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Undercover Travels with Charley, Thomas Jefferson Street 79, Cleveland, OH (2026)

02/17/2020

USS Philadelphia™ - Barbary pirates Story™

On 16 February 1803, United States Navy Lieutenant Stephen Decatur burns the USS Philadelphia in the Harbor of Tripoli.

Shortly after winning its independence, the fledgling United States of America became embroiled in a decades old conflict in the far-off waters of the Mediterranean Sea. For decades, small interdependent kingdoms of North Africa, known collectively as the Barbary Coasts, had controlled the shipping within the Mediterranean, demanding tribute from the various European powers to operate there. For the most part, entities such as Britain and France, obliged, paying tribute so as to ply in the rich trade routes found in the Mediterranean. When the United States won its independence, the Barbary States, consisting of independent kingdoms such as Morocco, or client-states of the Ottoman Empire such as Tunis, Algiers, and most notably Tripoli, considered the new nation as just another power to expect tribute. When the United States refused to pay the tribute, the First Barbary War (1801-1805) broke out, when the Barbary State of Tripoli formally declared war on the United States. For this reason, the First Barbary War is often referred to as the Tripolitanian War.

The Barbary States were not a force to be trifled with on the water, as each employed state-sponsored privateers to enforce their control over Mediterranean trade. The Barbary Corsairs, otherwise (technically incorrectly) referred to as Barbary pirates, were skilled sailors and capable fighters who had garnered a notorious reputation. Like privateers of European nations, the Barbary Corsairs’ main occupation was the raiding of shipping, engaging anyone they considered an enemy to their individual state, i.e. anyone who didn’t pay the tribute. Pillaging shipping and plundering goods, slaves, commodities, and all other similar staples of privateers were in the playbook of the Corsairs and would be the fate of any United States trader in Mediterranean waters.

To meet the Barbary threat the United States sent some of their new warships, including the USS Philadelphia, to combat the raiding. As the First Barbary War was centered around Tripoli, the United States main tactic was to blockade the port and starve it of resources until it would surrender or sue for peace. It was here that the USS Philadelphia ran aground and, stranded, was captured along with her crew by Tripolitan gunboats.

The loss of the USS Philadelphia was a major blow to United States prestige, but more importantly it had grave tactical and strategic implications. The USS Philadelphia was one of the United States Navy’s famed “six frigates,” frigates that were state-of-the-art designed to be both fast, hard hitting, and strong. The USS Constitution, otherwise known as “Old Ironsides,” was one of the Philadelphia’s sister frigates. Not only would the possession of the Philadelphia by Tripolitan forces swing naval power in Tripoli’s favor, it could also mean that the Tripolitans could have reverse-engineer the ship to design their own super frigates for the war. This could not be allowed, and so a plan was devised to either recapture or destroy the USS Philadelphia to deny its use by the enemy.

On the night of February 16, 1803, United States Sailors and Marines under the command of Lieutenant Stephen Decatur, and dressed as Sicilian merchants, sneaked into the harbor of Tripoli, successfully boarded and captured the Philadelphia and, upon discovering that there was no way to save her, set her ablaze.

Decatur had managed to successfully board and capture the Philadelphia without losing a single one of his 74 men. Tripoli lost the 20 men left to guard the vessel as well as the USS Philadelphia itself. Unfortunately, Decatur was unable to free the crew of the Philadelphia who would remain prisoners of the Bey of Tripoli until the conclusion of the war. British Admiral Horatio Nelson would refer to the secret mission to burn the Philadelphia in the very den of the Tripolitan harbor as “The Most Daring Act of the Age.”

04/04/2019

The Wavel castle™ - Kazimierz Wielki Story™

As the Middle Ages progressed Cracow became Poland's leading urban centre. During the reign of Kazimierz Wielki (1333-70), the city became a place of riches and splendour, with new buildings, artisans' workshops, merchants' shops, churches and monasteries; in 1364, the king founded Cracow University.

The city continued to grow under the protection of the Jagiellonian dynasty, particularly during the reign of Zygmunt I Stary (1506-48). He rebuilt Wavel castle in a magnificent Renaissance style for his residence, and also married an Italian princess, Bona Sforza. This, in turn, led to many Italian artists visiting the city and contributed greatly to the golden age of Cracow's cultural development.

Trade and Urban Development in Poland: An Economic Geography of Cracow, from its Origins to 1795, p. 26. Cambridge University Press.

02/09/2019

The Valois in Fontainebleau™ - Catherine De Medici Story™

Between 6 and 15 February 1564, Catherine De Medici organized grandiose carnival parties in Fontainebleau, the most sumptuous that the kingdom had ever known.

