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{{Short description|1815 war between Algiers and the USA}}

The '''Second Barbary War''' ([[1815]], also known as the '''Algerian War''') was one of two [[Barbary Wars|wars]] fought between the [[United States of America]] and the semi-autonomous [[North Africa|North African]] city-states of [[Algiers]], [[Tunis]], and [[Tripoli]], known collectively as the [[Barbary States]]. It brought to a conclusive end the American practice of paying tribute to the pirate states.

{{Use dmy dates|date=February 2014}}

{{Infobox military conflict

| conflict = Second Barbary War

| partof = the [[Barbary Wars]]

| image = Commodore Decatur’s Squadron capturing the Algerian pirate ship Mashuda, on 17 June 1815 (NH 63488).jpg

| image_size = 300

| caption = ''Commodore Decatur’s Squadron capturing the Algerian pirate ship Mashuda, on 17 June 1815'', Irwin Bevan

| date = 17–19 June 1815

| place = [[Mediterranean Sea]]

| result = American victory

| combatant1 = {{flag|United States|1795}}

| combatant2 = {{flagicon image|Flag of Algiers.jpg}} [[Ottoman Algeria|Regency of Algiers]]

| commander1 = {{flagdeco|United States|1795}} [[James Madison]] <br> {{flagdeco|United States|1795}} [[Stephen Decatur]]

| commander2 = {{flagicon image|Flag of Algiers.jpg}} [[Omar Agha]] <br> {{flagicon image|Flag of Algiers.jpg}} [[Raïs Hamidou]]{{KIA}}

| strength1 = 3 frigates <br> 3 brigs <br> 2 schooners <br> 2 sloops

| strength2 = 5 frigates <br> 7 smaller warships

| casualties1 = 40 killed and wounded<ref>{{cite web |title=Les Corsaires des Régences barbaresques - Page 6|url=http://skikda.boussaboua.free.fr/algerie_histoire_corsaires_06_hamidou.htm|language=fr}}</ref>

| casualties2 = 53 killed <br> Many wounded <br> 486 captured <br> 2 ships captured <br> 1 ship sunk

}}

{{Campaignbox Second Barbary War|state=uncollapsed}}

The '''Second Barbary War,''' also known as the '''U.S.–Algerian War'''<ref>{{Cite book |author=Micheal Clodfelter |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=8urEDgAAQBAJ&q=U.S-algerian+war&pg=PA538 |title=Warfare and Armed Conflicts |date=9 May 2017 |publisher=McFarland |isbn=9780786474707 |page=198}}</ref> and the '''Algerine War,'''<ref>{{Cite web |title=The Second Barbary War: The Algerine War |url=https://clements.umich.edu/exhibit/barbary-wars/second-barbary-war/ |access-date=2024-05-07 |website=UM Clements Library |language=en-US}}</ref> was a brief military conflict between the [[United States]] and the [[North Africa|North African]] state of [[Ottoman Algeria|Algiers]] in 1815.

After its victory in the [[First Barbary War]] ([[1801]]&ndash;[[1805]]), the attention of the United States had been diverted to its worsening relationship with [[France]] and [[United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland|United Kingdom]], culminating in the [[War of 1812]]. The unchastened [[Barbary pirates|Barbary pirate]] states took this opportunity to return to their practice of attacking American merchant vessels in the [[Mediterranean Sea]] and holding the crew and officers for ransom. Unable to devote military resources and political will to the situation, the United States quietly recommenced paying ransom for return of prisoners.

Piracy had been rampant along the North African [[Barbary Coast|"Barbary" coast]] of the [[Mediterranean Sea]] since the 16th century. Algerian [[Piracy|pirates]] and [[Privateer|privateers]] intermittently preyed on American ships, with Algiers extracting annual tribute from the U.S. [[American–Algerian War (1785–1795)|since 1795]]; the [[First Barbary War]] in the early 19th century, fought primarily against Algiers' neighbors, failed to fully stem the problem.

