The National tribune., 1903-06-18
THE NATIONAL TRIBUNE: WASHINGTON c. THURSDAY 49,

helpless frlgate. Everything possible was
done to release the ship, but without ef-
feet. At last the gunboats discovering her
helpless condition, crowded so thick about
her that there was no course open but to
strike. And so, after flooding the maga-
zine, throwing overheard all the small
arms and knocking holes in the bottom OF
the ship, Capt. Bainbridge reluctantly sur
rendered. Hardly had the flag touched the
deck when the Gunboats were alongside
and an undisciplired rabble came swarm.
ing over the taffrail. If the Americans ex-
pected civilized treatment they We're sadly
mistaken. Lockers and chests were brOk'
en- open and ransacked. Swords. watches
jewels and money were promptly confis,
Gated by the captors, who even stripped
the epauets from the uniforms of the Of
ficers. When all the portable property was
in the hands of the victors, the Americans
were loaded in boats and taken ashore
The captives We're then marched through
the streets to the palace of the BashaW
and exhibited to that functionary, who or
dered that they be thrown into prison
where they remained until the end of tn;
war.
when the news of the loss of the Phila
delphia reached Commodore Preble ant
the vessels of his squadron, he proceeded
with the flagship, accompanied by the En-
terprise, to TripOli to renew the blockade
of the harbor, which had been broken by
the loss of the American frigate. The yes
sells of the blockading squadron, from theil
position outside of the harbor. could SCI
the captured Philadelphia riding lightly n
anchor under the guns of the Tripolital
batteries. The captors had carefully re
paired the injuries the Americans had hur
riedly inflicted upon the vessel before sur
rendering, and she rode at anchor as prett.
frigate as ever delighted the eye of 4 tar
Capt. Ba;nbr:dge and the other Amer
lean officers whom the Tripolitans hat
captured with the Philadelphia, were i'm
prisoned in tower looking out upon tn,
Bay, and from his captivity Capt. Balm
bridge had written letters to Commodore
Preble, with pOstcripts written in lemoT
juice which were iEegible save when tn,
sheet Of paper was exposed to heat. Ii
these postscripts he urged the destructio.
of the Philadelphia. Lieut.. Stephen De
catur, in command of the Enterprise, cor
daily seconded these propositions, and pro
posed cutting into the port with the En-
terprise and undertaking the destruction
of the captured ship, but Commodore Pre-
BILE rejected the offer. not wishing to i'm
peril n man-of-war on so hazardous al
adventure. Finally n plan was adopted
to convert n captured ketch into man
of war, man her with volunteers, and will
her attempt the perilous adventure. Th'
ketch was therefore taken into service ant
named the Intrepid.
News of the expedition spread through
out the squadron. and many officers eager
ly volunteered their services. Lieut.. De
catur, however. was chosen to command
the expedition. and when he called for vol
unteers from the crew of the ship, the En-
terprise, every man and boy on the YES
sci stepped forward and begged to be TAX
en- Decatur chose 62 picked men from
these volunteers, and, accompanied by th
Siren. set sail for the harbor of Tripoli
On the way Decatur gave his force care
full instructions as to
THE METHOD OF ATTACK.
His men were divided into severn
boarding parties, each with its own office
and work. One party was TO carry th'
gun deck, another to drive the enemy from
the steerage, and so on. All were to carr.
pistols, hut the fighting. as far as possible
was to be done with cutlasses, so that m
noise might alarm the enemy in the bat
teries and the vessels in the port. AbOu
noon ON Feb. Is the intrepid came in sigh
of the towers of Tripoli. Both the ketcl
and the Siren had been so disguised tha
the enemy could not recognize them, ant
they therefore stood out bodily for tn
harbor. As the wind was fresh, Decatur
saw that he was likely to make port be
fore night, and he therefore dragged n ca
BILE and n number of buckets astern to les
sen his speed, fearing to take in sail les
the suspicion of the enemy should b.
aroused. When within about five miles o.
the town the Philadelphia became visible
She foated lightly at anchor under th'
guns Of the two heavy batteries. BEHIND
her lay moored two Tripolitan cruisers
and nearby was fleet of gunboats. 4
was a powerful stronghold into which thu
Yankee bluejackets were to carry tht
torch. The Siren took up position il
the ofiing, while the Intrepid with her de
voted crew steered straight for the frig
ate. On the decks of the Intrepid but 1:
men were visible. The rest lay fiat ON tn,
deck in the shadow of the bulwarks. He
course was laid straight for the bow Of tn,
frigate, which she was to foul. WheI
within short distance a hail came from
the Tripolitan crew on the Philadelphia
In response the pilot Of the ketch explain
ed that the ketch was coaster from Nal
ia; that she had lost her anchors and hat
been nearly wrecked. That she now asket
permission to ride alongside the frigat t
during the night. The men on the frig
ate were wholly deceived and sent on
ropes to the ketch, allowing one of tn
boats of the Intrepid to make line fas
to the frigate. The ends Of the rope
were D;tsSeu W lie ulitci lileH WHO pullet
Justify, thus bringing the little craft along
side Of the frigate. But as she came int,
clearer view, the suspicious of the Tripoli
tans were aroused and the cry of 'Ameri
canos! 'Americanosr rang through the air
and the alarm was given. By this time tn
ketch was fast to the frigate.
"'Follow me- ladsv cried Decatur. ant
springing for the chain plates on the Phil
adelphia, and clinging theIe, he renewed
his order to board. The men sprang t,
their feet and following their leader wer
soon clambering on board the frigate. '!h
stream Of men over the taffrail ant
through the ports was constant. Th
Tripolitans were too much surprised to pu
up very hard fight, and frequent splashc
in the water told that many were endeay
ing to make their escape that way. Afte
short struggle Decatur and his men ha,
complete possession of the vessel. N
doubt the successful adventures deepl,
regretted that they could not take out o
the harbor the noble frigate they had n,
nob!y captured But the orders of th
Commodore and the dangers of their owl
situation left them without choice. Moth
ing was to be done but to set fire to tn
frigate, which they did with all possible
haste. SO quickly was it done and so rap
idly did the flames spread, that the mel
who lit the fires scarcely had time t,
leave the vessel. When the ketch wa
finally pulled away, flames were pourin,
ont Of the port holes of the frigate Th
bluejackets bent to their sweeps and sool
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