LETTERS
DECK LOG Publishers' Circle of Support for Sea History T hanks to your strong support, NMH S weathered a particularly diffic ult struggle las t year. O ur Board ofTrustees is committed, more than ever, to the publication of Sea History as the most important activity we do. Not long ago, I ran into Peter Aron, C hairman Emeritus of South Street Seaport and a long time supporter of Sea History. O ur conversation naturally led to a discussion of N MHS and Sea History, and Peter suggested we create a Publishers' Circle of supporters who would pledge at least $ 10,000 a year for a number of years-donations that would go directly toward the costs of the magazin e. True to for m , N MHS received a check from Peter that same week. I phoned our treasurer Bill White right away to report this good news, and he signed up as a Publisher's C ircle member without hesitati on. D onald McGraw, a m ajor and long-time contributor, has always been an advocate of our keeping Sea History as the primary focus of our work and will be a valuable member of the group . Peter Aron said about Sea History, "W e need to get the story out ... and no one does that better than the crew at Sea History. Thank yo u for all that you do to hel p tell America's greatest story." We thank yo u, Peter Aron, fo r your vision and commitment to Ameri ca's maritime heritage, a cause you have served long and well . Sea History is in the process of being updated through its content and appearance; we are marketing it so a large r and more diverse readership can join in the lesso ns of their seafarin g heritage. W ith a handful of individuals pledging their support of this new Publishers' C ircle, Sea History is assured a solid and prospero us future. We look to yo u, our members, to make this happen. H OWARD SLOTN ICK
D ramatic exhibits at the Columbia River Maritime Museum capture attention.
C hairman National OutreachA Visit to the West Coast
As a membership organization, we recognize the importance of meeting our members and getting their feedback. Our members are more than the support and wisdom of the Society- they form the fo undation upon which everything we do res ts. We used the Council of American M aritime Museums (CAMM ) annual conference at the Columbia River M aritime Museum in As toria, Oregon as a chance to meet with some west coast N MHS members. Dick Wagner, Foundin g Director of the Center for Wooden Boats in Seattle, graciously hosted our member reception in their wonderful facility. What a pleasure to get to know our members, and what a diverse group we are. After we showed The Ghosts of Cape Horn, Thomas Wells, who had doubled the Horn as a young man, fascinated us with his stories. The Columbia River Maritime M useum is nothing short of spectacular. At the river's mouth, it exh ibits and interprets the richness of the Pacific No rthwest's maritime history. Executive director Jerry O stermiller orchestrated a memorable experience fo r all, and the conference provided us the opportuni ty to discuss with museum leaders fro m around the nati on the potential fo r cooperative projects in the future. B URC HENAL GREEN
Executive Director 2
Barbary Wars We received letters addressing William H. White's article on the Barbary Wars regarding both content and form. We are p leased to have readers knowledgeable enough to notice any inconsistencies in the accuracy of what we print, and I thank those who wrote in for bringing them to my attention. Mr. White has written the following in response. -DO'R Due to a variety of reasons, th e article on the Barbary Wars in the las t issue of Sea H istory 105 co ntained, at best, a misleading statement and, at the wo rst, a fallacious statement. I wo uld like to co rrect any misconceptions spawned by that articl e and set the hi sto rical record straight. On page 11 , the statement that Adams, Franklin, and Jefferson were se nt to England to seek a treaty with Tripoli is misleading; it appears as though th ey were sent after the Bas haw of Tripoli had declared war on the US-certainly not the case! Correctly, Adams, Jefferso n, and Franklin we re indeed commissio ned by Congress to negoti ate a treaty with No rth African interes ts-but in M ay of 1784. In 1785, Franklin left Paris where they had been attemp ting to obtain the release of the merchan t Betsey, captured by the Moroccan corsairs in March of that year. Franklin was not repl aced on the treaty co mmission, but Jefferson, by then minister to France, appointed T ho mas Barclay, consul general of the United States in Paris, to go to Morocco and negotiate a peace. This he acco mplished , havin g arri ved in June of 1786 and, with only a few modifications by succeeding empero rs of that co untry, the treaty stood well into the nineteenth century. O f course, when the Bashaw ofTripoli declared war on the US in M ay of 1801 , Commodore Dale was already in the Medi te rranean with a small squadron, and it was readily apparent th at further nego ti ation would be fruitless, thus began a series of Ameri can naval squadrons in the area. While Prebles' ships in 1803-04 li kely provided the most signifi cant impems fo r Yusef Karamanli to treat fo r peace, the conflict did not go to treaty until mid1805 when Co mm odore Barron (and
SEA HISTORY 106, WINTER 2004