CHAPTER XVI
WE CAPTURE THE DESERT CITY OF DERNE
"_An army, composed in part of Americans, but chiefly of the descendants of the ancient Grecians, Egyptians and Arabians; in other words, an army collected from the four quarters of the globe, and led by an American commander to conquest and glory, is a phenomenon in military history calculated to attract the attention of the world, not only by its novelty, but by its real influence and consequence. It ought to be considered, too, that this army, notwithstanding the singularity of its organization and character, and the smallness of its number and its means, acted in a cause that might be thought to affect, at least in some remote degree, the general interest of mankind. Since the destruction of Cato, and his little senate at Utica, the banner of freedom had never waved in that desert and barbarous quarter of the globe; and he who carried it so nobly, in the language of the resolution, through the desert of Libya, and placed it so triumphantly upon the African shore of the Mediterranean deserves to be honorably distinguished by that country and that government, to which the enterprise has added lustre._"
--Speech made by James Elliott, Representative from Vermont, before the House of Representatives.
Every step we took, I could tell by the rector's map, which now I daily consulted, was taking me to that section of the coast where the treasure lay buried. We had hard fighting ahead of us, and all of my energies were needed to help our cause, yet I was determined to find enough time to make the search. The problem of finding a trustworthy person who could read for me the Arabic inscription on the map had been solved through my friendship with Mustapha, who had acquired a fair education in Egypt. I planned to go to Tokra under his guidance. My plans worked out well, but in a different way from that which I proposed.
The first duty ahead of our army--a task that must be done before any treasure hunt could be thought of--was the capture of Derne. The city of Tokra lay beyond Derne. Our army, if it went on to Tripoli, must pass near it. The coast was clear--if Derne were captured by us. Little did I think that the ill fortunes of our soldiers should send me forth at last to fulfill my long-cherished aim.
Two days after leaving Bomba, we camped on a height that overlooks Derne, and reconnoitered. We had reached the climax of our march. We learned that the governor of the place had decided to defend the city against us. We learned also that the army Joseph Bashaw had sent from Tripoli was making a forced march to Derne and might arrive before the return of our vessels, which had been blown out to sea in a gale. This information alarmed the Turks and Arabs. Hamet, we observed, again seemed to be ready for flight. The Sheik il Taiib, who had promised to prove himself a valiant man at Derne, quitted the camp.
Several chiefs came out from Derne to assure Hamet of their faith. They told us that the city was divided into three departments; that two of these favored Hamet and one Joseph, but that the department that favored Joseph was strongest and had control of the guns.
General Eaton had sent a messenger to the governor under a flag of truce with this message:
"I want no territory. With me is advancing the real sovereign of your country--give us a passage through your city; and for the supplies of which we shall have need, you shall receive fair pay. Let no differences of religion induce us to shed the blood of harmless men who think little and know nothing. If you are a man of liberal mind you will not hesitate. Hamet Bashaw pledged himself to me that you shall be established in your government. I shall see you tomorrow in a way of your choice.
"Eaton."
The flag of truce was sent back to the general by the governor with this answer:
"My head or yours!"
"We shall see whose head it will be!" General Eaton declared.
Having learned that the army from Tripoli was only a four hours' march distant, the general determined to attack the city before it had time to arrive.
On the next morning the _Argus_, _Hornet_ and _Nautilus_ appeared off the coast, and on a signal sailed in toward the city. The general at once began the assault. The fleet sent a few guns ashore to assist us in the land attack, and then the three vessels opened fire on the city's batteries.
The Governor of Derne had mounted a battery of eight nine-pounders along the water-front; had thrown up breastworks along the unprotected parts of the city; and had mounted cannon on the terrace of his palace and on the roofs of certain buildings. We heard that he possessed an army of eight hundred men, in addition to such citizens as would fight with him.
General Eaton, with a detachment actively commanded by Lieutenant O'Bannon, consisting of the six American marines, twenty-four gunners, twenty-six Greeks, and a few Arabs, attacked the temporary forts that had been thrown up in the southeast section of the town. Hamet Bashaw attacked and captured an old castle on the southwest, and drew up his cavalry on this site. I fought beside the general, and a stiff business it was. The enemy's musketry was so warm that our troops were thrown into confusion. To counteract this, the general ordered a charge. The enemy had flocked to the point where we advanced, so that we had to fight as ten to one. The infidels waged a guerrilla warfare, dashing out of their hiding-places and then, in retreat, firing from behind every palm tree and wall along their way.
