The Thomas Jefferson Papers - America and the Barbary Pirates

When the United States won independence it lost the protection of the British navy. Therefore, almost one of the first orders of business for the new nation was to work out deals with the rulers of north Africa regarding payment of tribute and ransom. Caving in to extortion did not sit well with Thomas Jefferson, and he put an end to the practice as soon as he was able. See the above-linked "America and the Barbary Pirates: An International Battle Against an Unconventional Foe" by Gerard W. Gawalt of the Library of Congress for a well-written short look at that episode in American history. It begins:

Ruthless, unconventional foes are not new to the United States of America. More than two hundred years ago the newly established United States made its first attempt to fight an overseas battle to protect its private citizens by building an international coalition against an unconventional enemy. Then the enemies were pirates and piracy. The focus of the United States and a proposed international coalition was the Barbary Pirates of North Africa...

Mentioned in passing in the article is General William H. Eaton, surely one of the most colorful figures in American history - yet strangely unknown today. Years ago I read a biography on him called Barbary General: The Life of William H. Eaton, by Samuel Edwards, Prentice-Hall, Englewood Cliffs, N.J., 1968, 277+ pages, including index. I still have it, in my 'reread it someday' stack, a battered ex-library copy missing the flyleaf, with sunfaded spine, and generally not as respectable-looking as most books I keep. I can't remember what I liked about it so much, except that it was more engaging and eye-opening than most public school history. Well, here's a bit from the inside dj copy:

...Born in 1764, Eaton graduated from Dartmouth where his major concentrations were Oriental religions and philosophy. He married a faultfinding widow and, in 1792, in order to escape her, joined the Army. After five years as an Indian fighter, Eaton persuaded the State Department to appoint him U.S. Consul to Tunis.

Upon arriving in the Muslim world, he began playing "Eaton of Arabia," adopting Arab dress, attending mosque services, and eating with his fingers while squatting on the floor. In 1804, he convinced Jefferson that the Barbary pirates could be defeated at Derna by a surprise attack from the desert... Leading a force of frayed adventurers, Eaton marched 600 incredibly hot miles across the burning Libyan desert from Alexandria to Derna, defeated the amazed defenders, deposed the Dey, and established himself as the ruler of the region... The U.S. Navy finally urged Eaton out of his forged desert kingdom...

Before he was fifty, he drank himself to death, but not before getting tangled up in Aaron Burr's affairs and trial. Read his testimony at that trial, on August 17, 1807, here.

Barbary General by Samuel Edwards is out of print, but as of post time it was easy to find used copies on the internet for less than $10.