It is a succession of banquets, masquerades, nautical jousting, tournaments and dances, bringing together protestants and Catholics, the whole court and the royal family. In this first truce of the wars of religion that tear up the kingdom, after the peace of amboise, the Queen-Mother and regent seek to dazzle her subjects and soothe tensions, in the line of cultural and prestige policy that her stepfather François I had inaugurated.

On this extraordinary piece of the so-called valois hangings, woven in Brussels around 1575 according to a drawing by Antoine Caron and kept at the offices in Florence, we recognize Henry III and his wife Louise of Lorraine, while in the background , the courtyard of the fountain, the gardens and the pond welcome a surprising nautical show!

12/17/2018

Commerce Raider™ - Raphael Semmes Story™

On this 15 December 1865, Rear Admiral of the Confederate States of America Raphael Semmes is arrested by the United States on charges of Treason.

Raphael Semmes was one of the most successful Confederate privateers of the American Civil War. Born in Maryland and graduating from Charlotte Hall Naval Academy as a midshipman, Semmes served in the United States Navy during the Mexican-American war. Afterwards, when the State of Alabama, where Semmes now resided, formally seceded from the Union, Semmes followed suit in resigning his commission from the Navy, and durned his sights to assist the Confederacy.

Semmes was initially assigned to the Confederate Lighthouse Board, much to Semmes’ chagrin. With some political maneuvering, he was eventually assigned to a more appealing role in which he would captain a cruiser with the intent of disrupting Union trade. Raphael Semmes had been assigned as a “Commerce Raider,” a slightly more legitimate privateer, whose purpose it was to engage and raid enemy merchant vessels, rather than face warships. His first vessel was the CSS “Sumpter,” a refitted packet steamship formerly known as the “Havana.” Semmes proved successful commanding the Sumpter, capturing some 18 Union merchantmen before having the Sumpter converted back into a merchant herself.

Later, Semmes was assigned to a newly commissioned steam sloop-of-war cruiser he christened the CSS “Alabama,” named after his home state. Semmes and the Alabama cruised the North Atlantic, harassing Union shipping mainly around the Açores. After three months, Semmes had captured and burned some 65 Union merchantmen, far surpassing is work on the Sumter. This success would not last, however, as Semmes and the Alabama would be cornered in France. Semmes attempted to dock in Cherbourg, France for repairs after successive raiding cruise. Soon after the Union vessel USS Kearsarge, a sloop-of-war that had been hunting the Alabama for almost two years, blockaded the port. Not wishing to see his ship and crew captured while in drydock, Semmes ordered to sail out and engage the Kearsarge. On June 19, 1864, the two ships clashed. The two vessels exchanged fire at close distance. Due to poor powder and shells on the part of the Alabama, and to the chain armor of the Kearsarge, the Alabama was soundly defeated. After almost an hour, the CSS Alabama was sinking below the waves.

Semmes himself was able to escape capture, fleeing to England and later Cuba until he returned to Alabama in November 1864, where he was eventually promoted to Rear Admiral of the Confederate Navy for his exploits. At the conclusion of the war, Semmes was eventually arrested on December 15, 1865 on charges of treason (and in some accounts, piracy). These charges were never brought to court, however, as Semmes was later released with no incident, eventually serving as a judge and later as a professor at Louisiana State University.

Today, the legacy of Raphael Semmes is still debated. The legality of his actions and his position as a “Commerce Raider” are questionable. Much like the Continental Navy during the American Revolution, the Confederate Navy relied heavily on attacking commerce rather than navy-on-navy engagements, ad just like the early American exploits, the activities of the Confederate privateers and “commerce raiders” are established on shaky foundations. The Confederate States of America was never recognized by any Sovereign Nation as a separate entity from the United State of America. Without its own sovereignty being recognized, the CSA was (from a legal standpoint) seen as simply the rebelling southern states (much like how during the Revolution, the United States were seen only as the rebelling colonies until France publicly and formally acknowledged their sovereignty via an alliance). As such, any and all letters of marque, the official legal document designating a privateer from a lawless pirate, were not seen as legitimate by the United States or any other world power, meaning that in they eyes of everyone save the Confederacy, these privateers and “commerce raiders” were nothing more than pirates.

Raphael Semmes’ legacy does live on, however, as there is a statue dedicated to him in Mobile Alabama. Some places have decided to distance themselves from his legacy however: In the past year, a road previously name Raphael Semmes Road on the Campus of Louisiana State University, where Semmes taught as a professor, was recently changed to “Veterans Drive” recognizing all veterans.

11/18/2018

Dar ul-Dzihad™ - Prince Eugene of Savoy Story™

In the summer of 1717, Prince Eugene of Savoy moved to crush the final bastion of his Ottoman Turk enemies—Belgrade. “Either I will take Belgrade, or the Turks will take me"...