The expulsion of American vessels from the Mediterranean during the War of 1812 by the British navy further emboldened the brigandine nations. The Dey of Algiers expelled the US consul general [[Tobias Lear]] and declared war on the United States for failing to pay its required tribute. Since there were no American vessels in the region at this time, the challenge went unheeded.

In February 1815, after the end of the [[War of 1812]], U.S. President [[James Madison]] requested that Congress declare war against Algiers; legislation was passed on 3 March 1815 authorizing the use of the [[United States Navy|U.S. Navy]] to protect American interests and seize Algerian assets. In May, a 10-ship squadron led by Commodore [[Stephen Decatur]]—a veteran of the First Barbary War—sailed from New York for Algiers; an even larger force, led by Commodore [[William Bainbridge]], another Barbary War veteran, was close behind.

The [[Napoleonic wars]] of the early nineteenth century diverted the attention of the maritime powers from suppressing what they derogatorily called [[piracy]]. But when peace was restored to Europe in 1815, Algiers found itself at war with [[Spain]], the [[Netherlands]], [[Prussia]], [[Denmark]], [[Russia]] and [[Naples]].

Following a decisive U.S. victory off the coast of Cape Gata in June 1815, Commodore Decatur successfully pressed [[Dey]] [[Omar Agha]] of Algeria to sue for peace; the resulting agreement was formalized [[Treaty with Algiers (1815)|in a treaty]] ratified by the U.S. Senate on 5 December 1815.<ref name=":02">{{Cite web |title=Barbary Wars, 1801–1805 and 1815–1816 |url=https://history.state.gov/milestones/1801-1829/barbary-wars |access-date=14 January 2024 |website=history.state.gov}}</ref> However, Agha later repudiated the treaty, as well as similar agreements with several European nations, until a combined Anglo-Dutch force [[Bombardment of Algiers (1816)|bombarded Algiers in 1816]];<ref>{{Cite book |last=Taylor |first=Stephen |url=https://archive.org/details/commanderlifeexp0000tayl/page/289 |title=Commander: The Life and Exploits of Britain's Greatest Frigate Captain |publisher=faber and faber |year=2012 |isbn=978-0-571-27711-7 |___location=London |pages=[https://archive.org/details/commanderlifeexp0000tayl/page/289 289]}}</ref> the subsequent arrival of a U.S. squadron carrying U.S. commissioner [[William Shaler]] led to a new but substantially similar treaty on 23 December 1816, which was ratified on 11 February 1822.<ref name=":02" />

At the conclusion of the [[War of 1812]], however, America could once again turn its sights on North Africa. On [[March 3]], [[1815]] the [[United States Congress|US Congress]] authorized deployment of naval power against Algiers, and a force of ten ships was dispatched under the command of Commodores [[Stephen Decatur, Jr.]] and [[William Bainbridge]]--both heroes of the first war.

The Algerian War resulted in the United States and Europe ceasing tribute to Algiers and marked the beginning of the end of piracy in the Mediterranean. It also further elevated U.S. military prestige and power projection capabilities that had been demonstrated in the prior Barbary War. Western nations built ever more sophisticated and expensive ships that the Barbary pirates could not match in numbers or technology, and the [[French conquest of Algeria|French conquest of Algeria in 1830]] fully ended any vestige of piracy in the region.<ref>{{cite book |last=Leiner |first=Frederic C. |title=The End of Barbary Terror, America's 1815 War against the Pirates of North Africa |publisher=Oxford University Press, 2007 |year=2007 |isbn=978-0-19-532540-9 |pages=39–50 |ref=Leiner, The End of Barbary Terror}}</ref>

Decatur and Bainbridge used the pirates' tactics against them. Taking hundreds of prisoners in an attack on Algiers, Decatur bargained for a treaty releasing the United States from any tribute obligations in perpetuity, as well as $10,000 in reparations for damages to the US. By [[June 30]], [[1815]] the treaty was signed and the threat of Barbary pirates to American vessels was at an end.

