PREBLE, EDWARD

born Aug. 15, 1761, Falmouth [now Portland], Maine died Aug. 25, 1807, Portland, Maine, U.S. commander of U.S. naval forces during much of the Tripolitan War (1801-05). After attending the Dummer Academy in Massachusetts, Preble ran off to sea at the age of 16. During the U.S. War of Independence, he served aboard several American ships and was briefly captured by the British in 1781. After the war's end Preble sailed for 15 years in the merchant service and then received a navy command in 1798 at the outbreak of the undeclared naval war with France. He provided valuable service in protecting American ships from French privateers. In 1803 Preble sailed into the Mediterranean as commander of seven vessels whose aim was to stop the attacks of Barbary coast pirates on American merchant ships. He quickly resolved a matter of treaty violations by the sultan of Morocco, then sailed on to Tripoli. Preble blockaded Tripoli but lost one of his ships-the frigate Philadelphia-when it ran aground and was captured. In August 1804 Preble began the bombardment of Tripoli. The attacks and running naval encounters carried into September, when Preble was replaced by Commodore Samuel Barron. Bitterly disappointed at not being able to see the war through to a successful conclusion, Preble returned to the United States. In 1806 President Thomas Jefferson offered him the position of secretary of the navy, but Preble declined. For the brief remainder of his life, Preble built gunboats for the navy.