Pirate Princes and Yankee Jacks / Setting forth David Forsyth's Adventures in America's Battles on Sea and Desert with the Buccaneer Princes of Barbary, with an Account of a Search under the Sands of the Sahara Desert for the Treasure-filled Tomb of Ancient Kings

by Daniel Henderson

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.