The Action of 1 August 1801 was a single-ship action of the First Barbary War fought between the American schooner USS Enterprise and the Tripolitan polacca Tripoli off the coast of modern-day Libya. Tripoli put up a stubborn fight and perfidiously feigned surrender three times in an engagement lasting three hours before the Americans captured the polacca. The success of the battle boosted morale in the United States, since it was that country’s first victory in the war against the Tripolitans.
About Action of 1 August 1801 in brief
The Action of 1 August 1801 was a single-ship action of the First Barbary War fought between the American schooner USS Enterprise and the Tripolitan polacca Tripoli off the coast of modern-day Libya. As part of Commodore Richard Dale’s Mediterranean Squadron, Enterprise had been deployed with the American force blockading the Vilayet of Tripoli. Tripoli put up a stubborn fight and perfidiously feigned surrender three times in an engagement lasting three hours before the polacca was finally captured by the Americans. Although the Americans had taken the vessel, Sterett had no orders to take prizes and so was obliged to release her. The success of the battle boosted morale in the United States, since it was that country’s first victory in the war against the Tripolitans. The opposite occurred in Tripoli, where morale sank heavily upon learning of Tripoli’s defeat. Despite Enterprise’s triumph, the war continued indecisively for another four years.
In 1801, the payments demanded by Tripoli from the U.S. were significantly increased. The newly elected administration of Thomas Jefferson, an opponent of the tribute payments from their inception, refused to pay. As a result, Tripoli declared war on the United. States, and its navy began to seize American ships and crews in an attempt to coerce the Jefferson administration into acceding to their demands. The United States Navy was given the authority to conduct limited operations against Tripoli. By July 1801 the American squadron had begun to run low on water. In order to replenish his supplies, Dale dispatched Enterprise, commanded by Lieutenant Andrew Steretto, to provision at the British naval base on Malta, while the commodore himself remained off Tripoli with the frigate USS President to maintain the blockade.
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This page is based on the article Action of 1 August 1801 published in Wikipedia (as of Nov. 11, 2020) and was automatically summarized using artificial intelligence.
