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3 Works 146 Members 6 Reviews

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Frederick C. Leiner is a partner in a Baltimore law firm

Includes the name: Frederick Leiner

Works by Frederick C. Leiner

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I assume many people get the 1815 war against the Barbary pirates confused with the 1801-1803 war; this is code for “Setnahkt had no clue there was an 1815 war but he's going to pretend he knew all about it so as not to impinge on his reputation.” The 1801-1803 war (that’s the “Millions for defense but not one cent for tribute!” one) was against Tripoli; the 1815 one was against Algiers. That fact that the US declared war at all was interesting enough; after all, we had just finished having Andrew Jackson save our national posteriors at New Orleans and the country’s military was pretty badly beat up. Algerian piracy was not much of an issue during the War of 1812, since the chance of an American vessel evading the British blockade, sneaking past Gibraltar, and entering the Mediterranean was very small, but American ships were at sea again after the Treaty of Ghent and the Algerians began picking them up and enslaving the crews.


Much like the previous Barbary war, this one was all Stephen Decatur. Decatur was theoretically under the command of William Bainbridge, but Bainbridge was delayed in getting the main fleet units and Decatur was sent ahead with a small squadron. (There’s some hints that political maneuvers by Decatur’s supporters were involved). Upon arrival in the Mediterranean, Decatur immediately encountered the main unit of the Algerian fleet, the 46-gun frigate Meshuda, commanded by rais Hamidou. As was fitting, Hamidou was the best Algerian captain, having once taken a Portuguese 36-gun frigate in battle; however, he was far overmatched here, since Decatur had three frigates, a sloop, three brigs, and a schooner. The American sailors complimented the Algerians on their skillful ship handling while attempting to escape, but the heart went out of the Algerians when rais Hamidou was hit in the chest by a 42-pound carronade ball from Guerriere.


Most of the remainder of the war consisted of Decatur “negotiating from a position of strength” with the Dey of Algiers. Being the Dey was considerable less fun than it sounds, since the previous three Deys had all been assassinated by their own troops – one after only a week, not even enough to do a once around the harem. This put the Dey in a difficult position; he had no more navy and no way to fight Decatur, but the entire national finances of Algiers were based on piracy and if the Dey concluded a treaty eliminating it the troops might get restless again. After considerable stalling, Decatur eventually got the treaty with the assistance of various American diplomats and the Swedish consul.


Frederick Leiner’s book is an interesting account of an obscure period of American history. He draws a little on contemporary issues; The End of Barbary Terror is not about a seagoing Al Qaeda but people more like the modern Somali pirates, more interested in getting rich with a little jihad on the side than spreading terror. The secondary characters are well researched – Benjamin Crowninshield, Secretary of the Navy; William Shaler, US ambassador to Algiers; and Mordecai Noah, on special diplomatic service and apparently the first American Jew to be appointed to a government office. The only drawback is the maps; the naval actions are all illustrated by contemporary sketches from officer’s notes, which are interesting history but don’t give a real idea of what happened.
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setnahkt | 5 other reviews | Dec 21, 2017 |
An informative little narrative that looks at the America's second campaign against the Barbary States and how it helped to set the tone for much of Antebellum American foreign policy, cemented Stephen Decatur's status as an American icon, and marked the beginning of the end of the Barbary States as independent players. While one might have liked to have known more about how Tripoli, Tunis, and the like functioned in the Ottoman system (such as how Janissary troops were even present), what really interests Leiner is the personal politics of the early United States Navy. These turned septic after this adventure was successfully concluded, and ultimately contributed to Decatur's demise in a duel.… (more)
 
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Shrike58 | 5 other reviews | Dec 21, 2011 |
A remarkably detailed account of the war. Perhaps a bit too detailed; I had difficulty getting through some of it. There's no denying, though, that this was well-researched and that the author is very familiar with the subject. He even takes the time to bring up and dispute other historians' theories.
 
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juliayoung | 5 other reviews | Jul 8, 2008 |
Really fascinating read. There are a couple of other books out there about this as well. I found Leiner's book quite entertaining and full of needed information.
 
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Rhohanin61 | 5 other reviews | Mar 18, 2008 |

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