The Mediterranean Squadron, also known as the Mediterranean Station, was part of the United States Navy in the 19th century that operated in the Mediterranean Sea. It was formed in response to the First and Second Barbary Wars. Between 1801 and 1818, the squadron was composed of a series of rotating squadrons. Later, squadrons were sent in the 1820s to the 1860s to suppress piracy, primarily in Greece and to engage in gunboat diplomacy. In 1865 the force was renamed the European Squadron.
History
First Barbary War
The Barbary pirates' seizure of US merchant ships began after American Revolutionary War ended in 1783. When the Dey of Algiers demanded tribute, the Americans refused and thus began a long series of conflict between the Barbary states and the United States lasting from the 1780s to 1815. The Mediterranean Squadron was created for the protection of American merchant ships sailing in Mediterranean waters. The first squadron sent was under the command of Commodore Richard Dale. His command included the frigates , , and as well as the sloop-of-war and the schooner . During the squadron's deployment from 1801 to 1802, it operated by convoying merchant ships. Commodore Dale did not have orders to capture enemy vessels and could only respond to the North African's attacks if fired upon first or if coming to the aid of a merchant ship. On August 1, 1801, the twelve gun schooner USS Enterprise under the command of Lieutenant Andrew Sterett encountered the fourteen gun Tripolitan polacca named Tripoli. USS Enterprise captured Tripoli after a long and bloody fight but because the squadron could not legally make a prize of the ship, it was stripped of its fighting capabilities and released.
As attacks on merchantmen continued, the United States government eventually authorized the United States Navy to send a second squadron to blockade Tripoli and attack their ships. In May 1802 Captain Daniel McNeill in USS Boston assisted two Swedish frigates in a battle while blockading Tripoli. In the action several Barbary vessels sortied and the Americans and Swedish frigates fought off the attack which then forced the Tripolitans back into harbor. In June 1803, USS John Adams and USS Enterprise defeated nine enemy gunboats and a polacre near Tripoli. The polacre was sunk and the gunboats forced to flee, the Americans suffered no casualties. The second squadron returned to the United States in 1803 and that same year another force was sent and operated until 1804. On October 31, 1803, USS Philadelphia grounded on a reef just off Tripoli Harbor. Under heavy fire from enemy shore batteries the Americans attempted to refloat their ship but she was hard aground. When Tripolitan gunboats approached for her capture, her commander surrendered his ship and was made a slave along with the crew. Philadelphia was then manned by the Tripolitans as a sort of harbor defence until February 16, 1804. On that night Lieutenant Stephen Decatur in the ketch boarded and recaptured Philadelphia and scuttled her by fire. This was the most remembered action in the battle for Tripoli. Decatur became famous immediately after this and had a long career of serving the American navy with distinction. He later commanded American forces during the Second Barbary War in 1815.
At the final engagement of the war in April and May 1805, the brig , the schooner and the sloop provided gun support for ten American marines and soldiers leading a mercenary army against Derne. During the battle the Mediterranean Squadron vessels under Oliver Hazard Perry bombarded the city while the land forces besieged the Tripolitan garrison. When the city finally fell, the Dey of Algiers surrendered and the First Barbary War was over.
Second Barbary War
The Mediterranean Squadron continued to operate until 1807. That year the squadron was withdrawn which tempted the Barbary corsairs to attack American ships again. It was not until the end of the War of 1812 in 1815 that the United States Navy resumed operations against the Barbary coast. Now a commodore, Stephen Decatur led the main squadron of ten vessels including the frigates , , , the sloops and , the brigs , , and the schooners and . A second force under Commodore William Bainbridge included the ship of the line , the frigates , and with eight smaller vessels but these warships did not see combat. Only two battles were fought during the Second Barbary War. Decatur's squadron captured the Algerian flagship Mashouda of forty-six guns off Cape Gata on June 15 and later defeated the twenty-two gun Estedio off Cape Palos on June 19. After, the squadron arrived at Algiers and prepared for battle but before fighting began the enemy surrendered and the short war came to an end.
Ships of the Squadron
First Squadron Commanded by Commodore Richard Dale. Deployed in 1801, and returned to the United States in 1802.
Name Type Guns Captain 2nd class frigate 28 guns Daniel McNeill Schooner 12 guns Andrew Sterett 2nd class frigate 32 guns William Bainbridge Sloop of war 24 guns John Shaw 2nd class frigate 36 guns Samuel Barron 1st class frigate 44 guns James Barron
Second Squadron Commanded by Commodore Richard Valentine Morris, and later Commodore John Rodgers, who took command after Morris was relieved of duty by the president for inaction—he was later recommended for a court martial, but the president declined to pursue the matter. Deployed in 1802, and returned to the United States in 1803.
