Horatio Nelson Speaks to the 21st Century?

Barbary Wars

The novels of the Cutler Family Chronicles span the years 1774 to 1815 and have, as backdrops, the creation of the U.S. Navy and the emergence of the United States as an overseas commercial power during the Age of Sail.

During the last fifteen years of this period the United States became inevitably embroiled in the Napoleonic Wars that were ravaging Europe. During America’s quasi-war with France in the late 1790s, and again during the First Barbary War in the early nineteenth century, Great Britain viewed the fledgling United States as an ally, either because we were fighting the same enemy – France – or because Britain and her overseas colonies desperately wanted to buy what America had to sell. Aside from exchanging private recognition signals with American warships and escorting American merchantmen through pirate-infested waters, the Royal Navy opened its bases in the West Indies and the Mediterranean to American naval vessels.

Admiral Horatio Nelson

The early years of the Napoleonic Wars were also the capstone years of England’s most revered naval hero: Horatio Nelson. Richard Cutler, the main protagonist in the Cutler Family Chronicles, comes to know Nelson primarily because his wife Katherine, a young woman born and raised in the shadow of English aristocracy, was once engaged to marry the dashing young post captain. Although Katherine never again sees Horatio after she weds Richard Cutler and sails to America, the two sea officers have several occasions to cross tacks with each other during the years preceding the epic sea battle off the southwest coast of Spain in 1805 that immortalized Nelson’s life. 

One such occasion (in the recently published A Call to Arms) is in November of 1803 prior to a grand fete hosted by Sir Alexander Ball, the British governor of Malta, at the island’s magnificent San Anton Palace. Adm. Horatio Lord Nelson, commander in chief of British forces in the Mediterranean, and Captain Richard Cutler, USN, are meeting in private before the gala affair begins. With them in the small but comfortably appointed room are Captain Jeremy Hardcastle, RN, Richard’s brother-n-law and Nelson’s life-long friend, and Agreen Crabtree, Richard’s first officer in USS Portsmouth. A story that Jeremy has to relate to Richard and Agreen follows an account by Agreen regarding an earlier encounter between Portsmouth and a Tripolitan corsair. After the corsair captain strikes his colors and surrenders his ship, he orders his gun crews to open fire on the American frigate as she is lowering away her boats, an act of cowardice and dishonor that kills a number of defenseless American sailors. Captain Cutler immediately orders all sail clapped on and chases after the corsair, fleeing for her life toward the safety of Tunis. Portsmouth overtakes the corsair and reduces her to matchwood.

 What Jeremy Hardcastle has to relate is historically accurate in detail, as is the gist of Nelson’s response to Agreen’s comment. (Note: also historically accurate is the treachery of the corsair captain.)

We should listen carefully to what Nelson has to say.

    “It started right here off Malta,” Jeremy explained. “For no apparent reason two Algerian corsairs attacked one of our sloops of war. The sloop managed to escape into Grand Harbor, and a frigate was dispatched to hunt down the two corsairs and sink them. Which she did. The dey of Algiers, a chap named Mustapha, was so enraged he ordered British citizens in Algiers imprisoned and their property confiscated. When Horatio learned of that, he led Victory and a squadron of seven frigates from Toulon to Algiers and immediately started bombarding the city. Within an hour, the dey sent out a boat to the flagship under a white flag. Horatio paid it no mind. He kept the guns hot until the outer wall of Algiers had collapsed and fires were burning within the city. Finally, the dey had himself rowed out to the flagship, pleading to Horatio and Allah for mercy. I can’t speak for Allah, but Horatio agreed on the condition that he release British citizens from prison, restore their possessions, and compensate them for their trouble. And on the condition that Mustapha promise never again to impugn England’s honor. Thus far, he has acted the angelic school boy, bowing and scraping before a stern school master. Is that a fair summation, Horatio?”
    “I daresay it is,” Nelson responded.
    “And I daresay the dey learned a hard lesson that day,” Agreen added, setting off a round of chuckles.
    “I agree with you, Agreen,” Nelson said gravely,” and I am not trying to be witty in saying that. Mustapha learned the same lesson as your corsair captain. And those with Western minds must learn it as well: that the only thing these Arab despots seem to understand is brute force. That is the only anecdote to their tactics. They use diplomacy as either a tool to get what they want or as a delaying tactic. That is one reason I would not have an Arab in my fleet, except as a prisoner.”

Putting aside for the moment the politically correct world in which we live, had the State Department heeded Nelson’s words more diligently, would the four Americans killed during the terrorist attack on Benghazi last September be alive today?

I simply pose the question.

