The “Volcano Ship” USS Intrepid

Destruction of Fire Ship Intrepid

In late summer 1804 the war against Tripoli was not going well. True, the third U.S. naval squadron sent to the Mediterranean under the command of Commo. Edward Preble had twice assaulted the capital and destroyed a number of enemy batteries and gunboats. But despite Preble’s impressive efforts the fortress city still stood in defiance of the United States, and the bashaw (king) of Tripoli, who had initiated the war, remained contemptuous of U.S. naval strength. His corsair fleet remained largely intact in the harbor below his castle, and the 115 cannon in the city’s defenses remained trained on the American ships standing offshore, hardly touched by the withering broadsides of USS Constitution and the other ships in the squadron, including a number of bomb ketches on loan from the king of Sicily.

Commodore Edward Preble

Worse, Preble had received a dispatch from Secretary of the Navy Robert Smith with the unwelcome news that a fourth squadron was underway from Portsmouth, Virginia, under the command of Commo. Samuel Barron. Since Barron had seniority over Preble, Preble’s days in the Mediterranean were numbered. If he were to make a meaningful contribution to the successful conclusion of the war, he needed to act quickly. After mulling over his options he settled on a course that no one could have suspected, not even his loyal squadron commanders whom he referred to affectionately as “my boys.”

What he decided to do was transform the captured ketch Intrepid into what he designated as a “volcano ship” – an extreme version of the more familiar term “fire ship.” If the ketch could steal in to Tripoli harbor under cover of night and a Mediterranean rig, reach the very walls of Tripoli and set off an explosion for the ages, in one bold stroke the entire pirate fleet could be destroyed and considerable damage done to the city itself.

Every carpenter in the squadron was put to work planking up her magazine in the hold and loading it to the brim with five hundred barrels of powder, five tons in all. On the deck directly above the magazine, one hundred 13-inch shells and fifty 9-inch shells were carefully stacked within a rectangular wooden bin built to accommodate them. Under the watchful eye of the squadron commanders, two holes were drilled into the bulkhead of the magazine amidships. Into these were inserted gun barrels stuffed with fuses that were connected to a main fuse at the end. These two main fuses were connected on the outside to a shallow trough of powder that ran the length of the ketch on the starboard side forward to a scuttle near her bow and aft to her companionway.

The train of powder could thus be fired from either the bow or the stern of the vessel. The length of the two main fuses was set to burn for eleven minutes before the main fuses set off the smaller fuses inside the gun barrels. The smaller fuses were timed to burn for four minutes before they ignited the powder in the magazine. Once the train of powder was lit, the thirteen Americans had fifteen minutes to get off Intrepid and board the pinnace and cutter being towed behind the ketch. The schooner Nautilus would be hove to close in to the reefs, to pick them up and convey them back to the flagship, escorted by the schooner Vixen and the brig of war Syren.

Commodore Preble chose Lt. Richard Somers to command Intrepid. Every squadron commander had begged for the honor, but Somers got the nod. Joining him as volunteers were Midshipman Henry Wadsworth (Longfellow’s uncle), Midshipman Joseph Israel, and ten carefully selected American sailors.

Lt. Richard Sommers

At eight o’clock in the evening of September 3, 1804, Intrepid sailed from the squadron standing several miles offshore from the city of Tripoli. She made it through the Western Passage into the harbor of Tripoli. Then, with a white blinding eruption of light and an ear-rupturing concussion that could be heard and felt well out to sea, she exploded – as it turned out, prematurely, before she reached the city walls. Why, no one is certain to this day. The most likely explanation is that Intrepid was approached by Tripolitan gunboats and Lieutenant Somers set off the charge himself. Earlier, aboard Constitution, he had vowed to do just that in such a circumstance, preferring death to the dishonor of surrendering and the disgrace of turning over vast quantities of munitions to the enemy. The twelve American heroes sailing with him understood that preference when they volunteered.

Following is a scene from chapter 12 of A Call to Arms. It depicts an exchange between Commodore Preble and Lt. George Reed, acting captain of Nautilus. The morning after the explosion Preble had signaled Nautilus to come alongside the flagship and report.