==Background==

No sooner had Decatur set off for Tunis to enforce a similar agreement than the dey repudiated the treaty. The next year, an Anglo-Dutch fleet, commanded by British admiral [[Viscount Exmouth]], delivered a punishing, nine-hour bombardment of Algiers. The attack immobilized many of the dey's corsairs and obtained from him a second treaty that reaffirmed the conditions imposed by Decatur. In addition, the dey agreed to end the practice of enslaving [[Christianity|Christians]].

{{See also|Barbary slave trade}}

The [[First Barbary War]] (1801–1805) had led to an uneasy truce between the US and the Barbary states, but American attention turned to Britain and the [[War of 1812]]. The [[Barbary pirates]] returned to their practice of attacking American merchant vessels in the [[Mediterranean Sea]] and ransoming their crews to the United States government.<ref>{{Cite book|title=Victory in Tripoli: How America's War with the Barbary Pirates Established the U.S. Navy and Shaped a Nation|last=London|first=Joshua E.|publisher=John Wiley & Sons, Inc.|year=2005|isbn=978-1630260378|___location=New Jersey|pages=235–236}}</ref> At the same time, the major European powers were still involved in the [[Napoleonic Wars]], which did not fully end until June 1815 ([[Battle of Waterloo]]).<ref>Gregory Fremont-Barnes, ''The Wars of the Barbary Pirates'' (London: Osprey, 2006) [https://archive.org/details/alshlwy141_yahoo_1805 online]</ref>

At the conclusion of the War of 1812, the [[US government]] under President [[James Madison]] returned to the problem of Barbary piracy. On 3 March 1815, the [[US Congress]] authorized deployment of [[Power projection|naval power]] against Algiers, and the squadron under the command of Commodore [[Stephen Decatur]] set sail on 20 May. It consisted of {{USS|Guerriere|1814|6}} (flagship), {{USS|Constellation|1797|2}}, [[HMS Macedonian|''Macedonia'']], {{HMS|Epervier|1812|2}}, {{USS|Ontario|1813|2}}, {{USS|Firefly|1814|2}}, {{USS|Spark|1813|2}}, ''Flambeau'', {{USS|Torch|1814|2}}, and {{USS|Spitfire|1814|2}}.<ref>{{cite book |last=Allen |first=Gardner Weld| title=Our Navy and the Barbary Corsairs |url=https://archive.org/details/ournavybarbaryco00alle |ref=Allen, 1905 |publisher=Houghton Mifflin & Co. |___location=Boston, New York and Chicago |year=1905 |page=[https://archive.org/details/ournavybarbaryco00alle/page/281 281]}}</ref>

== See Also ==

==War==

* [[Military history of the United States]]

{{Expand section|date=January 2021}}

* [[Military history of the Barbary States]]

[[File:DecaturOffAlgiers.jpg|thumb|Decatur's squadron off Algiers]]

During the War of 1812, Algiers had generally aligned with the British (although Britain's Atlantic blockade had limited US trade in the Mediterranean region). President Madison recommended that Congress declare the "existence of a state of war between the United States and the Dey and Regency of Algiers."<ref name=auto1>{{cite web|title=Declarations of War and Authorizations for the Use of Military Force: Historical Background and Legal Implications|url=https://sgp.fas.org/crs/natsec/RL31133.pdf|work=Congressional Research Service|access-date=17 March 2023|date=18 April 2014|author1=Jennifer K. Elsea|author2=Matthew C. Weed }}</ref> While Congress did not formally declare a state of war, they did pass legislation, enacted on 3 March 1815, that authorized the president to use the U.S. Navy, "as judged requisite by the President" to protect the "commerce and seamen" of the United States on the "Atlantic Ocean, the Mediterranean and adjoining seas."<ref name="auto1"/> Congress also authorized the president to grant the U.S. Navy the ability to seize all vessels and goods belonging to Algiers. The legislation also authorized the president to commission [[privateers]] for the same purpose.<ref name="auto1"/>

== External Links: ==

* [http://www.yale.edu/lawweb/avalon/diplomacy/barbary/barmenu.htm Treaties with The Barbary Powers: 1786-1836 ]

