Decatur's Cruise to Algiers

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DECATUR'S CRUISE TO ALGIERS

DECATUR'S CRUISE TO ALGIERS. On 2 March 1815, the United States declared war on Algiers for its hostility during the War of 1812. On 20 May, Capt. Stephen Decatur sailed with three frigates, three brigs, two schooners, and a sloop—the Guerrière being his flagship. Off Cape Gata, Spain, on 17 June, he captured the Algerian frigate Mashuda and killed its commander, Reis Hammida. Arriving at Algiers on 28 June, Decatur immediately negotiated a treaty with the frightened dey of Algiers, providing for release of American captives (and for their status in the future as prisoners of war), reparations for captured property, and cessation of the payment of tribute by the United States.

BIBLIOGRAPHY

Bradford, James C., ed. Command Under Sail: Makers of the American Naval Tradition, 1775–1850. Annapolis, Md.: Naval Institute Press, 1985.

Lewis, Charles Lee. The Romantic Decatur. Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania Press; London: Milford, Oxford University Press, 1937.

Charles LeeLewis/a. r.

See alsoBarbary Wars ; Foreign Policy ; Navy, United States ; Tribute .