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

all they succeeded in doing was planting her more firmly on the reef. The Tripolitans, in the meantime, had been studying the frigate’s predicament, and they dispatched nine gunboats to assess the possibility of attacking her. They approached cautiously, of course. The Philadelphia could still sink them all fast.
    As the enemy gunboats slowly closed in, Bainbridge asked Porter’s opinion on what to do. He suggested that all the officers be consulted, and Bainbridge agreed. They advised lowering a boat to explore the depth of water in the immediate vicinity, which was done. Finding that the deepest water was astern, the officers urged Bainbridge to back the ship off, which he attempted to do by running the guns abaft, laying all the sails aback, loosening the topgallant sails, and setting a heavy press of canvas, hoping the wind would push the ship off the reef. But she did not budge. As a last desperate measure, a second council of officers advised cutting away the foremast, which Bainbridge did as well. As expected, the main topgallant mast toppled with it. But again, the Philadelphia would not move. Towing her off with the ship’s boats, or using ketch anchors to accomplish the same thing was impractical; she was too deeply embedded, and the captain feared that the Tripolitan gunboats—getting closer all the time—would shoot the boat crews working the ketch anchors.
    With Porter continuing to advise him, Bainbridge next cast three anchors off from the bows, started the water in the hold, and hove the big guns overboard, reserving only enough to resist the gunboats, which by now were firing on the ship. Nothing worked. Part of the stern was then cut away to allow the remaining guns to bear on the Tripolitan attackers, but that did not work either.
    Four hours went by in this desperate struggle to free the ship, which had now heeled over to port. Porter described Bainbridge as acting during the entire time with “great coolness and deliberation.” Their situation was now desperate. Enemy gunboats were becoming bolder. They took up positions on the Philadelphia ’s starboard side, where they pummeled the helpless frigate with eighteen and twenty-four pounders, without the Philadelphia being able to reply. Her remaining guns on that side could only fire into the water.
    It was now four P.M., and Bainbridge saw no hope of either getting the ship off the reef or fighting off the gunboats. At this moment of supreme peril, he called another meeting of officers—hardly unusual, even for the bravest, most self-assured skippers. Truxtun made it a practice to call them in extreme emergencies to decide or approve a course of action. John Paul Jones had done the same. So, for that matter, had George Washington. In fact, Bainbridge had been consulting right along, but now the fateful decision to surrender or fight to the death had to be made before the gunboats blew up the ship and killed all aboard, something the Tripolitans probably did not want to do, but might do inadvertently.
    After laying out the options, Bainbridge, with a heavy heart, proposed to surrender the frigate rather than fight to the death, and Porter supported him. So did the others. Later, Porter would explain that Bainbridge had “coolly and prudently called a council of his officers who were unanimously of opinion that to save the lives of the brave crew there was no alternative but to haul the colors down and with tears in his eyes did that truly brave man submit to painful necessity.”
    â€œIn such a dilemma, too painful to relate, the flag of the United States was struck,” Bainbridge reported to Preble. Both Porter and Bainbridge were convinced that the only realistic alternative to putting themselves and their crew into the hands of the enemy was to blow up the ship. But neither Bainbridge nor Porter ever considered doing this. “Some fanatics,”Bainbridge told Preble, “may say that blowing the ship