The battery was at last silenced by the fire of our ships, and most of the gunners retired to join the forces opposed to us. Yet on we went, passing through a shower of bullets from the walls of houses. Soon we reached the battery, and wrested it from its defenders. I had the honor of planting, amidst cheers from my comrades, the American flag on the wall--an honor indeed, since this was the first time the American flag had been raised on a fort of the old world. Then we turned the guns on the infidels and drove them back into the houses, where they could only fire at us from behind walls.
Our ships, which had suspended their fire during our charge, now resumed bombarding the houses that sheltered the governor and his men.
The deadly fire of the ships terrified the already faint-hearted forces there, and they began to flee in disorder. Hamet's troops captured the governor's castle, and his cavalry pursued the flying foe. By four o'clock in the afternoon we were in full possession of the city, the action having lasted about two hours and a half. Of the Christians who fought there were fourteen killed and wounded. Three of these were American marines; two dead and one wounded. The rest of the dead were Greeks. Our Grecian allies showed great bravery and were worthy descendants of the ancient heroes of their race.
THE GOVERNOR FLEES
The governor fled first to a mosque; then to the abode of an old sheik.
"I must lay hold of him!" General Eaton said. "He is the third man in rank in the entire kingdom of Tripoli, and we can use him to exchange for Captain Bainbridge!"
The general, in great zeal to take the governor captive, now marched at the head of fifty Christians with bayonets to that remote section in which the fugitive had found refuge. The aged chief who sheltered him, however, vowed that the laws of hospitality would be violated if he permitted us to take the governor, and refused to yield him up to us.
General Eaton explained that the Governor had rejected peace terms; had challenged us and been beaten at his post; was still in a conquered town, and was by all the laws of war a prisoner. The sheik remained firm.
The citizens of Derne began to look at us with hostile eyes.
"The Christians no longer respect the customs of our fathers and our laws of hospitality," they exclaimed.
Hamet Bashaw, fearful that the people would be turned against him if we seized the governor against the old sheik's wishes, persuaded the general to postpone the attempt.
We had been in possession of Derne about a week when the army sent from Tripoli arrived and planted their camp on the ground we had occupied. Meanwhile, General Eaton had fortified the city as strongly as possible.
We found ourselves facing enemies within and foes without, because the people of the town, true to their nature, were now debating which army would be the most likely to win, so that they might be on the victor's side. The late governor, we learned, was the leader in trying to persuade the people of the city to revolt against us.
On May 18th the troops from Tripoli advanced towards the city in order of battle, but when General Eaton marshalled his forces to meet them they halted, conferred, and then retired. We found out later that the Beys in charge of the enemy's forces had tried day after day to persuade the Arabs under them to attack. They had refused, stating that Joseph Bashaw must send them aid before they would attempt to conquer the city.
"We have," they said, "not only our lives to preserve, but also the lives of our families. Hamet has possession of the town; his Christian allies possess the batteries; these, together with the great guns of the American ships, would destroy us if we attacked!"
The Beys then demanded of the Arabs that they permit their camels to be used to protect the front and flanks of the assaulting forces, but this too was refused.
Word came to General Eaton that Hassien Bey, commander of the enemy's forces, had offered six thousand dollars for his head, and double that sum if he were brought as a prisoner. We heard also that thirty dollars had been offered for the head of an ordinary Christian.
Then there came to our camp a Bedouin holy man who had previously been befriended by the general. He whispered that two women, one in our camp and one in Derne, had been employed by Hassien Bey to poison our commander. In payment for this service they had already been given presents of diamond rings. The saint cautioned the General not to accept any presents of pastry, preserves or fruit.
