Battle of Tripoli Harbor

Infobox Military Conflict
conflict=Battle of Tripoli Harbor


caption="Burning of the frigate Philadelphia in the harbor of Tripoli, February 16, 1804", by Edward Moran, painted 1897, depicts a naval action of the First Barbary War
partof=First Barbary War
date=October, 1803-September, 1804
place=Tripoli (present day Libya)
result=Indecisive
combatant1=
combatant2=
commander1=Edward Preble
commander2=unknown
strength1=Mediterranean Squadron (7 frigates) plus 6 brigs/schooners, 2 bomb vessels, 10 gunboats
strength2= 1 brig, 2 schooners, 2 galleys, 19 gunboats
casualties1=USS "Philadelphia" & USS "Intrepid" destroyed
casualties2=Unknown|The Battle of Tripoli Harbor was a naval blockade which took place during the First Barbary War between the United States Marines and the forces of Tripoli.

Commodore Edward Preble had assumed command of the U.S. Mediterranean Squadron in 1803. By October of that year Preble had begun a blockade of Tripoli Harbor. The first significant action of the blockade came on October 31 when the USS "Philadelphia" ran aground on an uncharted coral reef and the Tripolitan Navy was able to capture the ship along with its crew and Captain William Bainbridge. The "Philadelphia" was turned against the Americans and anchored in the harbor as a gun battery.

On the night of February 16, 1804, a small contingent of U.S. sailors in a captured Tripolitan ketch rechristened USS "Intrepid" and led by Lieutenant Stephen Decatur, Jr. were able to deceive the guards on board the "Philadelphia" and float close enough to board the captured ship. Decatur's men stormed the vessel and decimated the Tripolitan sailors standing guard. To complete the daring raid, Decatur's party set fire to the "Philadelphia", denying her use to the enemy. Decatur's bravery in action made him one of the first American military heroes since the Revolutionary War.

Preble attacked Tripoli outright on July 14, 1804 in a series of inconclusive battles, including a courageous but unsuccessful attack by the fire ship USS "Intrepid" under Captain Richard Somers. "Intrepid", packed with explosives, was to enter Tripoli harbor and destroy itself and the enemy fleet; it was destroyed, perhaps by enemy guns, before achieving that goal, killing Somers and his crew.

The actions against Tripoli harbor continued to prove indecisive until September when Commodore Samuel Barron assumed command of the Mediterranean Squadron and focused the fleet's attention on supporting William Eaton's attack on Derna.

Several of the United States' early naval heroes served in the blockade including Stephen Decatur, William Bainbridge, Charles Stewart, Isaac Hull, David Porter, Reuben James and Edward Preble. Collectively referred to as "Preble's Boys", many of these officers would play a significant role in the upcoming War of 1812.

ources

* [http://www.mariner.org/usnavy/06/06a.htm The Barbary Wars, 1801-1805]
* [http://www.factmonster.com/ce6/history/A0849443.html Tripolitan War]

"Six Frigates: The Epic History of the Founding of the U.S. Navy" by Ian W. Toll, 2005