The burning of USS Philadelphia, as depicted on the jacket of A Call To Arms
(to be released by the Naval Institute Press in November), was one of the most
significant events to occur during the War with Tripoli, also known as the
First Barbary War. Whichever name you prefer, it was America’s first war
against terror – in this case, the terror of high seas piracy being perpetrated
by the Arab states of North Africa.
Midway through a war that hitherto had produced little of
consequence for either side, the new American commodore, Edward Preble, ordered
Capt. William Bainbridge to Tripoli to blockade the harbor. Philadelphia was up to the task. One of the early frigates to be
constructed for the fledgling U.S. Navy, she was launched in May of 1799 and
commissioned in April of 1800. She weighed 1,240 tons, was 157 feet long, and
carried a ship’s complement of 307 officers and crew. As ordnance, she carried
twenty-eight 18-pounder long guns and sixteen 32-pounder carronades. Tripoli
had nothing close to match her. Its navy consisted of a flotilla of gunboats
plus a squadron of small naval brigs presented to the bashaw either as gifts
from the Ottoman sultan or as bribes from the European maritime powers.
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| Capt. William Bainbridge |
On October 1803 Capt. Bainbridge spotted an enemy corsair
standing toward Tripoli and took off in pursuit of her. Fearing he had sailed
too close to shore, he abruptly called off the chase and ordered evolutions for
wearing ship. A short time later Philadelphia struck an uncharted reef and went aground.
Bainbridge (who as a commanding lieutenant had surrendered
the naval schooner Retaliation in the
Quasi War) did everything he could to free her. He ordered all but two of her
guns tossed overboard, along with equipment and supplies. He even ordered her
foremast cut down, to lift her bow as her crew fought to kedge her off the
reef. The enemy ashore, meanwhile, had taken note of her struggles. A force of
gunboats was sent out and surrounded her. Seeing no alternative, Bainbridge
ordered Philadelphia’s two
remaining guns fired at the enemy, for the sake of honor, while he secretly
deposited overboard the ship’s signal book and other sensitive documents. Bainbridge
and the ship’s crew were taken prisoner. Arab seamen, meanwhile, managed to
coax Philadelphia off the reef
and to salvage most of her guns.
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| Commodore Edward Preble |
The capture of the American frigate posed a serious threat
to Commodore Preble’s Mediterranean Squadron. She was too great a prize to
remain in enemy hands. His dilemma was how to counter the threat. Preble
conferred with his officers who put forth several proposals. Following is a
conversation between Edward Preble and Richard Cutler, captain of the frigate Portsmouth. The conversation takes place aboard USS Constitution, flagship of the American squadron based in
Syracuse, Sicily. Richard Cutler has just informed Preble of what intelligence
he had garnered at the British naval base in Malta. .
“[With this information] I have been able to approximate her
position on a chart. That position, unfortunately, puts her well within the
string of shoals and reefs that ring the inner harbor and make entry so
difficult.”
“So cutting her out could prove
challenging,” Preble mused.
“I should think extremely so, sir,
under the circumstances. She has lost her foremast as no doubt you are
aware…and her mainmast has also suffered damage. I understand its t’gant mast
is gone. We don’t know the condition of her mizzen. I assume it remains intact,
since Captain Bainbridge mentioned nothing about it in his [secretly encoded]
letters.”
“So to retake her we’ll need to tow
her out, just as she was towed in.”
“That would appear to be our best
choice, sir. Unless…”
Preble arched his eyebrows. “Unless, Mr. Cutler?”
Richard met his hard stare. “Unless
we destroy her where she lies.”
Preble returned the stare. “To keep
her out of the hands of the Tripolitans? And having her guns turned on us?”
“Precisely, sir. And given the
alternatives, I believe we’d have a much better chance of success. The odds
would be more in our favor.”
Preble appeared to contemplate
that. “A most intriguing notion, Mr. Cutler, one I intend to discuss further
with my other squadron commanders. You will be interested to note that Master
Commandant Hull and Lieutenant Decatur have reached the same conclusion. I
daresay I am drawn to it as well.”
The raid took place during the night of February 16, 1804. It
was led by Lt. Stephen Decatur, who assumed command of a recently captured
local ketch that was renamed Intrepid, and
it involved a hand-picked crew of sailors and Marines from Constitution and Enterprise. The raid was a complete success. Philadelphia burned to nothing and the Americans suffered no
casualties. So startling and complete was the mission, it prompted Adm. Horatio
Lord Nelson to subsequently label it “the most bold and daring act of our age.”
Photos:
William Bainbridge (1774-1833) Public
domain; Commodore Edward Preble, painted
before 1807. Public domain.
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