On 20 May 1815, a 10-ship squadron left New York (to be followed by a larger fleet under command of [[William Bainbridge]]).<ref name="auto">{{cite web | url=https://clements.umich.edu/exhibit/barbary-wars/second-barbary-war/ | title=The Second Barbary War: The Algerine War }}</ref> Shortly after departing Gibraltar en route to Algiers, Decatur's squadron encountered the Algerian flagship ''Meshouda'' and captured it in the [[Battle off Cape Gata]]. They also managed to capture the Algerian [[brig]] ''[[Estedio]]'' in the [[Battle off Cape Palos]]. On 29 June, the squadron had reached Algiers and had initiated negotiations with the [[Bey]]. The United States made persistent demands for compensation, mingled with threats of destruction, and the Dey capitulated. He signed a treaty aboard the ''[[USS Guerriere (1814)|Guerriere]]'' in the [[Bay of Algiers]] on 3 July 1815, in which Decatur agreed to return the captured ''Meshuda'' and ''Estedio.'' The Algerians returned all American captives, estimated to be about 10, in exchange for about 500 subjects of the Dey.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://avalon.law.yale.edu/19th_century/bar1815t.asp|title=Treaty of Peace, Signed Algiers June 30 and July 3, 1815|website=avalon.law.yale.edu|access-date=4 February 2022|quote=ARTICLE 3rd The Dey of Algiers shall cause to be immediately delivered up to the American Squadron now off Algiers all the American Citizens now in his possession, amounting to ten more or less, and all the Subjects of the Dey of Algiers now in the power of the United States amounting to five hundred more or less, shall be delivered up to him, the United States according to the usages of civilized nations requiring no ransom for the excess of prisoners in their favor.}}</ref> Algeria also paid $10,000 for seized shipping. The treaty guaranteed no further tributes by the United States<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://avalon.law.yale.edu/19th_century/bar1815t.asp|title=Treaty of Peace, Signed Algiers June 30 and July 3, 1815|website=avalon.law.yale.edu|access-date=4 February 2022|quote=ARTICLE 2d It is distinctly understood between the Contracting parties, that no tribute either as biennial presents, or under any other form or name whatever, shall ever be required by the Dey and Regency of Algiers from the United States of America on any pretext whatever.}}</ref> and granted the United States full shipping rights in the Mediterranean Sea.

==Aftermath==

Despite having successfully negotiated for their freedom, all 10 US captives perished when the ship returning them to the US, ''[[HMS Epervier (1812)|Epervier]]'', sank in the [[Atlantic Ocean|Atlantic ocean]] on 9 August 1815. Although the conflict was brief and small-scale, it showed US resolve and was a victory for free trade.<ref name="auto"/>

In early 1816, Britain undertook a diplomatic mission, backed by a small squadron of [[ships of the line]], to Tunis, Tripoli, and Algiers to convince the Deys to stop their piracy and free European Christian slaves. The [[Deys of Tunis]] and Tripoli agreed without any resistance, but the Dey of Algiers was less cooperative, and the negotiations were stormy. The leader of the diplomatic mission, Admiral [[Edward Pellew, 1st Viscount Exmouth|Edward Pellew]], believed that he had negotiated a treaty to stop the slavery of Christians and returned to England. However, just after the treaty was signed, Algerian troops massacred 200 [[Corsicans|Corsican]], [[Sicilians|Sicilian]] and [[Sardinians|Sardinian]] fishermen who had been under British protection thanks to the negotiations. This caused outrage in Britain and the rest of Europe, and Pellew's negotiations were seen as a failure.<ref>{{Cite book|title=Commander: The Life and Exploits of Britain's Greatest Frigate Captain|last=Taylor|first=Stephen|publisher=faber and faber|year=2012|isbn=978-0-571-27711-7|___location=London|pages=[https://archive.org/details/commanderlifeexp0000tayl/page/10 10]|url=https://archive.org/details/commanderlifeexp0000tayl/page/10}}</ref>

