dollars"--Madison declared war and sent a fleet to North Africa. Decatur's squadron dealt quick blows to the Barbary navy, dramatically fighting and capturing two ships. Decatur then sailed to Algiers. He refused to go ashore to negotiate--indeed, he refused to negotiate on any essential point. The ruler of Algiers signed the treaty--in Decatur's words, "dictated at the mouths of our cannon"--in twenty-four hours. The United States would never pay tribute to the Barbary world again, and the captive Americans were set free.
Here then is a real-life naval adventure that will thrill fans of Patrick O'Brian, a story of Islamic terrorism, white slavery, poison gas, diplomatic intrigue, and battles with pirates on the high seas.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

This unevenly paced military history gives an exhaustive portrait of the little-known war waged by the United States to stop the enslaving of American sailors by north African pirates. For centuries prior to the 1815 war, the kingdoms of Algeria, Morocco, Algiers, Tunis and Tripoli engaged in a system of state-sponsored piracy, capturing ships cruising the Mediterranean (and even raiding coastal European villages) and using the captors-Leiner estimates as many as a million Europeans had been enslaved-for slave labor in their home ports. When American sailors became targets, the U.S. government could either pay the ransom or go to war. Leiner does an excellent job of describing the personalities involved and depicting the heated naval battles, but the U.S.'s decisive and nearly immediate success in a very short war undermines Leiner's story; once the battles are over, the narrative drifts into the dull terrain of treaties and diplomacy, and the parallels Leiner notes between Islamic terrorism then and now fail to gel into any larger conclusion. Leiner is a talented writer and researcher, but the little-known campaign he chronicles fizzles out too quickly.
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Review

"The book recounts a stunning military success. With a mix of bravery and luck, Decatur defeated two enemy ships on his way to Algiers. Within 48 hours of arriving on the shore of the most powerful Barbary state, Decatur was able to force peace on American terms ('dictated at the mouths of our cannon,' as he later said). The U.S.'s infant Navy had scored a victory that had eluded European powers for nearly three centuries."--Jonathan Karl, Wall Street Journal

"A fascinating account of what popular historians now refer to as America's first war against state-sponsored terrorism.... Leiner, drawing on everything from ship logs, journals, and love letters to published papers and official documents, writes of the squadron of ten ships that sailed into Barbary territory on June 17, 1815, and--in quick succession--defeated or captured the opposing Algerine warships."--Library Journal

"Frederick C. Leiner's dramatic history of Stephen Decatur's mission to Algiers, Tunis, and Tripoli in 1815 is not only a vivid narrative of America's largest and most successful overseas expedition during the Age of Sail, it is also an illuminating micro-history of the culture, politics, and personalities of America's first war against state-sponsored terror."--Craig L. Symonds, author of Decision at Sea: Five Naval Battles That Shaped American History

"A solid study written in a lively style about the role of the U.S. Navy and Sate Department in terminating state-sponsored piracy in the Mediterranean."--The Journal of Military History

"Frederick Leiner's The End of Barbary Terror is not only an exciting and well-told sea story, but a well-researched reminder that with regard to transnational terrorism, the only thing new in the world is the history that you don't know."--Dr. John F. Lehman, former Secretary of the Navy and member of the 9/11 Commission, and author of On Seas of Glory: Heroic Men, Great Ships, and Epic Battles of the American Navy

"Frederick Leiner has taken an almost forgotten moment in early U.S. history--the 1812 capture by Algerines of an obscure Yankee sailing brig--and by focusing exclusively on that incident and the events deriving from it has woven a remarkably complex yet totally coherent tapestry of the times. There are heroes and villains galore, mysterious secret agents and conniving heads of state; there are wars and other international crises, numerous historical set pieces and acts of derring-do. All told, there's enough spectacle and drama to satisfy any reader."--James Tertius de Kay, author of A Rage for Glory: The Life of Commodore Stephen Decatur, USN

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 256 pages
• Publisher: Oxford University Press, USA (June 11, 2007)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0195325400
• ISBN-13: 978-0195325409
• Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 6 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 12 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (7 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #788,956 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Most Helpful Customer Reviews

11 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A interesting look at a rather unkown naval war, September 10, 2006

By 

Art (Virginia, USA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)   

This review is from: The End of Barbary Terror: America's 1815 War against the Pirates of North Africa (Hardcover)

A rich and detailed look at an obscure event in U.S. naval history. "The End of Barbary Terror" describes a rather dashing adventure by a young U.S. Navy fresh off the Battle of 1812 with the British. Despite these challenges a band of brash and confident officers deployed the bulk of the U.S. fleet to the Med to destroy the Algerian Fleet and force the return of U.S. hostages and the end of payments to Algeria.

The book proves that the U.S. has been combating Islamic forces since its earlier days. While this was a very different war, certain similar ties between then and now can be seen

The author spends considerable team telling not only the operational naval portions of the battle, which were not exactly very exciting, but he focuses on the complicated political battles between naval leadership and national politicians. The author's naval knowledge seemed solid, but the description focus mainly on the officers, little is known or discussed about the rest of the crew. The same can be said of the Algerians. The great majority of sources were American, so what was going through the minds of Algerian leadership and naval officers could only be guessed.

The British Attack on Algiers was well done, and more riveting then the rather limited engagements between the U.S. and Algeria described earlier in the book. I recommend this book to any serious reader of naval history, who enjoys diving into the deep details of the U.S. Navy circa 1815.

10 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Extremely well-written, informative, and insightful, June 17, 2006

By 

Gary H. Cassel "Flamingnet Teen Book Reviews" (Baltimore, MD, USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The End of Barbary Terror: America's 1815 War against the Pirates of North Africa (Hardcover)

If you like American historical nonfiction than this is a must read about a period in our history that has a lot of relevance to today. Fred Leiner brilliantly leads the reader through a time when a young America, after the War of 1812, looks to expand its trade but falls prey to the pirates of North Africa. Following unsuccessful diplomatic efforts, America feeling bold after the war, sets out to put an end to this state-sponsored Barbary terrorism at the hands of the Muslims of North Africa.

As the story unfolds, the reader finds that they are caught up in a complex political and military drama hampered by slow communications, egos, prejudices, and traditions. Mr. Leiner does an excellent job methodically and carefully unfolding the story, while at the same time thoroughly develops the participants and the dynamics among them. In several areas, he also challenges and explores past notions about events and decisions, venturing to offer his own opinions based upon his research and insight. From the beginning of the book, to the epilogue, Mr. Leiner has done a masterful job of giving us a thorough look at a very exciting and important brief period in American history that had a major impact on our developing nation.

I highly recommend this book, particularly to people perplexed by modern day terrorism. History certainly does have a way of repeating itself.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Thoroughly enjoyed..., August 5, 2010

By 

Book Lover (Lenox, MA USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The End of Barbary Terror: America's 1815 War against the Pirates of North Africa (Paperback)

.....reading this slice of history. It's easy to compare the current terrorism situation with the events of this book, even though the older version took place at sea. Leiner has put together a fun and interesting read. It's also inspiring to see American courage in action. May we continue to produce people such as those portrayed in this book - men with courage, daring, strong sense of duty, honorable values, dignity, empathy, wisdom, a lust for freedom, the ability to take quick, decisive and correct action. In reading about such men, it makes me feel even more proud to be an American. After reading Leiner's portrayal, I realize that many people in the Middle East have been engaged in terrorism activities for ages and can't seem to grow beyond the basest of human behaviors - the lust for violence, thievery, slavery, activities they continue to this day.