Happy New Year

The last day of April has traditionally been observed by pagan groups, dating back to the days of Viking conquerors, throughout northern and central Europe. Bonfires, believed to drive away dark spirits and celebrate the return of the sun, would illuminate the countryside on what came to be known as Walpurgis Night (coinciding with the Holy Day of Saint Walpurga). In Germany, it was believed that witches held a great Walpurgisnacht Sabbath on the Blocksberg, the tallest mountain peak in the country.

"I am in HELL sir!"

On this day in 1789, Master’s Mate Fletcher Christian led a mutiny aboard the H.M.S. Bounty approximately 1,300 miles from Tahiti. Christian and the crew had broken under the weight of what they perceived as Captain Bligh’s increasingly cruel, unpredictable and erratic command. A close friend of Bligh’s prior to the voyage, the tortured Christian is said to have exclaimed “I am in HELL sir!” while arguing with Bligh upon seizing control of the ship. Captain Bligh and 18 loyal crewmen were set adrift in one of the Bounty’s tiny lifeboats near the island of Tofua. There can be no greater testimony to Bligh’s seamanship than the lifeboat’s safe arrival in Kupang, over 3,600 nautical miles away, some 47 days later.

The Shores of Tripoli

On this day in 1805, U.S. forces attacked the city of Derne on the Barbary Coast – constituting the first act of war by American soldiers on foreign soil. The First Barbary War, as it was later called, began in response to demands of monetary tribute from U.S. ships in the Mediterranean by various rulers and their pirate emissaries in the Ottoman empire.

In 1803, the U.S. had initiated a somewhat symbolic one-ship blockade of the Tripolitan harbor when said ship, the U.S.S. Philadelphia, ran aground on a reef while chasing a pirate vessel into port.
The ship’s captain, William Bainbridge, chose not to solicit the opinions of his more seasoned officers, leftenant David Porter among them, on how best to extricate the Philadelphia from its grounding. Instead, he ordered full sail, resulting in the ship running up further onto the reef to a seemingly hopeless position.

Bainbridge was infamous for his arrogance and aloofness – so much so that a crewman’s journal noted that he stood a better chance of an audience with then president Thomas Jefferson than of receiving a simple greeting from his captain. Not only did Bainbridge hold the dubious honor of having been the first United States Navy captain to surrender a ship, the Retaliation during the quasi-war with France, but his panicked response to the grounding of the Philadelphia would result in him becoming the second as well.

Fearing that he and his men would be cut to pieces like sitting ducks, Bainbridge immediately struck the ship’s colors and ordered the crew to abandon ship. That evening, now prisoners of the Pashah Yussif Karamanli, they watched their ship float easily free of the reef as the tide came in. Had the only held their position aboard the Philadelphia, with its vastly superior firepower, they would have sailed to safety a few short hours later. They would remained imprisoned in Tripoli for the next 2 years.

Stephen Decatur (lower left), a brash young naval officer in command of the U.S.S. Enterprise swore an oath that the captured Philadelphia should never fire a shot at an American ship and devised a plan to destroy it. Disguised as pirates from nearby Malta, Decatur and his crew sailed stealthily into the port at Tripoli. Once alongside the Philadelphia, they silently overtook its pirate captors – slitting throats, slashing & skewering with sabers – and set the ship on fire. The Philadelphia was immediately engulfed in flames - a floating inferno wreaking havoc and setting ablaze many pirate vessels anchored throughout the crowded harbor. Decatur and his small squadron of sabateurs escaped without losing a single man. British Admiral Horatio Nelson referred to Decatur’s seemingly suicidal mission to destroy the Philadelphia as “the most bold and daring act of the Age”.

General William Eaton (upper left), cut from the same cloth as Decatur, proposed that the U.S. seize the nearby and more poorly defended city of Derne in order to create a base from which they could wage a land-based assault on Tripoli - thereby winning the freedom of the American hostages.