As a result, Pellew was ordered to sea again to complete the job and punish the Algerians. He gathered a squadron of five ships of the line, reinforced by a number of frigates, later reinforced by a flotilla of six Dutch ships. On 27 August 1816, following a round of failed negotiations, the fleet delivered a punishing nine-hour [[bombardment of Algiers (1816)|bombardment of Algiers]]. The attack immobilized many of the Dey's corsairs and shore batteries, forcing him to accept a peace offer of the same terms that he had rejected the day before. Pellew warned that if the terms were not accepted, he would continue the action. The Dey accepted the terms, but Pellew had been bluffing since his fleet had already spent all its ammunition.<ref>{{Cite book|title=Commander: The Life and Exploits of Britain's Greatest Frigate Captain|last=Taylor|first=Stephen|publisher=faber and faber|year=2012|isbn=978-0-571-27711-7|___location=London|pages=[https://archive.org/details/commanderlifeexp0000tayl/page/292 292]|url=https://archive.org/details/commanderlifeexp0000tayl/page/292}}</ref>

A treaty was signed on 24 September 1816. The British Consul and 1,083 other Christian slaves were freed, and the U.S. ransom money repaid.<ref>Fremont-Barnes, pp 84-85.{{fcn|date=August 2021}}</ref>

== See Also also==

*[[First Barbary War]]

*[[Bombardment of Algiers (1816)]]

* [[Military history of the United States]]

*[[Barbary treaties]]

*[[James Madison]], US president at the time

==Further reading==

{{Main|Barbary Wars#Further reading}}

*{{Cite book|last=Toll| first=Ian W.

|title= Six Frigates: The Epic History of the Founding of the U.S. Navy |publisher =W. W. Norton & Company |date=17 March 2008|isbn =978-0393330328}}

==References==

{{Reflist}}

==Sources==

*[[Henry Brooks Adams|Adams, Henry]]. ''History of the United States of America During the Administrations of Thomas Jefferson''. Originally published 1891; [[Library of America]] edition 1986. {{ISBN|0-940450-34-8}}

*Lambert, Frank [https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0809095335/ ''The Barbary Wars: American Independence in the Atlantic World''] New York: Hill and Wang, 2005

*London, Joshua E.[https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0471444154 ''Victory in Tripoli: How America's War with the Barbary Pirates Established the U.S. Navy and Shaped a Nation''] New Jersey: John Wiley & Sons, Inc., 2005

*[[Michael B. Oren|Oren, Michael B.]] ''Power, Faith, and Fantasy: The United States in the Middle East, 1776 to 2006''. New York: W.W. Norton & Co, 2007. {{ISBN|978-0-393-33030-4}}

== External Links: links==

*[http://www.barbarywarfare.com Barbary Warfare]

* [http://www.yale.edu/lawweb/avalon/diplomacy/barbary/barmenu.htm Treaties with The Barbary Powers: 1786-1836 1786–1836]

* [http://www.clements.umich.edu/exhibits/online/barbary/barbary-introduction.php The Barbary Wars at the Clements Library]: An online exhibit on the Barbary Wars with images and transcriptions of primary documents from the period.

*{{unfit|1=[https://web.archive.org/web/20060515222634/http://www.heritage.org/Research/NationalSecurity/hl940.cfm Victory in Tripoli: Lessons for the War on Terrorism]}}

*[https://web.archive.org/web/20071008081409/http://tripolibook.com/ Tripoli: The United States’ First War on Terror]

*[http://www.victoryintripoli.com/ Victory In Tripoli]

*[https://web.archive.org/web/20110725220038/http://researchnews.osu.edu/archive/whtslav.htm When Europeans Were Slaves]

{{American conflicts}}

{{Authority control}}

[[Category:Second Barbary War| ]]

[[Category:Conflicts in 1815]]

[[Category:1815 in Africa]]

[[Category:1815 in the Ottoman Empire]]

[[Category:1815 in the United States]]

[[Category:Barbary Wars| ]]

[[Category:Wars involving the United States]]

[[Category:Wars involving the Regency of Algiers]]