s; indeed, so highly was he pleased
with them, in 1800, that he signified to the consul his intention of
sending an ambassador to the Porte, with the customary presents, in the
Washington, a small American frigate, at that time lying in the harbor
of Algiers. In vain the consul and captain remonstrated, and represented
that they had no authority to send the vessel on such a mission; they
were silenced by the assurance that it was a particular honor conferred
on them, which the Dey had declined offering to any of the English
vessels then in harbor, as he was rather angry with that nation. The
Washington was obliged to be prepared for the service; the corsair flag,
bearing the turbaned head of Ali, was run up to her main top, under a
salute of seven guns; and in this respectable plight she sailed up the
Mediterranean, dropped anchor before the seven towers, where, having
landed her cargo, she was permitted to resume her own colors, and was
thus the first vessel to hoist the American Union in the Thracian
Bosphorus.

[Illustration: _Algerines in the act of firing off the French consul from
a mortar at the French fleet._]

In 1812, however, the Dey, finding his funds at a low ebb, and receiving
from all quarters reports that a wealthy American commerce was afloat,
determined on trying them with a new war. He was peculiarly unfortunate
in the time chosen, as the States, having about a month previously
declared war with Great Britain, had, in fact, withdrawn most of the
merchant ships from the sea, so that the only prize which fell into the
hands of the Dey's cruizers was a small brig, with a crew of eleven
persons. The time at length came for putting an end to these lawless
depredations, and peace having been concluded with England, President
Madison, in 1815, despatched an American squadron, under commodores
Bainbridge and Decatur, with Mr. Shaler, as envoy, on board, to demand
full satisfaction for all injuries done to American subjects, the
immediate release of such as were captives, the restitution of their
property, with an assurance that no future violence should be offered,
and also to negociate the preliminaries of a treaty on terms of perfect
equality, no proposal of tribute being at all admissible. The squadron
reached its destination early in June, and, having captured an Algerine
frigate and brig-of-war, suddenly appeared before Algiers, at a moment
when all the cruizers were at sea, and delivered, for the consi