Little Known Facts of the First Barbary War-- Part 5: Stephan Decatur

At the end of the War of 1812, where he made a huge name for himself, Stephen Decatur sailed to Algiers on the 44-gun frigate USS Guerriere and eyed the familiar harbor of Algiers.  On July 3, he negotiated a peace treaty with Algiers, the strongest of the Barbary States.

They renounced their claim to an annual tribute from the United states.

He then sailed on to Tunis and Tripoli, where the Bey and Bashaw respectively, signed lasting peace treaties with the United States.

The Barbary States Reign of Terror over American commerce had come to an end.

Sadly, Decarur lived just six years after forcing the Barbary States to peace terms.  On March 22, 1820, he was killed in a duel with Commodore  James Barron in Bladensburg, Maryland.  He was just 41 when he died.

Kind of Gunboat Diplomacy I Think.  --Cootgun

Little Known Facts About the First Barbary War-- Part 1: No More Tribute

From the January 20, 2017 Small Wars Journal by David Smethurst.

The First Barbary War was fought between 1801 and 1805.

The Barbary States were Morocco, Tripoli, Algiers and Tunis along the shore of North Africa.

For centuries they had been demanding tribute from any ship in the Mediterranean Sea.  Since the United States had received its independence, its ships were no longer under the protection of British tribute.

The United States signed peace treaties with each Barbary State and paid annual tributes.

In Case You Were Wondering.  --Cooter

Ships By the Name Missouri in the U.S. Navy-- Part 1: CSS Missouri

From the June 18, 2018, News Tribune  "Perspective:  A History of the Missouri Navy" by Sam Bushman.

I wrote about the CSS Missouri in my Running the Blockade Civil War Navy blog earlier today.

These ships had the name USS Missouri in the United States Navy:

1st.  USS Missouri was a paddlewheel frigate built in 1841 at a cost of $570,000.  In 1843, while a part of the Mediterranean Squadron, the ship caught fire and blew up in Gibraltar.

2nd  CSS Missouri.  See today's Running the Blockade blog.

--CooterMo

USS Detroit (AOE-4)

The fifth USS Detroit was the 4th and last Sacramento-class fast combat support ship.  It was commissioned 14 March 1970 and decommissioned 17 February 2005.  It was scrapped after that.

It was 796 feet long with a 107-foot beam.

It deployed to Vietnam and the Mediterranean Sea.

In 1973, there was an explosion on board that caused much damage.

--Cooter

Some More on the HMS E-14-- Part 2

The E-14 had navigated twenty miles through minefields and enemy positions at the Dardanelles.  Lt. Cmdr. Geoffrey White found that his target, the Goeben, was not where he expected it to be and instead attacked a Turkish merchant ship.  One of his torpedoes exploded prematurely, forcing the E-14 to surface when it came under a tremendous fire from shore fortifications.

Knowing that he couldn't make it to open sea and escape, White headed to a nearby beach to save his crew, but the ship was so riddled it sank.  Only seven crew members escaped the doomed ship.

The wreck of the E-14 was discovered by marine expert Selcuc Kolay and film-making diver Savas Karakas who had spent three years trying to find the ship.

Some More on the HMS E-14-- Part 1

From the June 17, 2012, Mail (UK) Online "Sunken Treasure: First World War submarine whose two captains won the Victoria Cross is discovered off the Turkish coast 94 years after she went down" by Craig MacKenzie.

The British government wants the site preserved as a war grave for the sailors who went down with the ship.  Twenty-five lives were lost when the ship was hit by heavy shellfire.

It was found just 800 feet from the beach in 65-foot deep water, resting at a 45 degree angle with sand covering almost all of the 181-foot submarine.  At least one shell hole is visible near the bow.

It was sunk in January 1918 with the loss of 25 while on a mission to sink the flagship of the Ottoman Empire's Navy.

Sinking of the HMT Rohna in World War II

In the Today in History in the November 26th Goldsboro News-Argus there was a tragic entry: "In 1943, during World War II, the HMT Rohna, a British transport ship carrying American soldiers, was hit by a German missile off Algeria; 1,138 men were killed."

I did not know missiles were used in such a manner during the war, nor had I ever heard of it.

I just typed HMT Rohna into the label and I saw that I had written about it before on June 29 and July 9, 2009. Those posts were related to the death of John Lynwood Smith who was a survivor of the Rohna.

A Sad Day. --Cooter