William Eaton (23 February 1764 – 1 June 1811) was a United States Army officer, involved with the First Barbary War. He supported Tripoli's Pasha Yussif Karamanli's brother (Hamet Karamanli) to win the battle.

Born in Woodstock, Connecticut, joined the Army in 1780 and served until 1783, having attained the rank of sergeant. In 1790, he graduated from Dartmouth College. In 1792 he accepted a captain's commission in the army, which he held until July 11, 1797 when he was appointed U.S. Consul at Tunis[1]. Because of his experience in the North African region, he was appointed Navy agent for the Barbary Regencies on 26 May 1804. He found the deposed leader of Tripoli, Hamet Karamanli, and created an alliance with him. From there, he established a group of about 200 Christian and 300 Muslim mercenaries to begin the takeover of Tripoli starting with Derna. He managed to trek with a small detachment of Marines and his mercenary force over 500 miles while stopping arguments, threats, and mutinies which originated from difference of opinion between his European and Arab soldiers as well as the withholding of rations by the Christians at one point. Supported at sea by Isaac Hull, Captain of the Argus, in an effective "combined operation," Eaton led the attack in the battle of Derna on 27 April 1805. The town's capture, and the threat of further advance on Tripoli, were strong influences toward peace, negotiated in June 1805 by Tobias Lear and Commodore John Rodgers with the Pasha of Tripoli.

Eaton and Hamet were disappointed by the treaty and the mercenary army was angry when they learned that Eaton had abandoned the plan to capture Tripoli. Hamet was exiled to Egypt.

General Eaton died in Brimfield, Massachusetts, 1 June 1811.

Further reading

• London, Joshua E. Victory in Tripoli: 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
• Smethurst, David. Tripoli: The United States' First War on Terror. New York: Presidio Press, 2006.
• Wheelan, Joseph. Jefferson's War: America's First War on Terror, 1801–1805. New York: Carroll & Graf, 2003. ISBN 0-7867-1232-5.
• Zacks, Richard. The Pirate Coast: Thomas Jefferson, the First Marines, and the Secret Mission of 1805. New York: Hyperion, 2005. ISBN 1-4013-0003-0.

This article includes text from the public domain Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships.

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