RT Book, Whole DB /z-wcorg/ DS http://worldcat.org ID 56922429 LA English T1 The pirate coast : Thomas Jefferson, the first marines, and the secret mission of 1805 A1 Zacks, Richard., PB Hyperion PP New York YR 2005 SN 1401300030 9781401300036 AB In an attempt to stop the legendary Barbary Pirates of North Africa from hijacking American ships, William Eaton set out in 1805 on a secret mission to overthrow the government of Tripoli. The operation was sanctioned by President Thomas Jefferson, but at the last moment he grew wary of "intermeddling" in a foreign government, and Eaton set off without national support. Short on supplies, given very little money and only a few men, Eaton's mission seemed doomed from the start. But he improbably triumphed, recruiting a band of European mercenaries in Alexandria, along with some Arab cavalry and Bedouin fighters, and leading them on a march across the Libyan Desert. The success of the event is immortalized in the Marines' Hymn, but Jefferson never allowed Eaton the fame he craved.--From publisher description.