A few days later, the forces of Hassien Bey gave battle. He was assisted by Muhamed, Bey of Bengazi; Muhamed, Bey of Derne, and Imhamed, Bey of Ogna. Under them were one thousand mounted Arabs and two thousand Arabs on foot. On the night before, Muhamed, the former governor of Derne, had escaped into Hassien Bey's camp, and had told him that our numbers on shore were far less than the general had supposed. Encouraged by this information Hassien Bey ordered the attack.
About nine o'clock in the morning his troops appeared, under five standards, and attacked about one hundred of Hamet's cavalry, who had been stationed about a mile from town. The cavalry fought bravely but were forced to retreat. The _Argus_ and _Nautilus_ trained their guns on the enemy, and we in town bombarded them with our battery and field pieces, but by taking advantage of walls they penetrated the town up to the palace that sheltered Hamet. Here they were met by a hot rifle fire from Hamet's supporters, but they held their ground stubbornly, determined to capture Hamet.
The general was wondering whether with the small force in charge of the battery he dare risk a sortie to defend Hamet, when fortunately a shot from one of our nine-pounders killed two mounted enemies near the palace.
Instantly they sounded a retreat and fled from all quarters. Hamet's cavalry pursued them. In their flight they again came within range of our ships' guns, and these poured into their ranks a galling fire.
We were told later by an Italian slave who escaped from their camp that they had lost twenty-eight men killed and that fifty-six of their number had been wounded by our fire.
This defeat took the heart out of the Arabs supporting the Beys. Officers and soldiers began to desert to us from the enemy, and when Hassien Bey began to prepare for another assault by collecting camels that would be used as traveling breastworks, the Arabs recruited on the march refused to take part. They protested that they would have been willing to fight under ordinary circumstances, but that the Americans were firing balls that would kill both a rider and his horse, and that they would not expose themselves to such shots. They also complained that we rushed at them with bayonets, and would not give them time to reload their muskets!
Hearing these reports our fearless general tried to persuade Hamet to make a counter-attack, but without success. Skirmishes continued to occur. A few days after the battle, a company of the enemy attacked some Arab families who had camped in the rear of the town. Learning of the attack, the general headed a party of thirty-five Greeks and Americans, with a view to cutting off their retreat. We met them in a mountain's ravine--the Greeks must have thought of the Spartans at Thermopylae--and charged them with our bayonets. They broke and fled, hotly pursued. We killed their captain and five men, and took two prisoners. None of us were injured.
This affair put Hassien Bey in a frenzy. The next morning he came forward to revenge his cause, but again the Arabs mutinied and retreated, leaving Hassien and his soldiers to follow in humiliation back to their camp.
Hamet Bashaw had his turn at open fighting a few days later, and acquitted himself far better than we expected. The enemy appeared in great numbers on the heights overlooking the town, seeking a way to descend that would not expose them to the fire of our guns. They found a pass and started to descend to the plain below, but here Hamet's cavalry met them and, as reinforcements joined each side, the battle increased in size until there were five thousand men engaged. The fighting lasted four hours, during which Hamet held his ground like a true general. It was a battle fought in the Barbary style, for the field of conflict was beyond the range of our batteries, and we were rejoiced to learn that the victory belonged to Hamet. The enemy lost fifty men killed, and had over seventy wounded, while of the forces of Hamet, the killed and wounded amounted together to about fifty. We had lost respect for Hamet during our march across the desert, but his gallantry in this engagement restored confidence.
Lieutenant O'Bannon was eager to lead our Americans and Greeks out to hold the pass by which the enemy must retreat with our bayonets, but the general decided wisely that it would be unwise to leave the batteries undefended, since Hamet Bashaw's forces might suffer a reverse.
THE CAMPAIGN BLOCKED
Our prolonged stay at Derne had begun to worry both the general and Hamet. I saw them frequently conferring with great seriousness, and heard General Eaton say that if the aid, money, and supplies had come which he hoped would be awaiting him at Derne, he might now be at Cape Mensurat, and in fifteen days after, at Tripoli.
My wonder as to what there was being discussed by the general and Hamet Bashaw was cleared away somewhat by the arrival of a spy from the enemy's camp, who informed us that a courier had arrived, eleven days from Tripoli, with dispatches from the reigning Bashaw stating that he intended to make peace with the United States, _even if he had to sell his wardrobe_ to do so. This was a great change of front; a change caused, we all felt sure, by our conquest of Derne, and by our openly avowed determination to capture Tripoli in the same manner.
