Stephen Decatur Retakes, Burns USS Philadelphia in Tripoli Harbor

Today in Military History – February 16, 1804 In the early years of the 19th century, the young American republic sought to be taken seriously. The fledgling U.S. Navy was one of the few ways that our country could flex its new muscles among the nations of the world. One of the first challenges the Navy faced, and passed with flying colors, was the Quasi-War with the revolutionary French Republic (1798-1800). Then, American ships faced their first test against Islamic terrorists – the Barbary pirates. The Barbary States of North Africa were a collection of privateers who preyed on European shipping beginning at the time of the First Crusade in the late 11th century, essentially making the western Mediterranean Sea their playground. They also raided shipping into the north Atlantic Ocean as far as Iceland, and scoured coastal areas of Spain, France, Italy, Portugal, England, and the Netherlands for Christian slaves for their markets. Finally, the Barbary pirates exacted protection money (which they referred to as “tribute”) from various nations to insure that those countries’ ships would be safe. It was this tribute that got the pirates into trouble with the U.S. Many European nations made treaties with the various Barbary states, paying tribute and rendering their shipping safe. American vessels were safe so long as they were protected by British treaties. After the Declarations of Independence, all bets were off. The first American ship seized by a Barbary state occurred in 1784. Two years later, Thomas Jefferson and John Adams – in their capacities as ambassadors to France and England, respectively – met with a visiting ambassador of the Barbary state of Tripoli. This Muslim representative, when asked why American ships were attacked without provocation, stated, "it [is] written in [our] Koran, that all nations which had not acknowledged the Prophet were sinners, whom it [is] the right and duty of the faithful to plunder and enslave…" The Tripolitan ambassador also said that if the U.S. would pay protection money, the attacks would stop. Consequently, after Congress refused to appropriate the original asked-for sums, six frigates were built to protect American shipping. Later, Congress did pass bills to fund the Barbary protection racket. This stopped in 1801, when Thomas Jefferson was inaugurated as the 3rd President. When the Pasha of Tripoli, Yusuf Karamanli, demanded $225,000 for protection, Jefferson rejected the shakedown. [By comparison, in 1800 total U.S. federal revenues were $10 million.] No formal declaration of war took place, but Congress did authorize the President to instruct the commanders of U.S. vessels to seize all ships and goods of the Pasha of Tripoli "and also to cause to be done all such other acts of precaution or hostility as the state of war will justify." U.S. ships were dispatched to the western Mediterranean, blockading the major ports used by the Barbary pirates. On October 31, 1803, the USS Philadelphia, a 36-gun frigate cruising just outside the harbor of Tripoli, struck an uncharted reef. While trying to refloat the ship off the obstruction, the vessel was bombarded by shore batteries and enemy gunboats. Finally, after failing to refloat the ship, the captain of the Philadelphia surrendered his ship and crew. The officers and men were made slaves of the Pasha, and work commenced to refit the ship for use by the pirates. Almost immediately, efforts were organized to either recapture or destroy the Philadelphia. A young lieutenant, Stephen Decatur, conceived a plan to recapture the Philadelphia. After due deliberation, Decatur’s commander ordered him to destroy the ship, mainly due to the heavy security around it (the Philadelphia was surrounded by Tripolitan vessels, and moored within range of shore batteries). Decatur and 70 officers and men – all volunteers – then boarded the recently captured ketch Intrepid, which would serve as a ruse to get into the harbor. Leaving the American fleet’s mooring in Syracuse, Sicily on February 3, they arrived off Tripoli on the 16th. The Intrepid’s anchors were stowed or covered, and the pilot, a Mr. Salvadore, gave the story to guard vessels in the harbor that their ship had lost its anchors in a recent storm and needed to tie up to a nearby vessel for safety. They were directed to the Philadelphia’s position; it was about half-past nine o’clock at night… Immediately upon tying up, the Intrepid’s crew sprang aboard the Philadellphia, killing 20 of its Barbary crew and causing the rest to abandon ship or go below desks. Then, the volunteers began to set fires all over the ship, but stayed on board long enough to ensure the vessel would be consumed by the conflagration. When the fire reached the ship’s rigging, Decatur ordered his men to abandon the Philadelphia and reboard the Intrepid, which was under heavy fire from Tripolitan ships and batteries from the main fort, as the Philadelphia’s cables had burnt and the ship had drifted from its mooring. The Intrepid got away and, miraculously, not single American was killed, but one was slightly wounded. In his report to his commanding officer, Lt. Decatur wrote, “Every support that could be given I received from my officers...Permit me also, sir, to speak of the brave fellows I have the honor to command, whose coolness and intrepidity was such as I trust will ever characterize[sic] the American tars [sailors].” For his bravery and “intrepidity” Decatur was promoted to captain, the youngest man (aged 25) to achieve that honor in the history of the U.S. Navy. British naval hero Horatio Nelson called the exploit, “the most bold and daring act of the age." As a footnote: in 1871, the USS Guerriere was visiting Tripoli harbor, and the Pasha inspected the vessel. As a sign of peace, he presented the anchor of the Philadelphia – which had laid on the shore for nearly 50 years – to the captain of the ship. Today, the legacy of the Philadelphia continues, as the USS Philadelphia (SSN-690) serves the current U.S. Navy as a Los Angeles-class attack submarine. It is due to be inactivated in June of this year, with decommissioning to take place at some undetermined date…