The Burning of USS Philadelphia, 1804

The destruction of a U.S. Navy frigate in Tripoli Harbor proved to be a defining event in America’s first war on terrorism.

The burning of USS Philadelphia, as depicted on the jacket of A Call To Arms (to be released by the Naval Institute Press in November), was one of the most significant events to occur during the War with Tripoli, also known as the First Barbary War. Whichever name you prefer, it was America’s first war against terror – in this case, the terror of high seas piracy being perpetrated by the Arab states of North Africa.

Midway through a war that hitherto had produced little of consequence for either side, the new American commodore, Edward Preble, ordered Capt. William Bainbridge to Tripoli to blockade the harbor. Philadelphia was up to the task. One of the early frigates to be constructed for the fledgling U.S. Navy, she was launched in May of 1799 and commissioned in April of 1800. She weighed 1,240 tons, was 157 feet long, and carried a ship’s complement of 307 officers and crew. As ordnance, she carried twenty-eight 18-pounder long guns and sixteen 32-pounder carronades. Tripoli had nothing close to match her. Its navy consisted of a flotilla of gunboats plus a squadron of small naval brigs presented to the bashaw either as gifts from the Ottoman sultan or as bribes from the European maritime powers.

Capt. William Bainbridge

On October 1803 Capt. Bainbridge spotted an enemy corsair standing toward Tripoli and took off in pursuit of her. Fearing he had sailed too close to shore, he abruptly called off the chase and ordered evolutions for wearing ship. A short time later Philadelphia struck an uncharted reef and went aground.

Bainbridge (who as a commanding lieutenant had surrendered the naval schooner Retaliation in the Quasi War) did everything he could to free her. He ordered all but two of her guns tossed overboard, along with equipment and supplies. He even ordered her foremast cut down, to lift her bow as her crew fought to kedge her off the reef. The enemy ashore, meanwhile, had taken note of her struggles. A force of gunboats was sent out and surrounded her. Seeing no alternative, Bainbridge ordered Philadelphia’s two remaining guns fired at the enemy, for the sake of honor, while he secretly deposited overboard the ship’s signal book and other sensitive documents. Bainbridge and the ship’s crew were taken prisoner. Arab seamen, meanwhile, managed to coax Philadelphia off the reef and to salvage most of her guns.

Commodore Edward Preble

The capture of the American frigate posed a serious threat to Commodore Preble’s Mediterranean Squadron. She was too great a prize to remain in enemy hands. His dilemma was how to counter the threat. Preble conferred with his officers who put forth several proposals. Following is a conversation between Edward Preble and Richard Cutler, captain of the frigate Portsmouth. The conversation takes place aboard USS Constitution, flagship of the American squadron based in Syracuse, Sicily. Richard Cutler has just informed Preble of what intelligence he had garnered at the British naval base in Malta. .

 “[With this information] I have been able to approximate her position on a chart. That position, unfortunately, puts her well within the string of shoals and reefs that ring the inner harbor and make entry so difficult.”

“So cutting her out could prove challenging,” Preble mused.

“I should think extremely so, sir, under the circumstances. She has lost her foremast as no doubt you are aware…and her mainmast has also suffered damage. I understand its t’gant mast is gone. We don’t know the condition of her mizzen. I assume it remains intact, since Captain Bainbridge mentioned nothing about it in his [secretly encoded] letters.”

“So to retake her we’ll need to tow her out, just as she was towed in.”

“That would appear to be our best choice, sir. Unless…”

Preble arched his eyebrows. “Unless, Mr. Cutler?”

Richard met his hard stare. “Unless we destroy her where she lies.”

Preble returned the stare. “To keep her out of the hands of the Tripolitans? And having her guns turned on us?”

“Precisely, sir. And given the alternatives, I believe we’d have a much better chance of success. The odds would be more in our favor.”

Preble appeared to contemplate that. “A most intriguing notion, Mr. Cutler, one I intend to discuss further with my other squadron commanders. You will be interested to note that Master Commandant Hull and Lieutenant Decatur have reached the same conclusion. I daresay I am drawn to it as well.”

The raid took place during the night of February 16, 1804. It was led by Lt. Stephen Decatur, who assumed command of a recently captured local ketch that was renamed Intrepid, and it involved a hand-picked crew of sailors and Marines from Constitution and Enterprise. The raid was a complete success. Philadelphia burned to nothing and the Americans suffered no casualties. So startling and complete was the mission, it prompted Adm. Horatio Lord Nelson to subsequently label it “the most bold and daring act of our age.”

Photos:  William Bainbridge (1774-1833) Public domain; Commodore Edward Preble, painted before 1807. Public domain.