it had been occupied by General
Jackson. But for the delay caused by his fight with Captain Reid he
would have shut out General Jackson from the city and prevented his
winning the most glorious land victory of the whole war.

LESSER WARS.

CHAPTER XIX.

Resentment of the Barbary States--The War with Algiers--Captain
Decatur's Vigorous Course--His Astonishing Success as a Diplomat.

It was not alone in our wars with the leading nations that the American
navy won glory. Wherever there arose a demand for its work, its
patriotism, skill and bravery were instant to respond.

England had its hands full during the early years of the nineteenth
century in combating Napoleon Bonaparte and other nations with which she
became embroiled. Had she been wise and treated the United States with
justice, she would have saved herself the many humiliations received at
our hands. She is another nation to-day, but it was wholly her fault
that her "children" on this side of the ocean were forced to strike for
the defence of their rights in the Revolution and the War of 1812.

In the account of our war with Tripoli it has been shown that the young
American navy performed brilliant service. The Barbary States took
naturally to piracy, and Great Britain, by securing immunity for her
vessels through the payment of tribute, also secured a virtual monopoly
of the commerce of the Mediterranean. Her policy was a selfish one, for
she believed the United States was too weak to send any effective
warships into that part of the world. The story of Tripoli convinced her
of the mistake of this belief.

The Barbary States were sour over their defeat, and, when the War of
1812 broke out, they eagerly seized the occasion to pick a quarrel with
us. The Dey of Algiers opened the ball by insisting that $27,000 should
be paid him, the same being past due (under the old treaty providing for
tribute from the United States), owing to the difference in the methods
of computing time by the two countries. Since our war with England
prevented the sending of any force to the Mediterranean at that time,
the consul complied and the blackmail was handed to the Dey.

This concession only whetted the barbarian's appetite, and his next step
was to order the consul to leave the country, since he was not honest
enough to make his residence in the Dey's dominions congenial to the
latter. About that time the Dey received a present of valuable naval
stores from