“Lieutenant Reed, what can you tell us?” Preble shouted through a speaking trumpet.

Reed raised his own trumpet from the larboard railing of the schooner. All eyes aboard the flagship were riveted upon him. He hesitated as he delivered his reply, as if fearful that speaking aloud of such things would somehow cause them to become a reality.

“Sir,” Reed reported, “we followed Intrepid until two or three minutes before the explosion…We thought she had reached her destination, but alas…she had not. From what we observed this morning…there has been little or no damage…either to Tripoli or to its navy. And sir…It is my sad duty to report…that Captain Somers and every member of his crew…have vanished.”

“Repeat that, Lieutenant. And speak up, man! Vanished, you say?”

“Yes sir,” Reed replied more distinctly. “Vanished. There is no indication either of the crew or the two boats. No indication whatsoever.”

“So what you are telling me, Mr. Reed, is that the crew of Intrepid has either perished or been taken prisoner.”

“Yes sir. We…I fear so, sir.”

“Dear God, Henry…” (Midshipman Ralph) Izard whispered to himself, staring out blankly to the area where Intrepid had exploded. (Midshipman) Jamie (Cutler) placed a hand on his shoulder, as much to comfort himself as his friend. Both of them realized, as well as anyone, that not one of the thirteen Americans had been taken alive. Jamie felt the warm damp of tears in his eyes and tried, unsuccessfully, to blink them away.

“Very well, Mr. Reed,” Preble shouted through the trumpet. “Please advise Mr. Smith and Mr. Stewart (captain of Vixen and Syren, respectively) to rejoin the squadron. You may continue to reconnoiter, but stay out of effective range of the shore batteries. We shall suffer no further casualties this day.”

“Aye, aye, Captain.”

It was, ironically, that very afternoon, as the squadron continued to reel from such a devastating loss of shipmates, that the topgallants of USS President and USS Constellation were sighted bearing down from the north. The Mediterranean campaign of Commodore Edward Preble, so full of promise, had come to an end.

The Burning of USS Philadelphia, 1804

The destruction of a U.S. Navy frigate in Tripoli Harbor proved to be a defining event in America’s first war on terrorism.

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.

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.

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.

Cutler Family Chronicles

This is the first blog profiling the naval, commercial, social and political history of the United States during the Age of Sail, as depicted in the Cutler Family Chronicles. Novels in the series are published by the Naval Institute Press located in Annapolis, Maryland.

The Cutler Family Chronicles is a projected seven-book series profiling the best of American duty, honor and courage during the Age of Fighting Sail. Years covered in the series are 1774 to 1815, from the American Revolution to the Second Barbary War. All seven novels have as a backdrop the creation of the U.S. Navy and the emergence of the United States as a commercial power on the world stage. All novels feature the seafaring Cutler family of Hingham, Massachusetts, as well as a supporting and ever expanding cast of characters.

While these novels feature plenty of swashbuckling sea action, they also reveal close interpersonal relationships among family members and friends. At their core they chronicle a life-long love story between Richard Cutler, the main protagonist, and the love of his life, English-born Katherine Hardcastle Cutler. Together, Richard and Katherine interact in intriguing ways with other men of honor and women of passion, some fictional, many of them real historical characters such as John Paul Jones, Thomas Jefferson, Horatio Nelson, John Adams, Stephen Decatur, Edward Preble, Isaac Hull, Oliver Hazard Perry, and the Marquis de Lafayette. Each historical character has been studiously researched and each novel has been vetted for historical accuracy.

Come sail in the breeze with Ranger, Bonhomme Richard, Falcon, USS Constellation and USS Constitution as the fledgling United States confronts, in the Revolution, the world’s greatest sea power, and then, in the Quasi-War with France, the world’s greatest land power. Along the way, and in the years following, America’s first naval heroes take on the Barbary States, twice, and England a second time, along with vipers’ nests in pirate-infested waters from the Caribbean to the Mediterranean, and to the Indian Ocean and beyond.