March 21, 2021
3.28 – The Calming Seas
Year(s) Discussed: 1803-1805
With the war with Tripoli continuing to drag on year after year, Jefferson and his administration had to determine whether the best course to bring it to a conclusion lay with opening up a new front by partnering with foreign agents or through engaging in a new round of diplomacy. Meanwhile, a change in the command of the US naval squadron in the Mediterranean took the wind out of the sails of what had been an energetic force.
Special thanks to Anthony of Disastrous History for providing the intro quote for this episode!
The transcript for this episode can be found here.
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- McKee, Christopher. Edward Preble: A Naval Biography, 1761-1807. Annapolis, MD: Naval Institute Press, 1996 [1972].
- Zacks, Richard. The Pirate Coast: Thomas Jefferson, the First Marines, and the Secret Mission of 1805. New York: Hyperion, 2005.
Featured Image: “Attack on Derna” by Charles Waterhouse, courtesy of Wikipedia
Intro and Outro Music: Selections from “Jefferson and Liberty” as performed by The Itinerant Band