The Burning of the Frigate Philadelphia in Tripoli Harbor, 1804
After the capture of the warship Philadelphia in 1803, Commander Stephen Decatur engineered a daring nighttime raid to destroy the vessel. With his men concealed, Decatur sailed into the harbor using an Arabic-speaking pilot to fool harbor sentries. The Americans quickly boarded the Philadelphia and set it ablaze, forcing the Tripolitan guards to swim to shore. Decatur departed with only one injured man. The Mariners Museum, Newport News, Virginia.