Item #37521 Message from the President of the United States, communicating to Congress, a letter receivd from Capt. Bainbridge, Commander of the Philadelphia Frigate giving information of the wreck of that vessel, on the coast of Tripoli, and that himself, his officers, and men had fallen into the hands of the Tripolitans. 20th March, 1804. Referred to the Committee of Ways and Means. Thomas. Bainbridge Jefferson, William.

Message from the President of the United States, communicating to Congress, a letter receivd from Capt. Bainbridge, Commander of the Philadelphia Frigate giving information of the wreck of that vessel, on the coast of Tripoli, and that himself, his officers, and men had fallen into the hands of the Tripolitans. 20th March, 1804. Referred to the Committee of Ways and Means.

n.p. n.p., 1804. 12 pp. 8vo. Removed. First edition. Removed from larger volume else a very good unopened (uncut) copy, tiny damp mark to corner of title. Shaw & Shoemaker 7548. Naval Documents related to United States War with the Barbary Powers, Vol. III, Part 1, p. 171. Item #37521

William Bainbridge (1774-1833) would go on to serve a long and distinguished care in the U.S. Navy under six presidents, but here, during an early command in the war with the Barbary pirates, Bainbridge ran his ship, the Philadelphia, aground, leading to its capture and that of his men, who would be imprisoned for nineteen months. The incident would lead to an escalation in the war, the first U.S. attempt to covertly overthrow a foreign government, and William Eaton's leading Marines to "the shores of Tripoli." Bainbridge was exonerated. In this message by Jefferson to Congress, March 20, 1804, he prefaces Bainbridge's report with: "This accident renders it expedient to increase our force and enlarge our expenses in the Mediterranean beyond what the last appropriation for the Naval service contemplated. I recommend therefore to the consideration of Congress such an addition to that appropriation they may think the exigency requires." OCLC locates five copies: Univ. Conn., Hist. Soc. Pennsylvania., Univ. Virginia, American Antiquarian Soc., and Yale.

Price: $375.00