FEEBLE. 181 



54. EDWARD PREBLE. 



EDWARD PREBLE was born at Falmouth, Maine, August 15, 1761. He was 

 blessed from boyhood with a vigorous constitution and was little inclined to seden- 

 tary amusements. His leisure hours of youth were devoted to hunting and other 

 active exercise and he was very skillful with a gun. Thus on one occasion he 

 brought down five sparrows singly at successive shots. He was sent to Dummer 

 Academy to be fitted for college, but close study was not adapted to his temper- 

 ament. He left school and worked for a time on his father's farm, until one day 

 he suddenly threw down his hoe, declaring he would do no more such work, and, 

 trudging afoot to Falmouth, he entered at the age of 16 on board a privateer. 

 Thus he realized a desire he had long expressed to go to sea. In 1779 his father 

 procured for him a midshipman's warrant in the Massachusetts State marine. 

 He made several cruises in the ship Protector, in one of which she was captured 

 by the British and Preble was confined for a time hi the prison-ship Jersey, but 

 eventually released through the intervention of a friend at New York. As first 

 lieutenant he entered on board the sloop of war Winthrop, under Captain George 

 Little, and distinguished himself by capturing, in Penobscot harbor, an armed 

 English brig more powerful than his own vessel. After the war he visited various 

 parts of the world and resided in foreign countries as agent of an American com- 

 mercial house. In 1798 he was commissioned lieutenant and the following year 

 captain. In 1803 he took command of a squadron of six vessels, of which the 

 Constitution was the flagship, and set out to protect American commerce from 

 the attacks of the Barbary States. The Sultan of Morocco readily yielded to the 

 display of force and firmness of Preble, and he next turned to Tripoli and sent 

 the Philadelphia and Vixen to blockade its coast. In chasing an enemy vessel the 

 Philadelphia unfortunately ran aground in the harbor of Tripoli and was seized 

 by the enemy, who took her into the inner harbor and made her officers and men 

 prisoners. Through the intrepidity of Stephen Decatur, jr., who entered the 

 harbor and fired the ship, the capture of the Philadelphia was rendered of little 

 avail. The following summer Preble bombarded Tripoli with such destruction 

 of the Tripolitan navy lying there that negotiations for peace were begun; but the 

 terms offered not appearing suitable to Preble, he prepared for a second assault 

 and subsequent attacks were made. Before satisfactory terms were definitely 

 arranged Preble was relieved of his command by Commodore Barren, who arranged 

 the treaty that provided for mutual exchange of prisoners and waived further 

 payment of tribute the terms originally set by Preble. On returning home 

 Preble was offered the secretaryship of the navy, but failing health led him to 

 decline. He died hi 1807. 



Edward Preble was a large man, over 6 feet tall, and of striking figure. His 

 manners were polished and courtly and his address pleasant. His naval operations 

 against the Barbary States were comprehensive, direct, and sufficient. "He acted 

 upon the principle that 'the boldest measures are the safest.'" He had an "un- 

 governable temper, yet had the rare faculty of making and retaining friends." 

 He was a good disciplinarian and no feuds arose among his officers. 



Preble married Mary Deering (1770-1851), whose father, Nathaniel Deering 

 (1739-1795), of Kittery, Maine, was a boat-builder and shipped merchandise 

 after the war. They had a son, Edward Deering Preble (1806-1846), who is said 

 to have had a predilection for the sea, but his mother opposed his desires in this 



