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 are acknowledged, affirmed and commemorated.
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Posted on 02/28/2003 5:35:48 AM PST by SAMWolf
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are acknowledged, affirmed and commemorated.
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An International Battle Against an Unconventional Foe The events of September 11, 2001 shocked the United States out of its complacency concerning its invulnerability. Even though the U.S. has the most powerful military machine on earth, it might be of little avail; it seems that a new type of war will be fought. A war that will need resolve, years of effort, and new tactics.  The Barbary States was a collective name given to a string of North African seaports stretching from Tangiers to Tripoli. These ports were under the nominal control of the Ottoman Empire, but their real rulers were sea rovers or corsairs who sallied forth from the coast cities to plunder Mediterranean shipping and capture slaves for labor or ransom. Among the famous prisoners ransomed from the shackles of Barbary were St. Vincent de Paul, and Miguel de Cervantes, author of Don Quixote (Castor, 1971). Common piracy by the Barbary States blossomed into a sophisticated racket in 1662, when England revived the ancient custom of paying tribute. The corsairs agreed to spare English ships for an annual bribe paid in gold, jewels, arms, and supplies. The custom spread to all countries trading in the Mediterranean. England paid tribute for the vessels of her American colonies, and France guaranteed it for them during the War of Independence. The new United States awoke abruptly to an ugly responsibility of independence when in 1785 the Dey of Algiers seized an American ship and jailed its crew for nonpayment of tribute (Channing, 1968).  The Dey was in no hurry to wring tribute from this new source of revenue. The capture of American ships would be more profitable, and in view of the naval weakness of the United States, a rather safe venture. Eleven of the first unfortunate Americans to fall into his hands died before their country ransomed the rest ten years later. To the sea hawks of Barbary, the American ships in the Mediterranean were "fat ducks" prime for the plucking. In this view, they were encouraged by England and France whose trade was being hurt by the upstart Yankees (Castor, 1971). Turkey, overlord of Barbary, was an ally of Britain. The North Africans depended on free trade with France for supplies. Hence the pirates were forbidden to attack British shipping and in plain self-interest could not raid the French. With targets so limited, the American "fat ducks" were a godsend. By 1794, the Dey of Algiers had plundered eleven American ships and held one hundred and nineteen of their survivors for ransom. President George Washington tried to reach an agreement with the Barbary States but with little success. His agents, one of whom was John Paul Jones, had diplomatic doors slammed in their faces.  Washington's ambassadors in Europe worked to free Americans enslaved in Barbary dungeons, but John Adams, Benjamin Franklin, and Thomas Jefferson were ridiculed. In 1785, the exasperated Jefferson suggested that war was the only solution. His mind was "absolutely suspended between indignation and impotence." Jefferson declared that tribute was "money thrown away" and that the most convincing argument that these outlaws would understand was gunpowder and shot. The future president proposed a multi-national effort between European powers and America that would in effect economically blockade North Africa and ultimately provide for a multi-national military force to combat pirate terrorism. The European powers chose to continue paying tribute to the Barbary States (Irwin, 1970). John Adams, the next President, went along with the Europeans and paid for peace in the Mediterranean. Congress, in 1795, authorized payment of tribute. Algiers was granted the equivalent of $642,500 in cash, munitions, and a 36-gun frigate, besides a yearly tribute of $21,600 worth of naval supplies. Ransom rates were officially set for those Americans already in Barbary prisons-$4,000 for each passenger, $1,400 for each cabin boy. Sunday after Sunday, a sad roll of names was read out in the churches of Salem, Newport, and Boston, listing the men in irons. Congress would only pay $200 for their freedom, the rest of the money had to be raised privately. Eventually, at long last, the American captives of the Dey of Algiers walked into the light, except for thirty-seven dead, whose ransoms had to be paid nevertheless (Malone, 1951).  Adam's acquiescence to Algiers prompted Tunis and Tripoli to demand and be promised their own blood money. Tripoli, especially, was piqued at the Dey of Algiers' good fortune.
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Today's classic warship, USS Conserver (ARS-39)
Diver class salvage ship
Displacement. 1441 t.
Lenght. 213'6"
Beam. 39'
Draft. 14'8"
Speed. 15 k.
Complement. 120
Armament. 2 x 40mm
ISS Conserver (ARS-39) was launched 27 January 1945 by Basalt Rock Corp., Napa, Calif.; sponsored by Mrs. H. Price; and commissioned 9 June 1945 at South Vallejo, Calif., Lieutenant C. H. Rocklidge, USNR, in command.
