- Solomon Wren
Solomon Wren—born in 1780 in
Loudoun County, Virginia —enlisted in theUnited States Marine Corps atAlexandria, Virginia , on April 1, 1799. Assigned to theschooner "Enterprise", Wren rose in rank and, by the end of 1803, had been promoted to sergeant.In February 1804, Sgt. Wren volunteered for the expedition mounted to destroy the
frigate "Philadelphia", captured by theTripoli tanpirate s on October 31, 1803 after grounding on an uncharted reef off Tripoli. Under the command of LieutenantStephen Decatur, Jr. , Wren and 68 other sailors and marines entered Tripoli harbor on the night of February 16, in theketch "Intrepid" and succeeded in setting fire to the former American ship.Later that year, on August 3, Sgt. Wren was slightly wounded while assigned to "Gunboat No. 4" during another attack on Tripoli. On September 20, he transferred to the frigate "John Adams" and returned home. He was detached from the Marine Corps on March 24, 1805, and no further record of his life has been found.
Namesake
In 1944, the
destroyer USS "Wren" (DD-568) was named in his honor.=Reference=
:DANFS
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