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American military officer and diplomat

William Eaton (23 February 1764 – 1 June 1811) was a United States Army officer and the diplomatic officer Consul General to Tunis (1797–1803). He played an important diplomatic and military role in the First Barbary War between the United States and Tripoli (1801–1805). He led the first foreign United States military victory at the Battle of Derne by capturing the Tripoli subject city of Derne in support of the restoration of the pasha (local monarch), Hamet Caramelli. He also gave testimony at the treason trial of former Vice President Aaron Burr. Eaton served one term in the General Court of Massachusetts, which is the state legislature both during and after the colonial era. Eaton died on June 1, 1811, at the age of 47.

William Eaton was born in Woodstock, Connecticut. He was one of thirteen children of Nathaniel and Sarah (née Johnson) Eaton. His father was a middle class farmer, who worked as a school teacher in the winter, "an employment for which he is represented as having been well qualified by more than ordinary means for a farmer". When he was ten years old, William's family moved to Mansfield, Connecticut.

Eaton ran away at the age of sixteen to enlist in the army. He joined the Continental Army in 1780 and served until 1783, attaining the rank of sergeant at the age of 19. In 1792, Eaton accepted a captain's commission in the Legion of the United States and began training at Legionville (Baden, Pennsylvania). He also married Eliza, the widow of General Timothy Danielson. In 1795, Eaton faced court martial for charges resulting in a "misunderstanding" between himself and Lieutenant Colonel Henry Gaither. For the charges, which included those of profiteering and "liberating from confinement" a murder suspect, Eaton was sentenced to two months' suspended commission. Despite the conviction, Eaton held his commission until July 11, 1797, when he was appointed U. S. Consul at Tunis. He served at that post until war with Tripoli broke out in 1801.

Eaton's main task in Tunis was to negotiate peace and trade agreements with the bey (governor). By 1796, the United States was behind in payments to the dey of Algiers. In 1797, Joel Barlow, United States Consul to Algiers, negotiated with the dey and promised him a frigate, at the cost of nearly one million dollars. He then sent a French merchant, Joseph Stephen Famin, to negotiate with the bey of Tunis. An agreement was reached, but Congress would not ratify it. United States President John Adams appointed William Eaton as Consult to Tunis to negotiate more agreeable terms. It took two years to accomplish the task. In that time, as the demands of Algiers and Tripoli increased, Eaton had come to believe that it was better to use military force to secure trade in the region, than to continually pay tribute. He wrote an impassioned letter to the Secretary of State, James Madison, voicing the opinion that, "The more you give the more the Turks will ask for." Among the vessels that were sent was the USS Philadelphia which, in October, 1803, under the command of Captain William Bainbridge, was sent to blockade Tripoli. The frigate ran aground off the coast of Tripoli and was captured along with its crew of 306 men. Bainbridge had failed to scuttle the ship before being captured, but Stephen Decatur, commander of the USS Intrepid, in a covert mission, destroyed the Philadelphia by burning it, to prevent Tripoli from using it. It also designated William Eaton as "General and Commander in Chief" of the land forces that were to be used to carry out the operation. another counters that "Burr apologists" are responsible for that point of view.

William Eaton is the namesake of three U. S. towns, Eatonton, Georgia, Eaton, New York, and Eaton, Ohio. He was also the namesake of the Fletcher class destroyer USS Eaton. The Tripoli Monument, in memory of the first American military casualties overseas in the battle at Derne, was sculpted of Italian marble by artist Giovanni Micali in 1806, and transported to the United States by the frigate USS Constitution ("Old Ironsides") and placed at the new national capital of Washington, D. C. at the Washington Navy Yard on the East Branch (now the Anacostia River) of the Potomac River in 1808. Considered the first war monument in the United States, it was unfortunately vandalized by the British during the War of 1812 in August 1814, when they attacked and occupied Washington, burning the public buildings and facilities. Later in 1831, it was relocated to the west front of the United States Capitol, overlooking the National Mall. In 1860, it was relocated to the campus of the U. S. Naval Academy at Annapolis, Maryland, where although moved several more times over the decades, remains there today. In 2001, it underwent repairs and a physical restoration.

Consul General Eaton and his actions at Derne with other U. S. Navy personnel along with Greek mercenaries, were loosely portrayed in the 1950 historical feature film Tripoli, starring John Payne, Maureen O'Hara, and Howard da Silva.