He enlisted the aid of Yussif's exiled brother Hamet, who commanded a significant force of muslim rebels, and together they successfully captured Derne. Eaton demonstrated extraordinary leadership and bravery - personally leading the charge that resulted in the capture of the fortress. Shortly thereafter, the American flag was raised in victory for the first time on foreign soil. 14 U.S. Marines participated in the battle, insipiring the line "to the shores of Tripoli" in the Marines' Hymn. Eaton was injured during the battle, taking a musketball through his wrist. He field-dressed the wound and soldiered on, driving the enemy from the city by reversing the cannons of the fort and bombarding the town with their own artillery.

When Derne was secured, Eaton and his men began their march on Tripoli. Before they had reached the halfway point, they received word that the U.S. consul to the Barbary States had negotiated an accord securing the prisoners' release. The consul's name was Tobias Lear (see Colonel Tobias Lear).

It is believed that Lear received this appointment in exchange for destroying correspondence between George Washington and Thomas Jefferson that would have severely damaged Jefferson's chances of gaining the presidency. Jefferson's motto regarding the Barbary conflicts and the demands of pirate Pashahs was "Millions for defense, not one cent for tribute". Nonetheless, Lear had secretly paid a sum of $60,000 to Yusif for the release of the Philadelphia's crew, as well as making a number of unapproved concessions & compromises that would have never flown had they become public knowledge. Among these was allowing Pashah Yusif to delay the return of his brother Hamet's wife and children, already held hostage for half a decade, for up to another five years.

When Eaton later heard of Lear's unscrupulous activities, he spent the remainder of his life petitioning for the immediate removal of Tobias Lear from any position of authority as well as the return of Hamet's family. While the latter was eventually accomplished, Lear was never taken to task for his dubious dealings. However, Eaton seems to have succeeded in tarnishing Lear's reputation and calling his honor into question to such a great degree that Lear finally committed suicide October 11th, 1816.

Stephen Decatur, equally opinionated, became an extremely vocal critic of James Barron. Decatur had served under Barron on the U.S.S. Norfolk in the quasi-war with France and fought alongside him in the Barbary conflict. When Barron's apparent lack of readiness resulted in the capture of the Chesapeake by the H.M.S. Leopard (resulting in the War of 1812), Decatur served on the court of naval inquiry concerning the incident. While Barron was cleared of charges, Decatur persisted in expressing his negative opinions of the man until he was eventually challenged to a duel.

William Bainbridge, known to have harbored tremendous jealousy and festering resentment toward Decatur, was nonetheless selected by Decatur as his second. Bainbridge not only urged the comsumation of the duel when the men began discussed reconciliation, but went so far as to suggest that Barron be allowed to stand closer due to his poor eyesight. Many, including Decatur's widow who referred to Bainbridge as "one of my husband's murderers", believed that it was this unfair advantage that decided the duel, resulting in Decatur's death.

Most of what I know on this subject I learned from Richard Zacks' excellent and comprehensive book The Pirate Coast: Thomas Jefferson, the First Marines, and the Secret Mission of 1805.

Through the Looking Glass

One of Oklahoma City’s best-kept secrets is the 45th Infantry Museum. Among the relics hidden away in this martial labyrinth are a plethora of souvenirs plundered from various private residences of Adolf Hitler by said Division during the liberation of Germany in 1945. The remarkably plain yet extraordinarily eerie centerpiece of this particular collection is an oval mirror from the bedroom of Hitler’s bunker in Berlin. I couldn’t help but wonder, as I saw myself in the glass, if he had gazed into this mystical pane on the day he committed suicide.

Adolf Hitler was born on this day in Braunau-am-Inn, Austria-Hungary – 120 years ago.

Evil Empire?

On this day in 1995, at 9:02 a.m. Central Standard Time, the Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building in downtown Oklahoma City was destroyed by an act of domestic terrorism. 168 people were killed, ranging in age from 3 months to 73 years old.

