Tripolitania had declared war against the United States over disputes regarding tributary payments in exchange for a cessation of Tripolitanian commerce raiding at sea.

He said, also, that the man who was the first to board a vessel had one slave over and above his share, and that when they sprang to the deck of an enemy's ship, every sailor held a dagger in each hand and a third in his mouth; which usually struck such terror into the foe that they cried out for quarter at once.

[22] Jefferson reported the conversation to Secretary of Foreign Affairs John Jay, who submitted the ambassador's comments and offer to Congress.

[26] Even so, most captives could expect little more than lives of hard labor and abuse, and struggled under extremely poor conditions that exposed them to vermin and disease.

With the recommissioning of the American Navy in 1794 and a rush of new ships and weapons, it became increasingly possible for America to cease payments, although by now the long-standing habit was difficult to change.

[30] The continuing demand for tribute ultimately led to the formation of the United States Department of the Navy, founded in 1798[31] to prevent further attacks upon American shipping while resolving the issue of Barbary piracy.

Jefferson's own Democratic-Republicans and anti-navalists believed that the future of the country lay in westward expansion, arguing that the Atlantic trade threatened to siphon money and energy away from the new nation while entangling it in the wars and intrigue of the Old World.

[30] Just before Jefferson's inauguration in 1801, Congress passed naval legislation that, among other things, provided for six frigates that "shall be officered and manned as the President of the United States may direct."

Before learning that Tripoli had declared war on the United States, Jefferson sent a small squadron, consisting of three frigates and one schooner, under the command of Commodore Richard Dale, with gifts and letters to attempt to maintain peace with the Barbary powers.

[35] However, if war had been declared, then Dale was instructed to "protect American ships and citizens against potential aggression"; however, Jefferson made it clear that he was "unauthorized by the constitution, without the sanction of Congress, to go beyond the line of defense."

He told Congress: "I communicate [to you] all material information on this subject, that in the exercise of this important function confided by the constitution to the legislature exclusively their judgment may form itself on a knowledge and consideration of every circumstance of weight.

[citation needed] On 31 May 1801, Dale's successor, Commodore Edward Preble, traveled to Messina, Sicily, to the court of King Ferdinand IV of the Kingdom of Naples.

The kingdom was at war with Napoleon, but Ferdinand saw an opportunity and supplied the Americans with manpower, craftsmen, supplies, gunboats, mortar boats, and the ports of Messina, Syracuse, and Palermo to be used as naval bases for launching operations against Tripoli, a port walled fortress city protected by 150 pieces of heavy artillery and manned by 25,000 soldiers, assisted by a fleet of 10 ten-gunned brigs, 2 eight-gun schooners, two large galleys, and 19 gunboats.

[37] The first action of the campaign took place on 1 August 1801, when the armed schooner Enterprise (commanded by Lieutenant Andrew Sterret) defeated the 14-gun Tripolitan corsair Tripoli in battle.

In 1802, in response to Jefferson's request for a formal authorization of anti-piracy efforts, Congress passed "An act for the protection of commerce and seamen of the United States against the Tripolitan cruisers", authorizing the President to "employ such of the armed vessels of the United States as may be judged requisite... for protecting effectually the commerce and seamen thereof on the Atlantic Ocean, the Mediterranean and adjoining seas.

On the night of 16 February 1804, Captain Stephen Decatur led a small detachment of United States Marines aboard the captured Tripolitan ketch rechristened Intrepid, thus deceiving the guards on Philadelphia to float close enough to board her.

Furthermore, Eaton believed the honor of the United States had been compromised when it abandoned Hamet Karamanli after promising to restore him as leader of Tripoli.

Eaton's complaints generally went unheard, especially as attention turned to the strained international relations which would ultimately lead to the withdrawal of the United States Navy from the area in 1807 and to the War of 1812.

Originally known as the Naval Monument, it was carved of Carrara marble in Italy in 1806 and brought to the United States on board Constitution ("Old Ironsides").

From its original location in the Washington Navy Yard, it was moved to the west terrace of the national Capitol and finally, in 1860, to the United States Naval Academy in Annapolis, Maryland.