Beneath the Gothic steeples of their churches, the priests of Wallachia prayed that the Austrians would deliver them from the Turkish yoke. The cold winter winds howled outside the massive stone walls. Imperial raiders galloped through the white countryside of Wallachia, Bosnia, and Serbia. Although major hostilities had ceased for the winter, the war between Holy Roman Emperor Charles VI and Ottoman Sultan Ahmed III continued to drag on.

Far to the west, across the frozen Hungarian plain to the crags of the Alps, the city of Vienna, hub of the Habsburg Empire, nestled between the Danube and Vienna Rivers. Nobles feasted and waltzed in gold-and-white marbled palaces, celebrating the year’s victories of their champion, Field Marshal Prince Eugene of Savoy. A year earlier, Eugene had defeated the Turks at Peterwardein, the “Gibraltar of Hungary,” and then proceeded to wrest control of Temesvár, the last Turkish stronghold north of the Danube. The 53-year-old prince was not only the Holy Roman Empire’s most celebrated warrior, but also one of the great captains of his age.

https://ludwigheinrichdyck.wordpress.com/2018/10/14/prince-eugenes-last-ride/?fbclid=IwAR3v4rVF0Y_ixxVT-Fd1oXV6u8hR89HlAw7Bcc5FOFs6zF564YFLmDy-9tU

11/02/2018

Free disposal of the French™ - Talleyrand and Mirabeau Story™

A day like today, November 2, 1789, the first nationalization or nationalisation of modern western history was carried out.

The Presidency of the French National Assembly decides in Paris to declare "Free disposal of the French" the goods and circulating money of the French church to alleviate the balance of payments and the default in which France had plunged after the take of the Bastille, which resulted in a low tax fundraiser and the imminent devaluation of its currency in the market.

The President of the assembly had first put to the vote the proposal to declare that the goods of the clergy belonged to the nation. In front of the numerous Clamores who stood up against this proposal, Talleyrand and Mirabeau proposed to decree only that "the property of the clergy would be available to the nation."

The Fortune of the church was considerable and had been tempting some men of state for over a century. The last scruples to seize this fortune now could fall. Constituted in part by the will of the dying, the fortune of the clergy was just a deposit of the faithful, so that the citizens were in their hands and the state, the citizens now needed this money. Another group of constituents, which could be described as anticatólico, also pushed in this direction. This group found interesting to confuse the clergy with the revolution and ruin the church to destroy the ecclesiastical body. Rabaud Saint-Etienne will say the day after the vote on nationalization: "the clergy is no longer an order! It's no longer a body, it's no longer a republic in the empire... priests can walk at the speed of the state. It only remains to marry them". this same group will act with the same goal in the civil Constitution of the clergy.

2 November 1789: the constituent National Assembly puts the property of the clergy "at the disposal of the nation".

The President of the National Assembly first put to the vote the proposal to declare that the property of the clergy belonged to the nation. In the face of the numerous cries against this proposal, Talleyrand and Mirabeau proposed only that "the property of the clergy would be at the disposal of the nation."

The Fortune of the church was considerable and had been trying for more than a century some men of state The last scruples to seize this fortune could now fall. Formed in part by the will of the dying, the fortune of the clergy was only a deposit of the faithful so citizens in his hands and the state so the citizens now needed that money. Another group of constituents, which could be described as Catholic, also grew in this direction. This group found it interesting to scramble the clergy with the revolution and ruin the church to destroy the ecclesiastical body. Rabaud Saint-Etienne will say after the vote on nationalization: " the clergy are no longer an order! He is no longer a body, he is no longer a republic in the empire.... priests can walk at the pace of the state. All we have to do is marry them "the same group will act with the same goal in the civil Constitution of the clergy."

10/10/2018

Corps of Discovery™ - Thomas Jefferson Story™

The Corps of Discovery was a specially-established unit of the United States Army which formed the nucleus of the Lewis and Clark Expedition that took place between May 1804 and September 1806. The Corps, which was a select group of volunteers, were led jointly by Captain Meriwether Lewis and Second Lieutenant William Clark. Commissioned by President Thomas Jefferson, the Corps' objectives were scientific and commercial even – to study the area's plants, animal life, and geography, and to learn how the Louisiana Purchase could be exploited economically.

The goals of the Corps of Discovery, whose cadre would be raised primarily from the U.S. military, was to explore the Louisiana Purchase, and establish trade and U.S. sovereignty over the native peoples along the Missouri River. Jefferson also wanted to establish a U.S. claim to the Pacific Northwest and Oregon territory by documenting an American presence there before other Europeans, such as the British, could lay title to the land.

The U.S. mint prepared special silver medals with a portrait of Jefferson and had a message of friendship and peace, called Indian Peace Medals or peace medals. The soldiers were to distribute them to the nations they met. But the Corps would be prepared for any acts of hostility because it would be equipped with the most advanced weapons available, such as rifles and a .46 caliber Girandoni Air Rifle.

