The Shining Sea by George C. Daughan Read Free Book Online

distinction that would make up for what he considered his failure in Algeria. Sailing in company with the Philadelphia (Captain Samuel Barron) he looked into the harbor at Tripoli on September 28. In surveying the city, Bainbridge thought “it had a mean appearance, [looking] little better than a village. Their fortifications appear to cover a good deal of ground; it shows butfew guns and apparently is slightly built.” Little happened on this occasion for him to distinguish himself, and that remained the case until Preble gave him command of the Philadelphia and ordered him to blockade Tripoli. Bainbridge hoped the new assignment would be the means of ridding himself of the humiliation he continued to feel.
    T HE P HILADELPHIA AND THE V IXEN ARRIVED OFF T RIPOLI on October 7, 1803. The city’s fortifications appeared much improved since Bainbridge first viewed them in 1801, but he saw nothing that would deter him. He wanted action right away, and so, of course, did Porter. The Tripolitans refused to accommodate them, however, keeping well clear of the powerful American warships. Bainbridge and his first mate became increasingly frustrated. “Made the coast of Tripoli on the 7th,” he grumbled to Preble, “and have remained on this solitary station without the good fortune of seeing our enemies except under the refuge of well fortified works.”
    Aggravated by the inactivity and wanting to make some move before Preble arrived with the rest of the squadron, Bainbridge on October 19 sent the Vixen to patrol off Cape Bon Peninsula at the northeastern tip of Tunisia. There had been vague rumors of a Tripolitan warship in that area and American commerce being threatened.“My motives of ordering her off Cape Bon,” he explained to Preble, were “to grant more efficient protection to our commerce, than I would by keeping her with me.” It was a decision Bainbridge and Porter would deeply regret.
    As the days went by, Bainbridge’s annoyance at the inaction mounted. He kept searching for any opportunity—however small—to attack the enemy. On October 31 he saw his chance.“At 9 A.M., about five leagues eastward of Tripoli, [I] saw a ship in shore of us,” he reported, “standing before the wind to the westward.” She was obviously a Tripolitan vessel, sailing in waters honeycombed with shoals, sandbars, hidden rocks, and ledges. In spite of the dangers, Bainbridge gave chase with three leads continuously chanting soundings. His prey hoisted Tripolitan colors and continued on her course close to shore.“About 11 o’clock [I] had approached the shore to 7 fathoms of water, [and] commenced firing at her, which we continued by running before the wind until half past 11, being then in 7 fathoms water and finding our fire ineffectual to prevent herfrom getting into Tripoli, gave up the pursuit and was beating off the land when we ran on the rocks in 12 feet of water,” he reported. An instant before grounding, Bainbridge, suddenly aware of the danger, ordered the helm put hard-a-port and the yards sharp braced. But it was too late. The frigate, making eight knots, ground to a halt in deep sand and rock on Kaliusa Reef—well-known to locals but not to Bainbridge, Porter, or any other officer. When the ship struck, Porter was half way up the mizzen rigging. The sudden jolt made him reverse course and return immediately to the quarterdeck, where he remained close to Bainbridge.
    They both recognized that the Philadelphia was in serious danger. And she was alone; the Vixen was not around to help. She would have been of great service. “Had I not sent the schooner from us,” Bainbridge wrote to Preble, “the accident might have been prevented: if not, we should have been able to have extricated ourselves.”
    Reacting quickly, Bainbridge, at Porter’s urging, threw on all sails, hoping to move the ship forward into deeper water ahead, but