Conserver arrived at Sasebo, Japan, 21 September 1945, and until 3 March 1946, she carried out salvage operations at Sasebo, Okinawa, Yokosuka, Aomori, and Hakodate in support of the occupation, and after preparations at Pearl Harbor, arrived at Bikini 29 March. She served in the Marshall Islands, aiding in Operation "Crossroads," the atomic weapons tests of 1946, until 2 September 1947, when she arrived at Manila for duty in the Philippines. From 9 April 1948 to 26 September, she served in Hawaiian waters, and then in Alaskan waters, returning to Pearl Harbor 13 January 1949.
From Pearl Harbor, Conserver returned to operate off Alaska between 14 April 1949 and 7 June, and from 10 December to 25 March 1950. With the outbreak of the Korean war, she arrived at Yokosuka 15 July, and between 15 July and 1 August carried out salvage and diving assignments in Korean waters. After a brief overhaul at Yokosuka, she salvaged a fuel pipeline at Iwo Jima, and from 10 September until 24 December returned to Korean waters. After a final towing voyage from Japan to Korea in January 1951, Conserver returned to local operations at Pearl Harbor from 16 February to 28 May. After salvage duty at Kwajalein and Majuro, she returned to Pearl Harbor to prepare for her second tour of duty in the Korean War. She arrived at Sasebo 27 September, and operated primarily in Korean waters until 7 May 1952, when she cleared for San Diego.
After operating on the west coast until 4 August 1952, Conserver sailed for brief duty at Pearl Harbor, Kwajalein, Guam, Subic Bay, Bangkok, Singapore, and Sangley Point, returning to Pearl Harbor 22 October. On 6 April 1953, she returned to Sasebo for duty in Korean waters until 9 November, when she cleared for Pearl Harbor.
From the close of the Korean war through 1960, Conserver alternated operations in the Hawaiian Islands with occasional towing and salvage duty in Pacific islands and tours of duty in the Far East in 1954, 1955, 1955-56, 1957, 1958-59, 1959, and 1960. Between 20 September 1958 and 20 October, she gave salvage and towing service off Taiwan as American ships stood by during the Quemoy Crisis.
Over the decades of the 1960s, 70s and most of the 80s, Conserver continued her work of salvage, towing and other important fleet support. She deployed to the Western Pacific nearly every year. In 1965, Conserver helped salvage the stranded destroyer USS Frank Knox (DDR-742). She operated in Vietnamese waters regularly from 1966 into 1972 and was engaged in search and recovery operations after the Soviet Union shot down a Korean airliner in 1983.
Laid up in September 1986, Conserver returned to active service a year later. Her subsequent operations were generally in the Hawaiian area, with occasional deployments to the U.S. West Coast and the South and Central Pacific. After almost a half-century of hard work, USS Conserver was decommissioned and stricken from the Naval Vessel Register in April 1994.
Conserver received nine battle stars for Korean war service.
" The American Counsel in Tripoli, William Eaton, correctly gauged French complicity with the Dey of Tripoli. After publicly flogging the French Ambassador, Eaton departed for the desert where he joined Lt. O'Bannon's Marines detached from the U.S. fleet. "
My Country, My Country
More on Eaton and O'Bannon's campaign here From The Marine Corps Gazette - To the shores of Tripoli by H. Lee Munson
I am proud to say, my direct ancestor, Thomas MacDonough, was a member of that crew. He later distinguished himself at the battle of Lake Champlain in the war of 1812, and a a captain of the USS Constitution.
Some things never change do they?
Can we still flog the French Ambassador?
Thanks for sharing that with us Triple. I share your pride in your family history. Fascinating stuff.
If you ever have some free time (hahaha) and are looking for a quick read, you all should read Carry on Mr. Bowditch. It's written for young adults, but it was wonderful! One of my favorite books ever. It's a great story about endurance, Christian faith, tenacity, self-education, never giving up on your dreams, the American dream, and a great chapter in American history. What all the immigrants and founding fathers went through to give us a free country is unbelievable. I guess what I grew to understand from reading this book was how life didn't get easier after the British were gone. They were very hungry and it was hard to get our own economy going. We were BROKE!!!!!!
Amazing read! I love my country. And Mr. Nathaniel Bowditch is a great American hero. His navigational book is the standard text in merchant marine and naval academies.
Sorry for the detour. LOL Reading this history made me remember him.
Sure does, Sam. And the War was started by the man who wrote the Declaration of Independence. So much for the argument that an undeclared war is contrary to the "framers' intent." I heard the other day there have been something like 100 of these kinds of wars.
Wow, now there's an image!
I hope that when the thrust is made into Iraq that the UN packs up and it takes its global baggage with it.
I set up a direct link to the Amazon site. Thanks for the info on the book.
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