Don’t miss a fascinating, free virtual conversation tomorrow, 12-1 p.m., about the impact of the Barbary Wars on many well-known sea authors and American culture at large. At the turn of the 18th and 19th centuries, corsairs from Barbary States seized merchant ships, cargo, and enslaved crews off the North African coast and demanded high payment for safe passage across the Mediterranean. In addition to this crisis, U.S. sailors battled the deadly enemy of yellow fever that swept over ships and ports in the Mediterranean and the U.S. Those who lived to tell the tale wrote about the experience in narratives of Barbary captivity, influencing well-known American sea authors, including Richard Henry Dana Jr. and Herman Melville. This event—"Pandemics, Pirates, & Prose: The Barbary Wars and the U.S."—is free but advance registration is required. Tap the Program Calendar link in our bio. Image: Decatur Boarding the Tripolitan Gunboat, Dennis Malone Carter (1827-1881), oil on canvas, Den...