Editing William Bainbridge (section)

==Service in US Navy==
[[File:William Bainbridge 2.jpg|thumb|upright|William Bainbridge, Commander of the ''USS Retaliation'' in 1798]]
Bainbridge saw service in several wars and commanded a number of famous early U.S. Navy vessels including {{USS|George Washington|1798|6}}, USS ''Philadelphia'' and USS ''Constitution'', ultimately becoming a member of the board of naval commissioners during the latter part of his long naval career.

===Quasi-War===
With the organization of the United States Navy in 1798, Bainbridge was included in the naval officer corps and in September 1798 was appointed commanding Lieutenant of the schooner {{USS|Retaliation|1798|6}}. He was ordered to patrol the waters in the [[West Indies]] along with Captain Williams of USS ''Norfolk'', both of whom were under the command of Murray, who was in command of the frigate USS ''Montezuma''.<ref>[[#Harris|Harris, 1837]] p.25</ref> On November 20, 1798, Lt. Bainbridge surrendered ''Retaliation'' without resistance to two French frigates, ''Volontier'', with 44 guns and ''l'Insurgente'' bearing 40 guns, after he mistook them for British warships and approached them without identifying them.<ref>[[#Barnes1897|Barnes, 1897]] pp. 45–46</ref> Bainbridge and his crew were taken aboard ''Volontier'' where the two French frigates continued in their pursuit of other nearby American vessels. During the flight to capture the Americans, Bainbridge offered words of caution to the French commander of ''L' Insurgente'', Captain St. Laurent, about American strength; this made St. Laurent wait for his consorts far behind him.<ref>[[#Cooper2|Cooper, 1846]] pp. 15–17</ref>

''Retaliation'' was the first ship in the nascent [[United States Navy]] to be surrendered.  Bainbridge was not disciplined for this action.

In March 1799, Bainbridge was appointed Master Commandant of the [[brig]] {{USS|Norfolk|1798|6}} of 18 guns and ordered to cruise against the French.<ref>[[#Barnes1897|Barnes, 1897]] page 54</ref><ref>[[#Harris|Harris, 1837]] pages 36-37</ref>{{clear}}

===First Barbary War===
[[File:BainbridgeTribute.jpg|left|thumb|220px|William Bainbridge pays tribute to the [[Dey of Algiers]]]]
In 1800 during the months before the [[First Barbary War]] broke out, Bainbridge, who was now Capt. of USS George Washington, was given the ignominious task of carrying the [[tribute]] which the United States still paid to the [[Dey]] of [[Algiers]] to secure exemption from capture for U.S. merchant ships in the Mediterranean.<ref name="EB1911">{{EB1911|inline=y|wstitle=Bainbridge, William|volume=3|page=223|first=David|last=Hannay|authorlink=David Hannay (historian)}}</ref>  Upon arrival in the 24-gun [[USS George Washington (1798)|USS ''George Washington'']], he allowed the harbor pilot to guide him directly under the guns of the fort overlooking the harbor. Upon his arrival the Dey demanded that Bainbridge use his ship to ferry the Algerian ambassador and tributary gifts to [[Constantinople]], and that he fly the Algerian flag during the journey. With ''George Washington'' under the guns of the fort and surrounded by the Dey's warships and military personnel Bainbridge reluctantly complied for fear of imprisonment, raised the Algerian flag on his masthead and delivered gifts of animals and slaves to Constantinople.<ref>{{cite book
  |author-link=Max Boot |last=Boot |first=Max |title=The Savage Wars of Peace |location=[[New York City|New York]]
  |publisher=[[Basic Books]] |isbn=046500721X |lccn=2004695066
  |year= 2003 |page=12}}</ref><ref>[[#Tucker|Tucker, 2004]] pages 25–26</ref> After returning to the U.S. on 4 May 1801, he was relieved of command, and was succeeded by Lt. John Shaw as Captain. He commanded [[USS Essex (1799)| USS Essex]] on her second cruise, receiving command from Capt. Preble on 29 May, 1801,<ref>{{cite book |url=https://ibiblio.org/anrs/docs/E/E3/nd_barbarywars_v01p03.pdf |title=Naval Documents related to the United States Wars with the Barbary Powers Volume I Part 3 of 4 1785 through 1801 |pages=480 |publisher=U.S. Government Printing Office |via=Ibiblio |access-date=17 October 2024}}</ref>

[[Thomas Jefferson|President Jefferson]] found that bribing the pirate [[Barbary states]] did not work, and decided to use force. On May 21, 1803, Bainbridge was placed in command of [[USS Philadelphia (1799)|USS ''Philadelphia'']], tasked with enforcing a [[blockade]] of [[Tripoli, Libya]]. Bainbridge ran the [[Ship grounding|ship aground]] on an uncharted reef on October 21, 1803. Bainbridge made the situation worse by putting on all sail before sounding around the boat to determine the actual situation, resulting in driving the ship hard onto the bank.  All efforts to refloat her under five hours of cannon fire from Tripolitan gunboats, inaccurate fire that with no shots coming near the powerful frigate, and Bainbridge decided to surrender. Before doing so he ordered all small arms thrown overboard, the powder magazine flooded and the naval signal book destroyed.<ref>[[#Allen, 1905|Allen, 1905]], p.148</ref> Soon afterward, the ship floated free after high [[tide]] and was captured by the Pasha of Tripoli. Bainbridge and his crewmen were imprisoned in Tripoli for nineteen months.<ref>[[#Barnes1896|Barnes, 1896]] p.79</ref>

