Burning of the Frigate Philadelphia in the Harbor of Tripoli, 16 February 1804

摘要

When First Lieutenant David Porter was being held in captivity in Northern Africa, the Tripolitan corsairs refloated his ship, USS Philadelphia, recovered her guns from the seabed, and towed her into the harbor. This, of course, led to the famous action in February of 1804 in which Stephen Decatur and a small crew sailed the captured ketch Intrepid into the harbor and burned the American frigate to the waterline. The news of this heroic feat spread quickly, winning Decatur promotion to captain and international fame. This and other stories of the "Heroes of the Sailing Navy" can be found in past issues of Sea History (Nos. 110, 112, 114, and 116). For more information on William H. White's books, see the author's biographical statement at the end of this article on page 20.