Lesser Known American Wars (Part II)

Part I (First Barbary War): In a common world filled with pirates, slavery, and the whole nine yards, ransom is afoot and the United States has to pay. The Barbary pirates have taken a U.S. merchant ship for ransom and has sent word that if the U.S. didn't pay, then they would attack the ship, steal what valuables were on it, and hold the individual people for ransom and get money either way. This was around the same time that Thomas Jefferson had just taken office and he sent word to the pirates that they weren't paying and in return sent a naval fleet to where they were in the Mediterranean led by Richard Dale who ran the commanded the ships Enterprise, President, Philadelphia, and USS Essex. With a series unfortunate events occurred during the first part of this war such as the Philadelphia running into an uncharted reef, then being fired constantly by cannons and sinking the ship forcing the heavy weaponry off the vessel, and lastly being overthrown by pirates and having their crew turned into slaves or murdered. Later the ship was destroyed by a raiding party led by Stephen Decatur. After doing so, this eventually led to an irritable truce between the US and the Barbary States and would eventually spark what would be the Second Barbary War because of tensions between the two nations. The First Barbary War was initially a failed raid in comparison to other wars for the United States and is a possible reason as to why this war isn't a well known war today.

Part II (Second Barbary War): 10 years later, after tensions between the US and The Barbary States have lingered, this war would've turned out around the same as the first one, but with European powers being lifted from the Napoleonic Wars that had gone on during the first war, Britain and other European powers helped with the Barbary problem. One of the only reasons why the Second Barbary War didn't happen sooner is mainly because of the War of 1812 happening in the U.S. at the time. Shortly after departing Gibraltar en route to Algiers, Decatur's squadron encountered the Algerian flagship and captured it in the Battle of Cape Cata, and they captured the Algerian ship in the Battle of Cape Palos. By the final week of June, the squadron had reached Algiers and had initiated negotiations with the Ottomans. The United States made persistent demands for compensation, mingled with threats of destruction, and the Ottomans capitulated. He signed a treaty aboard the Guerrierre in the Bay of Algeirs on 3 July 1815, in which the captain agreed to return the two ships that were apprehended. The Algerians returned all American captives, estimated to be about 10, in exchange for about 500 subjects of the Ottomans. Algeria paid the entirety of $10,000 for seized shipping from the demands that the U.S. gave them after the war. The treaty guaranteed no further tributes by the United States and granted the United States full shipping rights in the Mediterranean Sea, thus helping create the modern day ocean trade system in the Mediterranean region of Europe.