Lieutenant [[Stephen Decatur]] commanding {{USS|Intrepid|1798|6}} executed a night raid into [[Tripoli, Libya]] harbor on February 16, 1804, to destroy ''Philadelphia''. Admiral [[Horatio Nelson]] is said to have called this "the most bold and daring act of the Age".<ref Name="Cooper">{{cite journal|last=Cooper|first=James Fenimore|title=Old Ironsides|journal=Putnam's Monthly|volume=I|issue=V|date=May 1853|url=http://external.oneonta.edu/cooper/texts/ironsides.html|access-date=20 October 2009|archive-date=December 24, 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161224083512/http://external.oneonta.edu/cooper/texts/ironsides.html|url-status=dead}}</ref><ref name="Abbot Part 1">Abbot 1896, Volume I, Part I, Chapter XVI</ref><ref>''See'', Leiner, Frederick C., [https://news.usni.org/2012/07/22/searching-nelsons-quote "Searching for Nelson's Quote"], ''[[USNI News]]'', [[United States Naval Institute]], February 5, 2013, setting forth the evidence for and against that quote.</ref>

The capture of ''Philadelphia'' and its crew also motivated President Jefferson's decision to send [[William Eaton (soldier)|William Eaton]], a former Army officer, known for his brash and defiant diplomacy, to Tripoli in 1805 to free the 300 American [[hostage]]s in what was the first U.S. covert mission to [[Regime change|overthrow a foreign government]]. William Eaton established a group of about 20{{dubious|date=January 2013}} Christian (eight of whom were [[United States Marine Corps|U.S. Marines]]) and perhaps 100{{dubious|date=January 2013}} Muslim [[mercenary|mercenaries]]{{Citation needed|date=May 2010}} to begin the takeover of Tripoli starting with Derna. He managed to trek with the small detachment of Marines led by [[Presley O'Bannon]] and his mercenary force over 500 miles. Supported at sea by [[Isaac Hull]], Captain of {{USS|Argus|1803|6}}, in an effective "combined operation", Eaton led the attack in the [[Battle of Derna (1805)|Battle of Derna]] on 27 April 1805. The town's capture, memorialized in the "[[Marines' Hymn]]" famous line "to the shores of Tripoli" and the threat of further advance on Tripoli, were strong influences toward peace, negotiated in June 1805 by [[Tobias Lear]] and Commodore [[John Rodgers (naval officer, War of 1812)|John Rodgers]] with the [[Pasha of Tripoli]].
[[File:PhiladelphiaAground.jpg|thumb|right|300px|[[USS Philadelphia (1799)|''Philadelphia'']] aground off Tripoli, in 1803]]
After four separate bombardments from Preble's squadron, Bainbridge was released from the prison in Tripoli on June 3, 1805<ref>[[#Barnes1896|Barnes, 1896]] p. 5–304</ref> and returned to the United States and received a warm welcome. Shortly thereafter a Naval Court of Inquiry tasked with looking into his surrender found no evidence of misconduct, and he was allowed to continue serving. On his release, he returned for a time to the merchant service in order to make good the loss of profit caused by his captivity.<ref name="EB1911"/> With the conclusion of the campaign against the Barbary states, the US Navy was downsized and nearly all of her frigates remained in port. Realizing war with the [[United Kingdom]] was imminent Bainbridge and Commodore Stewart hastened to Washington to urge President Jefferson and Congress to strengthen the country's naval forces. They concurred with this timely advice and Congress forced a change to this policy that had led the current naval force to decay in early 1809. Satisfied with the results Bainbridge returned to Boston and took command of the navy yard at Charlestown.<ref>[[#Barnes1896|Barnes, 1896]] page 80</ref>

Bainbridge took command of the [[frigate]] {{USS|President|1800|6}} in 1809 and began patrolling off the Atlantic coast in September of that year. Bainbridge was transferred to shore duty in June, 1810.<ref>[[#Harris|Harris, 1837]] pages 130–131</ref>

===War of 1812===
On 15 September, shortly after the [[War of 1812]] broke out between the [[United Kingdom]] and the [[United States]], Bainbridge was appointed to command the 44-gun frigate USS ''Constitution'', succeeding Captain [[Isaac Hull]].<ref>[[#Cooper2|Cooper, 1846]] page 59</ref> ''Constitution'' was an enormous frigate of 1,533 tons, armed with 24-pounders, which had already captured the 18-pounder frigate {{HMS|Guerriere|1806|6}} of 1072 tons. Under Bainbridge, she was sent to cruise in the South Atlantic.<ref name="EB1911"/><ref>[[#Roosevelt|Roosevelt, 1883]] pages 117–118</ref>

