In 1785, Barbary pirates, most notably from Algiers, began to seize American merchant vessels in the Mediterranean Sea. In 1793 alone, 11 American ships were captured and their crews and stores held for ransom. To combat … See more

President John Adams ordered all Navy ships to sea in late May 1798 to patrol for armed French ships and to free any American ship captured by them. Constitution was still not ready to sail and eventually … See more

The United States paid tribute to the Barbary States during the Quasi-War to ensure that American merchant ships were not harassed and seized. In 1801, Yusuf Karamanli of Tripoli was dissatisfied that the United Stat… See more

Constitution was recommissioned in December with Captain John Rodgers again taking command to oversee a major refitting. She was overhauled at a cost just under $100,000; however, Rodgers inexplicabl… See more