Name Type Guns Captain 2nd class frigate 28 guns Hugh Campbell 2nd class frigate 28 guns Daniel McNeill 2nd class frigate 36 guns Isaac Chauncey, James Barron 2nd class frigate 36 guns Alexander Murray Schooner 12 guns Andrew Sterett, Isaac Hull Sloop of war 24 guns John Shaw 2nd class frigate 28 guns John Rodgers 2nd class frigate 36 guns James Barron, Isaac Chauncey
Third Squadron Commanded by Commodore Edward Preble. Deployed in 1803, and returned to the United States in 1804.
Name Type Guns Captain Brig 16 guns Isaac Hull 1st class frigate 44 guns John Dent, Thomas Robinson (Lieutenants acting as flag captain to Commodore Preble) Schooner 12 guns Stephen Decatur Ketch 4 guns Stephen Decatur, Richard Somers 2nd class frigate 28 guns Isaac Chauncey Schooner 12 guns Richard Somers, John Dent 2nd class frigate 36 guns William Bainbridge Brig 16 guns John Dent, Ralph Izard Brig 16 guns Charles Stewart Schooner 12 guns John SmithN/atwo bomb-vesselsN/anine gunboats
In 1843, the squadron comprised four ships, Columbia, Cumberland, Fairfield and Plymouth.
Commanders NamePictureRankAssigned(Orders)Assumed(On Station)Relieved(Orders)Relieved(On Station)1COM Richard Dale (First Squadron) May 20, 1801 July 1, 1801 April 1802December 17, 18022COM Richard Morris (Second Squadron) ?May 25, 1802 June 21, 1803 September 11, 1803 3COM John Rodgers (Second Squadron) June 21, 1803 September 11, 1803 ??4COM Edward Preble (Third Squadron) May 19, 1803 September, 1803 1804 September 10, 18045COM Samuel Barron (Fourth Squadron) April, 1804 September 10, 1804 May 22, 1805 May 24, 1805 6COM John Rodgers (Fourth Squadron) May 22, 1805 May 24, 1805 ?May 27, 1806 7COM Hugh Campbell (Fourth Squadron) ?May 27, 1806 ?August 1807COM Stephen Decatur?June 14, 1815 November 15, 1815 June 1816 COM William Bainbridge1815 ??6 oct 1815 COM John Shaw?6 oct 1815 ?November 15, 1815COM Isaac ChaunceyJune 1816September 1816 ?February 1, 1818 COM Charles Stewart?February 1, 1818 ?November 1819COM William Bainbridge?November 1819?June 4, 1821 COM Jacob Jones?June 4, 1821 ?1823 COM John Creigton?1823?November 24, 1824 Commodore Thomas MacDonough 24 Nov 1824 - 30 Apr 1825 Commodore John Rodgers 30 Apr 1825 - 31 May 1827 Commodore William Crane 30 May 1827 - 1828 Commodore John Downes 1828-1829 Commodore Matthew C. Perry Apr 1830 - Dec 1832 Commodore Daniel Patterson Dec 1832 – Aug 1835 Commodore Jesse D. Elliott Aug 1835 – 1838 Commodore Isaac Hull 1838–1841 Commodore Foxhall A. Parker Sr. 1841-1843 Commodore Charles W. Morgan 5 Jan 1842 - 31 Apr 1843 Commodore Charles Morris 10 Apr 1843 - 27 Mar 1844 Commodore Joseph Smith 27 Mar 1844 - 17 Nov 1845 Commodore George C. Read 1845-1847 Commander Frederick Engle 7 Aug 1847 - 22 May 1848 Commodore William Bolton 8 Jan 1849 - 20 Feb 1849 Commander Frederick Engle 27 Feb 1849 - 17 Apr 1849 Commodore John Gwinn 13 Apr 1849 - 25 Jul 1849 Commodore Charles W. Morgan 25 Jul 1849 - 30 Jun 1852 Commodore Silas H. Stringham 1 May 1852 - 1 Jul 1855 Commodore Samuel Livingston Breese 7 Jun 1855 – 13 Jan 1858 Commodore Elie A. F. La Vallette 12 May 1858 - 16 Dec 1859 Commodore Uriah Phillips Levy 23 Feb 1860 - 19 Jul 1860 Commodore Charles H. Bell 1 Aug 1860 - 12 Apr 1861
References
Further reading London, Joshua E.Victory in Tripoli: How America's War with the Barbary Pirates Established the U.S. Navy and Shaped a Nation New Jersey: John Wiley & Sons, Inc., 2005.