V THE WAR WITH TRIPOLI (CONTINUED) THE DESTRUCTION OF THE PHILADELPHIA THE news of the capture of the Philadelphia immediately suggested the idea of cutting her out or destroying her. Bainbridge outlined a plan in one of his secret letters to Preble, and, even before this was received, Preble and Decatur had been discussing a similar course of action. As soon as the subject was mentioned by the commodore, Decatur eagerly volunteered to cut out the Philadelphia with his ship, the Enterprise; so that, when Lieutenant Stewart arrived in the Siren and offered to perform the same service, Preble informed him that Decatur was already promised the honor. The commodore, believing that it was impossible to save the frigate, decided not to try to cut her out but to destroy her at her moorings. The scheme was greatly helped by the capture of a Tripolitan ketch, the Mastico, whose Mediterranean rig would enable her to slip into the harbor without raising the suspicion that the Enterprise would have been sure to create. When Decatur assembled the officers and men of the Enterprise, told them of the intended expedition and called for volunteers, every officer, man, and boy stepped forward. From this number, five officers-Lieutenants James Lawrence, Joseph Bainbridge, and Jonathan Thorn,1 Surgeon Lewis Hermann, Midshipman Thomas Macdonough-and sixty-two men were chosen. To these were added five officers from the Constitution-Midshipmen Ralph Izard, John Rowe, Charles Morris, Alexander 1 Decatur was evidently unwilling to discriminate between his lieutenants, for he took them all. Laws, and John Davis-and a Sicilian pilot, Salvatore Catalano, who was familiar with the harbor of Tripoli. Catalano was, for many years afterward, a sailing-master in our navy. On February 15, the day before the destruction of the frigate, Lieutenant Stewart sent a boat to the Intrepid with Midshipman Thomas O. Anderson and six men. The boat party remained on board the Intrepid, and shared in the attack on the Philadelphia. The following story of the expedition is arranged from the autobiography of Charles Morris, one of the midshipmen detailed from the Constitution: "The brig Siren, Lieutenant Stewart, was to accompany us, to assist with her boats, and to receive the crew of the ketch (which had been named the Intrepid) in case of her destruction, which was considered probable. The officers were told to take only a single change of linen, and no time was allowed to prepare stores, as we embarked within an hour after receiving notice and sailed immediately, on the evening of the 3d of February, 1804. Combustibles had been previously prepared and placed in the vessel, with ship's provisions for two or three weeks' supply. A Maltese [Catalano]2 had also been obtained to accompany us into the harbor, with which he was well acquainted. We arrived in sight of Tripoli about the 10th, but the wind was fresh from the westward, with strong indications of an approaching gale." . . . [Because of the heavy sea the entrance was decided to be unsafe.] "The attempt was abandoned for a time, and the vessels weighed again to get beyond the view of the town before daylight. This was not done without some difficulty, as the gale increased rapidly. It continued for four or five days with great violence, and drove us considerably to A native of Palermo, he apparently joined the squadron at Malta and is referred to by Preble, also, as a "Maltese." the eastward, and at one time nearer the coast than was agreeable. "Our situation on board was far from comfortable. The commander, three lieutenants, and the surgeon occupied the very small cabin. Six midshipmen and the pilot had a platform laid on the water-casks, whose surface they covered when they lay down to sleep, and at so small a distance below the deck that their heads could reach it when seated on the platform. The marines had corresponding accommodations on the opposite side, and the sailors had only the surface of the casks in the hold. To these inconveniences were added the want of any room on the deck for exercise, and the attacks of innumerable vermin, which our predecessors, the slaves, had left behind them. The provisions proved to be decayed and offensive. "On the morning of the 16th, we again obtained sight of Tripoli, with light winds, pleasant weather, and a smooth sea, and stood in for the town. By arrangement, the Siren kept far without us during the day, and her appearance had been so changed as to lull all suspicion of her being a vessel of war. The lightness of the wind allowed us to keep up all appearance of an anxious desire to reach the harbor before night, without bringing us too near to require any other change than the use of drags which could not be seen from the city. All the crew were also kept below, excepting six or eight persons at a time, that suspicion might not be awakened by unusual numbers; and such as were visible were dressed as Maltese. "As the evening advanced, our drags were taken in, so that we were within two miles of the eastern entrance at dark, the Siren being some three miles without us. The concerted arrangements were for the ketch to wait for the boats of the Siren to join us after dark, that they might accompany us to the attack; but as the sun descended, the wind grew fainter, and there was good reason to apprehend that any delay in waiting for the boats might render it very difficult for the ketch to reach the ship. Decatur, therefore, determined to proceed without waiting, and accompanied his decision with the remark, 'the fewer the number, the greater the honor.' One boat from the Siren, with six men, had joined us a few days before, and was still with us. "The final arrangements were now made, and the respective duties of the several officers, which had been previously allotted, were again specified and explained. The presumed number of our enemy was stated, and the necessity of our utmost exertions enjoined upon us. The watchword 'Philadelphia' was issued to be used as a means of recognition; and as we advanced into the harbor, strict silence was enjoined and observed. The injunction, however, appeared to be unnecessary. No one appeared to be disposed to enter into conversation, but [each] to be absorbed by his own reflections. My own thoughts were busy, now reverting to friends at home, now to the perils we were about to meet. Should I be able to justify the expectations of the former by meeting properly the dangers of the latter? . . . The officers and crew were directed to conceal themselves as much as possible, excepting some six or eight. Most of the officers could be distinguished by their dress, and they required concealment more than the sailors. Fortunately, owing to the loss of some articles, which had been replaced by loan from the crew, my own dress corresponded with theirs, which enabled me to keep near Decatur, who I supposed would naturally be among the first to leave the ketch. The wind wafted us slowly into the harbor, the water was smooth, and the young moon gave light enough to distinguish prominent objects. One battery was passed, and the Philadelphia was in view near several smaller vessels, and |