[Amnorix]

February 16.

1923. Howard Carter unseals the burial chamber of King Tut.

1945. American forces land on Corregidor island in the PHilippines.

The premier event of the day is one of limited historical importance, but is very cool/interesting for those interested in military history. Today in 1804 Stephen Decatur snuck into Tripoli Harbor and burned the captured USS Philadelphia.

These events occurred during the First Barbary Wars, when President Jefferson dispatched a very significant portion of the United States Navy to the Mediterranean to try to impress upon the various Barbary states that raiding American commerce was a bad idea. One of the ships sent was the USS Philadelphia, a newly commissioned 36 gun frigate built under the very pro-Navy Adams administration. At that size, the Philadephia was bigger and more powerful than any Barbary ship afloat. She was commanded by Captain William Bainbridge.

Arriving off Gibraltar in August, 1802, she quickly proved her worth by recapturing the American brig Celia from a Moroccan man-o-war and bringing both boats into Gibraltar.

Ordered to blockade Tripoli, she cruised off the coast of the pirate city until October 31, 1803, when she ran aground on an uncharted reef. Efforts to refloat her (involving throwing everything overboard, including the heavy stuff such as cannon, etc.) failed, and after Tripoli's shore batteries opened up on her, she was surrendered. Her officers and men became slaves of the Pasha.

It was a humiliating blow for the nascent United States navy and nation.

She was also too great a prize to be allowed to remain in the hands of pirates. Naval commanders decided that she must be recaptured or destroyed. (keep in mind, it took 6+ months for messages to get to the US and back, so commanders on site had great latitude.

On this day, 1804, US Navy Lieutenant Stephen Decatur took the captured Moroccan ketch Mastico (which had been renamed the Intrepid) into Tripoli Harbor. Disguised as a Moroccan vessel, she snuck in at night under the shore batteries of the harbor, approached the PHiladephia, fired her, and quickly fled the scene.

For this daring act, Decatur immediately became a national hero. Quickly promoted to captain for his valor in this act (he volunteered to lead the mission) as well as the prior combat in Tripoli Harbor when he led a boarding party during a bombardment, he remains to this day the youngest person to ever attain the rank of Captain in US Navy history (he was about 25).

Lord Admiral Nelson, hero of Trafalgar, reputedly referred to these events as "the most bold and daring act of the age."

Decatur went on to have a very successful career commanding several frigates, including successes during the War of 1812.

In 1820 Decatur died after a duel with Commodore James Barron, after Barron challenged him due to remakrs made in 1807 relating to Barron's court martial proceedings.

Five US Navy ships have been named the Decatur, as well as forty-six cities and towns in the United States, and countless schools and other public buildings. His former home in Washington DC is a museum, and his portrait appeared on the 1886 US $20 silver certificates.

Bainbridge remained imprisoned until 1806. His negotiated release led a few years later to his rather stunning return to the US Navy, including not just shore duty but command of several frigates. He successful commanded the Constitution during the early part of the war, and then served as second at Decatur's duel. It is rumored that he was jealous of Decatur most of his life due to Decatur's enduring fame.

Bainbridge Island, Washington, and the towns of Bainbridge, Ohio and Bainbridge, Georgia are named after him. Several US navy ships have also been named the Bainbridge.