The bombing was allegedly perpetrated as an act of protest against the conduct of the federal government in the siege of Randy Weaver’s home at Ruby Ridge, Idaho in August 1992 and a similar standoff at the Branch Davidian compound in Waco, Texas - which ended on this day in that same year. The former resulted in the death of Weaver’s wife and 14-year-old son, while the latter ended in an inferno that consumed the lives of self-styled apocalyptic prophet David Koresh and 75 of his followers.

The Oklahoma City National Memorial opened on October 9, 1997. The largest of its kind in the U.S., the memorial spans 3.3 acres. Bronze arches, known as the “Gates of Time”, marked 9:01 and 9:03, signify the moments of peace before and chaos immediately following the explosion. The reflecting pool , representing the moment of destruction, is an immense abyss created by a thin sheet of water flowing over black granite. The effect is somber and contemplative – even under bright sunshine on an otherwise carefree day.

The other most significant feature of the memorial is the Field of Empty Chairs, with individual bronze chairs crafted for each victim of the attack, including smaller versions for the 19 children killed in the blast. Glass blocks form the base of each chair and are illuminated at night. Overall, the memorial is a powerful cenotaph marking a sad moment in American history.

Timothy McVeigh, convicted and executed for his involvement in the incident, said in reference to the victims of the bombing that “They may be individually innocent, but they are guilty because they work for the Evil Empire." A tragic sentiment when one considers that as Americans, we have not only the right but also the responsibility to voice our dissent and take our leaders to task when our government fails to operate within those parameters proscribed by law. This great nation, our “Empire” as it were, is a direct reflection of those who choose to actively participate in the shaping and molding process. To wage war upon it is simply to attack ourselves.

"That small city close to Bad Schwartau"

While reading Mark Kurlansky’s excellent and informative book Cod: A Biography of the Fish That Changed the World, I first learned about the Hanseatic League - a sort of Teutonic trading guild comprised of seafaring merchants based along the coast of the Baltic and North Seas. While many trace its roots as far back as the mid-12th Century, the Hansa – as it was often referred to – was founded in the German city of Lübeck in 1358. It eventually grew to include well over a hundred cities – dominating the sea trade in northern Europe and Scandinavia for nearly two hundred years. The Hanseatic League employed its own navy and militias, battling pirates and even waging war against Denmark in the 14th Century. League members enjoyed privileges ranging from exclusive trade routes to the waiving of tariffs.

By the late 16th Century, political and economic changes began to erode the Hansa’s strength. Sweden seized control of much of the Baltic, resulting in the Nordic Seven Years War against several of the Hanseatic powers. The humongous Adler von Lübeck, at the time the largest ship in the world, was constructed in an attempt to re-establish Lübeck’s maritime supremacy but it never saw battle as the warring parties had reached an accord by the time it was completed. As some cities grew more independent and German royalty consolidated their influence and authority, the Hansa continued to slowly disintegrate until only three of its primary cities (Bremen, Hamburg, and Lübeck) remained by the time of its demise in 1862.

Lübeck, known as “Queen of the Hansa” during the League’s reign, was later noted for refusing Adolf Hitler permission to speak there in 1932, forcing him to instead to make his campaign speech in the nearby village of Bad Schwartau. From that day forward, Hitler referred to Lübeck as “that small city close to Bad Schwartau”.

Viva La Florida!

Today in the year 1513, Spanish explorer Juan Ponce de Leon became the first European to set foot on what is now known as the state of Florida.

While he is best remembered for his search for the legendary "Fountain of Youth", Ponce de Leon was a prodigious adventurer who discovered many new lands and claimed a variety of territories in the name of Spain.

His final voyage in 1521 brought him back to the southwestern coast of Florida where he intended to found a colony. Ponce de Leon and his entourage encountered hostility from the native Calusa indians and he was struck in the shoulder by a poison arrow. They retreated to Havana, Cuba where he died from the wound a short time later.