Then there came a letter from Commodore Barron which informed General Eaton that the United States must withdraw her support from Hamet, since Consul Lear was making a peace with Joseph.
The general wrote hotly in reply: "I cannot be persuaded that the abandoning of Hamet is in keeping with those principles of honor and justice which I know actuate the national breast. But, if no further aids come, and we are compelled to leave the place, humanity itself must weep; the whole city of Derne, together with numerous families of Arabs, who attached themselves to Hamet Bashaw, and who resisted Joseph's troops in expectation of help from us, must be left to their fate; havoc and slaughter must follow; not a soul of them can escape the savage vengeance of the enemy; instead of lending aid to the unfortunate people, we involve them in destruction."
The general wrote also in protest to the Secretary of the Navy, stating that when Commodore Barron agreed to cooperate with Hamet there was no talk of the latter being used as a means of making peace with the reigning Bashaw; that nothing was talked of but punishment. The example of Commodore Preble, he stated, had fired the squadron which relieved him with an ambition to punish Joseph, and it was in the same spirit that he, General Eaton, was sent on his mission to bring Hamet to the rear of the enemy.
Shortly after these letters were dispatched, we had occasion to march through Derne.
"Long live the Americans! Long live our friends and protectors!" the people shouted.
The general bowed his head in shame.
General Eaton, in the opinion of all of us who marched with him, and of many with whom I afterwards talked, could well complain of the way he was treated by the United States Government. He had won at Derne a victory that many thought was superior to the naval victories won over Tripoli, and by his campaign had opened the way for a peace that saved the United States the payment of hundreds of thousands of dollars in warships and tribute money. Yet he had been allowed to enter upon his enterprise in such a manner that if successful the Administration would receive full credit for sending him, while if he failed, he could be blamed for acting without authority.
At Tripoli, peace was being made after this manner: Colonel Lear, then at Malta, received a letter from the Spanish consul at Tripoli asking him to come to that place under a flag of truce, as the Bashaw wanted to discuss peace. A few weeks later Captain Bainbridge wrote to Commodore Barron that the Tripolitan minister of foreign affairs, Sidi Mohammed Dghiers, who was opposed to the war, was about to leave the city, and that it would be well to send an envoy to treat for peace before the minister left.
Colonel Lear sailed from Malta on the _Essex_, which joined the blockading frigates _Constitution_ and _President_ of Tripoli. The white flag hoisted by Lear was answered by the hoisting of a similar flag on the Bashaw's castle. The terms agreed upon were that the United States was to pay him $60,000 for the ransom of the American captives remaining after an exchange of prisoners, man for man, had been made; that the American forces should withdraw from Derne, persuading Hamet to go with them; and that in the course of time Joseph was to restore to Hamet his wife and children.
The articles were signed on board the _Constitution_. A salute of twenty-one guns was then fired by the Bashaw's battery and answered by the _Constitution_. The people of the city crowded to the wharves celebrating the making of peace. The released American officers and sailors ran to the wharves to leap into the barges that were to take them out of the hated town.
Sage men have predicted that the historians of the future would say that Colonel Lear acted unwisely in making the peace, and that if he had delayed for a few weeks, until bomb vessels and gunboats on the way from America had arrived, a squadron would have assembled before Tripoli that would have frightened the Bashaw into agreement with any terms the United States' fleet chose to lay down. That we should have had to pay ransom for the American captives at Tripoli after we had captured the powerful province of Derne, and with such a strong fleet in the Mediterranean, was not in accord with American traditions.
The act of Colonel Lear in making peace with the reigning Bashaw seems to have been for the purpose of blocking Eaton's triumph. "Eaton," said an officer holding a high place in the Mediterranean squadron, "was running away with the honor of the Tripolitan war. Between an army and navy jealousy is common. What had the navy done long before, after the achievement of Preble? Hence the readiness to snatch the first chance for peace."
The politics of the matter gave me little concern. Here was General Eaton needing money. With money he could hire Arab tribes, buy caravans loaded with food, march on to Tripoli. Here was my opportunity, and my duty.