Edward Preble

For the American naturalist (1871-1957), see Edward Alexander Preble.

Commodore Edward Preble (1761-1807).

Edward Preble (15 August 1761 – 25 August 1807) was a United States naval officer who served with great distinction during the 1st Barbary War, leading American attacks on the city of Tripoli and forming the officer corps that would later lead the U.S. Navy to victory in the War of 1812.

Early life and Revolutionary War

Preble was born at Falmouth, Eastern Massachusetts, now Portland, Maine, 15 August 1761, the son of Gen. Jedidiah Preble. As a boy, his home was destroyed in the burning of Falmouth by British Naval Commander Henry Mowatt. It is said that this action compelled Preble to join the Navy. It also contributed to his terrible temper later in life. In 1779 he was appointed to the Massachusetts State Navy, becoming an officer in the 26 gun ship Protector. Becoming a British prisoner when that ship was captured in 1781, he was held for a time in the prison ship New Jersey. On his release, he served in the Massachusetts Navy sloop Winthrop and led a boarding party to cut out a British brig at Castine, Maine. At the opening of this action, the Winthrop passed by the enemy ship so quickly that only Preble and 14 of his 45-man boarding party managed to get aboard. As Winthrop came back around to make another pass, Winthrop's captain, George Little, asked Preble if he wanted more men. Preble, realizing that he would lose the element of surprise if he disclosed his far weaker position, coolly replied, "No. We have more than we want. We stand in each others' way!" Going below with pistols in hand, he caught a portion of the crew still in their hammocks. Preble then announced that all were prisoners and that any resistance would be in vain. As British soldiers on shore began firing, Preble worked his prize out to sea while the Winthrop turned to deliver a broadside in reply before making her escape.

United States Navy service

Fifteen years of merchant service followed his Revolutionary War service and, in April 1798, he was appointed First Lieutenant in the U.S. Navy. In January 1799, he assumed command of the 14 gun brig Pickering and took her to the West Indies to protect American commerce during the Quasi-War with France. Commissioned Captain 7 June 1799, he took command of Essex in December and sailed in January 1800 for the Pacific to provide similar protective services for Americans engaged in the East Indies trade.

Philadelphia aground off Tripoli, in 1803.

Given command of the 3rd Squadron, with Constitution as his flagship, in 1803, he sailed for the Barbary coast and by October had promoted a treaty with Morocco and established a blockade off Tripoli in the First Barbary War. Stephen Decatur, William Bainbridge, Charles Stewart, Isaac Hull, Thomas Macdonough, James Lawrence, and David Porter served under his command at Tripoli.

While commanding in Tripoli, Preble masterminded the burning of the USS Philadelphia on February 16, 1804, preventing the frigate from falling into enemy hands. Had Tripoli gained the use of the Philadelphia, the entire blockade would have been wasted. Stephen Decatur and his younger brother, James Decatur, led the actual operation.

James Decatur was killed in the fighting later that year aboard one of the squadron's attack craft.

EDWARDO PREBLE DUCI STRENUO COMITIA AMERICANA. (The American Congress to Edward Preble, a valiant officer.)

Reverse of Congressional Medal. VINDICI COMMERCII AMERICANI. (To the vindicator of American commerce.) Exergue: ANTE TRIPOLI MDCCCIV. (Off Tripoli, 1804). Representing the bombardment, by the American fleet in the foreground, of the forts and town of Tripoli in the background. The American vessels are drawn up in line, and several boats manned are seen in the water casting off to the attack of the enemy's shipping and batteries.

Over the course of his career, Preble helped establish many of the modern Navy's rules and regulations. Described as a stern taskmaster, he kept high discipline upon the ships under his command. He also dictated that his ships be kept in a state of readiness for any action while under sail, something many US naval officers at the time did not insist upon. Future sea captains such as Decatur, Lawrence, and Porter took his procedures to heart at a time when the US Navy was highly unregulated. Many of Preble’s procedures became doctrine after the establishment of an official US Navy. The officers serving under him during his career also went on to become influential in the Navy Department after his death, and together they proudly wore the unofficial title of "Preble's Boys". (When Preble took over command he discovered that his oldest officer was 30 and the youngest 15 years old. He therefore grumbled the Secretary of the Navy had given him "just a pack of schoolboys".)

Preble's Mediterranean cruise led directly to the US government's firm anti-negotiation stance. Many Mediterranean states, including Tripoli, had been pirating American shipping vessels, ransoming the sailors, and demanding tribute to prevent future pirate attacks. The tribute rose after each successful payment, as did the brutality and boldness of the attacks.

End of career

In September 1804, Commodore Preble requested relief due to a long time illness. He returned to the United States in February 1805 and became engaged in the comparably light duty of shipbuilding activities at Portland, Maine. By Congressional resolution in March, 1805, a gold medal was struck and presented to Commodore Preble for the "gallantry and good conduct" of himself and his squadron at Tripoli. President Jefferson offered him the Navy Department in 1806, but Preble declined appointment due to his poor health. He died in Portland of a gastrointestinal illness on 25 August 1807.

Legacy

• Six ships of the United States Navy named USS Preble
• Preble Hall at the United States Naval Academy
• Preble County in Ohio
• Fort Preble at Spring Point in South Portland, Maine
• Preble Street in Portland, Maine
• Preble Street in Bremerton, Washington
• Preble Township, Minnesota
• Town of Preble, Cortland County, NY
• Preble, Wisconsin, a former town in Wisconsin, now part of the city of Green Bay
  • Preble High School in Green Bay, Wisconsin

In fiction

Preble appears as a character in the science fiction novel Time for Patriots, ISBN 978-1-60693-224-7, performing much as he did historically.

Further reading

• Preble, George Henry. A genealogical Sketch of the First Three Generations of Prebles in America. Boston: David Clapp & Son, 1868. Excerpt, pp. 162–180.
• Pratt, Fletcher. Preble's Boys: Commodore Preble and the Birth of American Sea Power. New York: William Sloane, 1950.
• McKee, Christopher. Edward Preble: A Naval Biography 1761-1807. Annapolis: Naval Institute Press, 1972. ISBN 0-87021-525-6
• London, Joshua E. Victory in Tripoli: How America's How America's War with the Barbary Pirates Established the U.S. Navy and Shaped a Nation. New Jersey: John Wiley & Sons, Inc., 2005. ISBN 0-471-44415-4
• White, William H. The Greater The Honor. Tiller Publishing, 2003. ISBN 1-888671-44-0
• Berube, Claude and Rodgaard, John. A Call to the Sea: Captain Charles Stewart of the USS Constitution. Hamden Virginia: Potomac Books, Inc., 2006. ISBN 1-57488-996-6

External links

• USSPreble.org
• Congressional Gold Medal
• VictoryInTripoli.com