The Corps of Discovery was equipped with sufficient black powder and lead for their flintlock fi****ms, knives, blacksmithing supplies, and cartography equipment. They also carried flags, gift bundles, medicine and other items they would need for their journey. Much time went into ensuring a sufficient supply of these items.

To create the Corps of Discovery, and to ensure any chance of success, Lewis wanted to find the best possible men he could and recruit them to join his expedition. Men were expected to be excellent hunters and possess skills that would ensure their survival in the wilderness. He also wanted men who were brave, unmarried, and healthy. Lewis entrusted recruitment to Clark. He first went to Louisville, Kentucky where he found his first recruits in then Clarksville, Indiana. This group eventually became known as the "Nine Young Men from Kentucky": William Bratton, John Colter, Joseph Field, Reubin Field, Charles Floyd, George Gibson, Nathaniel Pryor, George Shannon, and John Shields. In total almost a third of the party's permanent members – forming the heart of the Corps – were from Louisville, Clarksville or their surrounding areas.

10/10/2018

USS Princeton disaster™ - John Tyler Story™

A ceremonial cruise down the Potomac River was held aboard the newly built USS Princeton on February 28, 1844, the day after completion of the annexation treaty. Aboard the ship were 400 guests, including Tyler and his cabinet, as was the world's largest naval gun, the "Peacemaker." The gun was ceremoniously fired several times in the afternoon to the great delight of the onlookers, who then filed downstairs to offer a toast. Several hours later, Captain Robert F. Stockton was convinced by the crowd to fire one more shot. As the guests moved up to the deck, Tyler paused briefly to watch his son-in-law, William Waller, sing a ditty.

At once an explosion was heard from above: the gun had malfunctioned. Tyler was unhurt, having remained safely below deck, but a number of others were killed instantly, including his crucial cabinet members, Gilmer and Upshur. Also killed or mortally wounded were Virgil Maxcy of Maryland, Rep. David Gardiner of New York, Commodore Beverley Kennon, Chief of Construction of the United States Navy, and Armistead, Tyler's black slave and body servant. The death of David Gardiner had a devastating effect on his daughter, Julia, who fainted and was carried to safety by the president himself. Julia later recovered from her grief and married Tyler.

For Tyler, any hope of completing the Texas plan before November (and with it, any hope of re-election) was instantly dashed. Historian Edward P. Crapol later wrote that "Prior to the Civil War and the assassination of Abraham Lincoln," the Princeton disaster "unquestionably was the most severe and debilitating tragedy ever to confront a President of the United States."

10/10/2018

James Monroe Story™

Born on April 28, 1758, in Westmoreland County, Virginia, James Monroe enjoyed all the advantages accruing to the son of a prosperous planter. His father, Spence Monroe, traced his ancestry back to relative who had fought at the side of Charles I in the English civil wars before being captured and exiled to Virginia in 1649. His mother, Elizabeth Jones Monroe, was of Welsh heritage but little is known about her. Beginning at the age of 11, Monroe attended a school run by Reverend Archibald Campbell. His time at this school overlapped with that of John Marshall, who later became the chief justice of the United States.

Monroe's parents died when he was in his mid-teens, his father having passed away in 1774 and his mother likely doing so some time earlier (though her actual date of death is unknown). James and his siblings shared an inheritance of land and some slaves, and he and his two brothers—his sister had already married—became wards of their uncle, Joseph Jones. Jones became a mentor and friend to James, often offering him advice and support.

In 1774, Monroe entered the College of William and Mary in Williamsburg, Virginia. His education took place not only in the classroom but also throughout the town, which was the capital of colonial Virginia. It was an exciting time to be in Williamsburg. Royal Governor Dunmore had fled the capital, fearing that the colonists were a danger to him and his family; after he left, Monroe and some of his fellow classmates helped loot the arsenal at the Governor's Palace. They escaped with 200 muskets and 300 swords, which they donated to the Virginia militia. By the winter of 1776, in the wake of Lexington and Concord, Monroe had joined the Virginia infantry. He became an officer in the Continental Army and joined General George Washington's army in New York.

During the Revolution, Monroe fought with distinction in several important battles, including Trenton, Monmouth, Brandywine, and Germantown. He was severely hurt at the Battle of Trenton, suffering a near fatal wound to his shoulder as he led a charge against enemy cannon. After recuperating, he became a staff officer for General William Alexander. By the end of his service with the Continental Army, he had gained the rank of major; however, because of an excess of officers, he had little possibility of commanding soldiers in the field. He thus resigned his commission in the Continental Army in 1779 and was appointed colonel in the Virginia service. In 1780, Governor Thomas Jefferson sent Monroe to North Carolina to report on the advance of the British.

Undercover Travels with Charley

02/17/2020

04/04/2019

02/09/2019

12/17/2018

11/18/2018

11/02/2018

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