Skip to main content
Please check our Hours of Operation page before planning your visit. Click on red bar for more information.
[X]
American Alliance of Museums Accredited Museums Logo
Tags
Barbary Wars
Related Content
Topic
Document Type
  • Photograph
Wars & Conflicts
  • Barbary Wars 1801-1805, 1815
Navy Communities
File Formats
  • Image (gif, jpg, tiff)
Location of Archival Materials
  • National Museum of the U.S. Navy
Author Name
Place of Event
Recipient Name

Bombardment of Tripoli

On August 3, 1804, Commodore Edward Preble's Mediterranean Squadron launched the first of a series of bombardments on the harbor of Tripoli.  Designed to destroy the defending batteries and sink enemy ships, the bombardments were part of the blockade that Preble had established in 1803.  During the course of the day-long bombardment, U.S. forces also engaged Tripolitan gunboats which were harassing the blockading squadron.  The U.S. casualties suffered during the boarding of the enemy gunboats came to Lieutenant James Decatur (Captain Decatur's brother) killed, two other officers and ten Sailors and Marines wounded. 


NH 65536-KN (Color): Bombardment of Tripoli, 3 August 1804. Oil by Michael Felice Corne, depicting Commodore Edward Preble's squadron engaging the Tripolitan gunboats and fortifications during the afternoon of 3 August 1804. U.S. Navy vessels sho...
Caption: NH 65536-KN (Color): Bombardment of Tripoli, August 3, 1804. Oil by Michael Felice Corne, depicting Commodore Edward Preble's squadron engaging the Tripolitan gunboats and fortifications during the afternoon of 3 August 1804. U.S. Navy vessels shown in the foreground are, from left to right: schooner Enterprise, schooner Nautilus, brig Argus, brig Siren (or Syren), schooner Vixen, mortar boat Dent, gunboat Somers, frigate Constitution (Preble's flagship), mortar boat Robinson, and gunboat Blake. Attacking the enemy flotilla in the center background are Lieutenant Stephen Decatur's three gunboats and a gunboat commanded by Lieutenant James Decatur, who was killed in this action. Courtesy of the U.S. Naval Academy Museum, Annapolis, Maryland. NHHC Photograph Collection.

NH 56747: The Bombardment of Tripoli, 3 August 1804. Sketch shows the location of Preble’s Squadron on the first of five bombardments of the city of Tripoli. Ships taking part are: USS Constitution, USS Syren, USS Argus, USS Vixen, USS Enterprise...
Caption: NH 56747: The Bombardment of Tripoli, August 3, 1804. Sketch shows the location of Preble’s Squadron on the first of five bombardments of the city of Tripoli. Ships taking part are: USS Constitution, USS Syren, USS Argus, USS Vixen, USS Enterprise, USS Nautilus.

NH 2385: "Decatur's Struggle with the Algerines". Line engraving by W. Ridgway after an artwork by F.O. Darley, published during the 19th Century. It depicts the battle on board a Tripolitan gunboat during the U.S. Navy's bombardment of Tripoli, ...
Caption: NH 2385: "Decatur's Struggle with the Algerines". Line engraving by W. Ridgway after an artwork by F.O. Darley, published during the 19th Century. It depicts the battle on board a Tripolitan gunboat during the U.S. Navy's bombardment of Tripoli, 3 August 1804. Lieutenant Stephen Decatur is in the center, engaged in hand-to-hand combat. Courtesy of the Naval Historical Foundation, Powell Collection.

KN-2587 (Color): "Stephen Decatur at Tripoli", during the boarding of a Tripolitan gunboat on 3 August 1803. Oil on canvas, 29" by 39", by William A.K. Martin (1817-1867), signed and dated by the artist, 1851. It depicts Lieutenant Stephen Decatu...
Caption: KN-2587 (Color): "Stephen Decatur at Tripoli", during the boarding of a Tripolitan gunboat on 3 August 1803. Oil on canvas, 29" by 39", by William A.K. Martin (1817-1867), signed and dated by the artist, 1851. It depicts Lieutenant Stephen Decatur in hand-to-hand combat with a Tripolitan. Painting in the U.S. Naval Academy Museum Collection. Gift of Friends of the U.S. Navy, 1941.
hide
Published: Thu Feb 11 14:23:19 EST 2021