Battle of Tripoli Harbor

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"Battle of Tripoli" redirects here. For other uses, see Siege of Tripoli (disambiguation).

This article is about the 1803-1804 battle. For the 2007 battle in Lebanon, see 2007 North Lebanon conflict.

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

Date	October, 1803-September, 1804
Location	Tripoli (present day Libya)
Result	Indecisive

Belligerents

United States

Ottoman vilayet of Tripoli

Commanders

Edward Preble

unknown

Strength

Mediterranean Squadron (7 frigates) plus 6 brigs/schooners, 2 bomb vessels, 10 gunboats

1 brig, 2 schooners, 2 galleys, 19 gunboats

Casualties and losses

USS Philadelphia & USS Intrepid destroyed

Unknown

First Barbary War

Action of 16 May 1802 - Tripoli Harbor - Derne

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.