[LESS INFO] 1 VIEWS | ADDED 02:13:56 07/04/11
The Mediterranean pirates of Tripoli and other North African states had plundered the seaborne commerce of England, France and the U.S. for centuries prior to 1800. These pirates had demanded tribute money, seized ships, and held crews for ransom or sold them into slavery. To combat these outrages, the United States sent then Lieutenant Stephen Decatur in 1804 to the Mediterranean to blockade the enemy coast, bombard the Tripoli shore fortresses, and engage in close, bitterly-contested gunboat actions. Dressed in authentic 1812 naval regalia, Rev. Biedler will delve the history of the relationship between the U.S. and the power brokers of the Mediterranean, which we see still taking place today, and why Decatur became a national hero. Rev. Biedler is the retired minister of the UU Fellowship of Decatur, IL and official re-enactor of Commodore Stephen Decatur for the City of Decatur.
