Battle of Tripoli Harbor

This article is about a part of the First Barbary War. For other battles in the same location, see Siege of Tripoli (disambiguation).

Second Battle of Tripoli Harbor
Part of First Barbary War
Burning of the frigate Philadelphia in the harbor of Tripoli, 16 February 1804, by Edward Moran, painted 1897, depicts a naval action of the First Barbary War
Date October 1803-September 1804 Location Tripoli, Ottoman Empire (present day Libya) Result Indecisive
Belligerents
United States	Ottoman velayat of Tripoli
Commanders and leaders
Edward Preble	unknown
Strength
11 frigates, 3 brigs, 3 schooners, 2 bomb vessels, 10 gunboats, 1 ketch	1 brig, 2 schooners, 2 galleys, 19 gunboats, unknown shore batteries
Casualties and losses
1 frigate scuttled, 1 ketch sunk	unknown

The Second Battle of Tripoli Harbor, was a naval action during a naval blockade which took place in Tripoli Harbor in 1804. The battle is part of the First Barbary War between forces of the United States and the forces of Tripoli.

Background

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 31 October 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 16 February 1804, a small contingent of U.S. Marines 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. The British Admiral Horatio Nelson, himself known as a man of action and bravery, is said to have called this "the most bold and daring act of the age."

Battle

Preble attacked Tripoli outright on 14 July 1804 in a series of inconclusive battles, including a courageous but unsuccessful attack by the fire ship USS Intrepid under Master Commandant 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 Derne, which ended in a victory.

Notable veterans

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.

Sources

• The Barbary Wars, 1801-1805
• Tripolitan War
• Burning of the Frigate Philadelphia, 16 February 1804
• Six Frigates: The Epic History of the Founding of the U.S. Navy by Ian W. Toll, 2005
• If By Sea by George C. Daugham, 2008