[[File:HMS Java 216885.JPG|thumb|264px|USS ''Constitution'' engaging HMS ''Java'']]
On 29 December 1812, Bainbridge fell in with the 38-gun {{HMS|Java|1811|6}}, off the coast of Brazil. ''Java'' was a vessel armed with 18-pounders and of 1,083 tons, formerly the French frigate ''Renommée''.<ref>[[#Barnes1896|Barnes, 1896]] p. ix</ref><ref>[[#Hickey|Hickey, 1989]] p. 96</ref> She had a crew of 300 men under Captain [[Henry Lambert]]<ref>[[#Barnes1896|Barnes, 1896]] p.84</ref> and was on her way to the [[East Indies]], carrying the newly appointed Lieutenant-General Hislop of [[Bombay]] and his staff along with dispatches to [[St. Helena]], [[Cape of Good Hope]] and every British port in the [[Indian Ocean|Indian]] and [[China Seas]].<ref>[[#Harris|Harris, 1837]] pp. 153–154</ref> She had an inexperienced crew with only a very few trained seamen, and her men had only had one day's gunnery drill.<ref name="EB1911"/> In addition to her crew, ''Java'' was carrying officers and seamen who were to join the British fleet in the East Indies bringing her complement to around 400, among them [[John Marshall (British captain)|Captain John Marshall]] who was to take command of a sloop of war stationed there.<ref name="Harris, 1837 p.147">[[#Harris|Harris, 1837]] p.147</ref> Under Bainbridge, ''Constitution'' had a well-drilled crew. ''Java'' was cut to pieces, with its rigging almost completely destroyed, and was forced to surrender, while having inflicted moderate damage to ''Constitution'', including removing ''Constitution''{{'}}s [[Ship's wheel|helm]] with shot and hitting the lower masts (which did not fall because of their large diameter). During the action, Bainbridge was wounded twice, but maintained command throughout. ''Java'' fought extremely well as compared to the ''Guerriere'' and ''Macedonian'' which had been taken earlier that year by similarly overwhelming force. ''Java'' successfully outmaneuvered the large ''Constitution'' until her jib was shot away. If  ''Constitution'' had been built with smaller diameter masts, she would have been dismasted. Fortunately, ''Constitution's'' masts were so wide that the smaller 18 lb shot from ''Java'' could not penetrate them. After three hours of intense fighting, ''Constitution'' prevailed. Because of the heavy damage inflicted on ''Java'' and the great distance from the American coast, Bainbridge decided to burn his prize.<ref name="Harris, 1837 p.147"/> On March 3, 1813, [[James Madison|President Madison]] presented Bainbridge with the [[Congressional Gold Medal]] for his service aboard ''Constitution''.<ref>[[#Harris|Harris, 1837]] pages 170–171</ref>

[[File:Engraving depicting Bainbridge Squadron off Algiers.jpg|thumb|268px|Bainbridge Squadron off Algiers]]

===Second Barbary War===
{{See also|Piracy in the Caribbean}}
[[File:United States squadron under Com. Bainbridge returning triumphant from the Mediterranean in 1815 - J.B. Fanning des. ; G.G. Smith sc. LCCN2012645429.jpg|thumb|The United States ''Mediterranean'' squadron of 1815]]
After the conclusion of the war with Britain, the United States engaged in the [[Second Barbary War]] of 1815 (also known as the ''Algerian War''). It was the second of two wars fought between the [[United States]] and the [[Ottoman Empire|Ottoman Empire's]] [[North Africa]]n regencies of [[Ottoman Tripolitania|Tripoli]], [[Beylik of Tunis|Tunis]], and [[Regency of Algiers|Algeria]] known collectively as the [[Barbary states]]. On March 3, 1815, the US Congress authorized deployment of naval power against the Regency of Algiers, and two squadrons were assembled and readied for war. Bainbridge served against the Barbary pirates and was commander of the US squadron sent to Algiers to enforce a blockade, show the extent of American naval resources and determination and enforce the neutrality and peace that was established by [[Stephen Decatur]] and William Shaler. The war ended in 1815 with the victory of the United States.<ref>[[#Harris|Harris, 1837]] pp. 198–200</ref>

===USS ''Columbus''===
Bainbridge transported [[Antonio Canova|Canova]]'s ''[[George Washington (Canova)|George Washington]]'' from Italy to [[Boston]] aboard his flagship {{USS|Columbus|1819|6}}. The statue was delivered to Boston, transported to [[Raleigh, North Carolina|Raleigh]], North Carolina, and then installed in the rotunda of the [[North Carolina State House]] on December 24, 1821.<ref name=haywood>{{cite journal |last1=Haywood |first1=Marshall DeLancey |editor-last=Bassett |editor-first=John Spencer |editor-link=John Spencer Bassett |title=Canova's Statue of Washington |journal=The South Atlantic Quarterly |date=1902 |volume=1 |issue=3 |pages=280–1 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=t8Y5AAAAMAAJ&pg=PA280 |publisher=[[Duke University]] |location = Durham, North Carolina|doi=10.1215/00382876-1-3-278 |s2cid=258264323 }}</ref>
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