The reigning Bashaw of Tripoli was a usurper, having displaced his elder brother, who had fled to Upper Egypt.

He had a good many friends, who, if they dared, would have been glad to replace him on his throne.

The American consul, who understood all the particulars, proposed to our government to use the deposed ruler as an instrument to compel the usurper to make terms.
The Government authorized the consul to go ahead.
Accordingly, he made his way to Alexandria, sought out the banished ruler, proposed his plan, and it was eagerly accepted.

He furnished the consul with a cavalry escort, enlisted a number of Greek soldiers, the party marched a thousand miles across the flaming Barcan desert, and in April appeared before Derne, one of the seaports of the reigning monarch, who was also advancing upon the place.

With the help of the American fleet, the town was captured, and, for the first time in its history, the Stars and Stripes were given to the breeze above a fortification on the eastern side of the Atlantic.
By the enlistment of the mongrel population of the neighborhood, the American consul gathered a formidable force, with which the enemy were again defeated.