Background
This account of a "cutting out" action comes from a great book about the birth of the US Navy and Marine Corps, ABC Whipple's To The Shores Of Tripoli, NY 1991. Reading it, it struck me that it would make an excellent skirmish wargame. Indeed, the little mishaps that occur throughout the action are so like the things that happen to us in our group when we play our games that I thought I was reading an account of one of them!
We use percentage [20 sided] dice in all our rules, as everything is based on the percentage, ie chance [though I suppose probability would be more accurate a description?] of something happening. If the likelihood is high, it has a high percentage, and vice versa. But the catch is that rolling 100% always means a disaster for the roller, and that can lead to some very amusing situations, believe me, especially when we have one guy in the group whose facility for rolling 100 so often has actually lead to him acquiring a new nickname - "Lucky"! Pete Reynolds started out as "Lonesome" Reynolds, after the Old West scout, but has been renamed after an unbelievable series of bad dice throws.
The story so far is that the tiny US fleet, Commodore Preble commanding, has been sent to the Med to take on the Barbary Pirates. The European nations all pay them tribute to stop their ships being attacked, but the feisty young nation knows better, and with no more than a handful of ships has determined to fight rather than pay. Actually there were negotiations aimed at avoiding fighting through payment going on, but that spoils the story!
The USS Philadelphia has been captured by the Tripolitans after it was grounded chasing a vessel too close to the shore, and Preble wants to do something about it before it can be used against the Americans - it is being refitted in Tripoli habour to just that end.
The Story of the Action
Captain Decatur called on the commodore with an idea - the same idea that Preble had already been considering. Now, Decatur pointed out, they had the perfect vessel for the project, a lateen-rigged ketch [captured from the Pirates] that would attract no suspicion when she entered Tripoli Harbor.
"Preble knew the colorful background of his young lieutenant - indeed it may have figured in his recent decision to transfer Decatur aboard the Enterprise and take him east where the action would be, replacing him with Isaac Hull aboard the Argus in the western Mediterranean.
Stephen Decatur had been born on January 5, 1779, to Philadelphia parents. A broad-shouldered, curly-haired, handsome ladies' man, young Decatur reputedly had gone to sea at 19 at the urging of attorneys after being acquitted of the murder of "a woman of doubtful integrity."
Whatever his reason, he found a berth as a midshipman (no doubt with his influential father's help) aboard the frigate United States. While briefly ashore he married an heiress who had fallen in love with him even before meeting him; she had become infatuated with his portrait. But she agreed with his declaration that the U S Navy took precedence in his affections. Decatur was not the only young naval officer who felt that way in the early nineteenth century.
Now the young commander of the Enterprise, Decatur impressed nearly everyone, officers and men alike, with his quality of leadership. Marine private Ray, who enjoyed being critical of naval officers, wrote, "The Intrepid Decatur is proverbial among sailors, for the good treatment of his men, as he is for his valour. Not a tar, who ever sailed with Decatur, but would almost sacrifice his life for him." And Midshipman Robert Spence, who had served with Decatur aboard the United States, wrote, "I was struck with a peculiarity of manner and appearance calculated to rivet the eye and engross the attention. I had often pictured to myself the form and look of a hero, such as my favorite Homer had delineated; here I saw it embodied."
Decatur had competition from a fellow lieutenant and former shipmate from the United States. Charles Stewart, commanding the former sloop-of-war Siren, also volunteered to lead the expedition. But Prebel shared the other's admiration for Decatur's leadership and zeal. And he decided that Stewart could serve as well by accompanying the Intrepid and rescuing her men after they had accomplished their mission.
It was another testimony to Decatur that when-his voice high-pitched with excitement-he asked the Enterprise's crew for volunteers, every man stepped forward. (A contributing factor may have been the utter boredom of blockade duty.) He selected 62 of the most muscular for the close combat he expected with the Philadelphia's Tripolitan crew. Eight of his selection were marines. Meanwhile work crews washed down and fumigated the Mastico-Intrepid, whose hold was alive with vermin. Her guns were taken ashore, and she was made to look more like an innocent trading vessel; her lateen yards were left for the same reason. The Siren was painted a different color so she would not be recognized.
Preble's orders to Decatur were clear and simple. His men were to use the Intrepid's combustibles to set fire to the Philadelphia; they were not to attempt to bring her out of the harbor. If it looked worthwhile and feasible, Decatur could then set the Intrepid afire and send her in among the ships of the harbor, escaping in the Intrepid's boats to the Siren. Lieutenant Stewart was directed to lie outside the harbor prepared to send in the Siren's boats to rescue the Intrepid's men if necessary.
Five midshipmen from the Constitution, no doubt after much pleading, were added to the lntrepid's force. Most important, Salvador Catalano was enlisted to masquerade as captain of the Intrepid. Catalano claimed to know every reef in Tripoli Harbor, and he could speak Arabic as well as the lingua franca used by the traders along the Barbary Coast. The Siren was also given a pilot, John Jourvass of the Constitution. All hands were assembled in the two vessels. Preble gave a final blessing: "May God prosper you in this enterprise." At 5 pm on 3 February 1804, the Intrepid and Siren set sail on their mission of destruction. Midshipman Ralph Izard left behind a letter: "This evening, Dear mother, I sail for Tripoli ... for the purpose of burning the Frigate Philadelphia ....We are certain of success."
En Route For Tripoli
By the next day, in mid-Mediterranean en route for Tripoli, Decatur was informed that the meat aboard the Intrepid was inedible. (The first 100 roll] Evidently the beef had been packed in barrels that had previously been used for salted fish and improperly cleaned; now it was spoiled beyond human consumption. The ration had to be reduced to biscuits and water. But the weather was perfect, and the two vessels made their landfall off Tripoli in four days. As they approached the coast, they separated so as not to appear to be sailing together. The Siren's crewmen were still re-rigging her to look more Turkish and had disguised her gunports. By late afternoon of February 7, under a light breeze, the Intrepid hove to and anchored. As dusk fell, Decatur could see the Siren anchoring not far away. Everything was in readiness.
But with the darkness the wind picked up; soon it was blowing a small gale, and the seas were running high.. Catalano warned against trying to negotiate the tricky harbor entrance in such weather. Frustrated and impatient, Decatur insisted on a reconnoiter and sent Midshipman Charles Morris and Catalano ahead in a boat. It was dark by the time they returned to report that the wind driven waves were roaring into the harbor, obscuring some reefs and crashing over others; the Intrepid would almost certainly be swept onto the rocks. Besides, it would be impossible to escape from the harbor against such a sea and head wind. As they shouted their findings on the windy quarterdeck, the storm increased. Their boat was smashed against the Intrepid's side before it could be hauled aboard. Decatur resignedly headed seaward to ride out the gale. {The second 100 roll].
Aboard the Siren Lieutenant Stewart saw the Intrepid's stern lights heading into the open Mediterranean and attempted to follow her. He had already put his boats over the side, ready to rescue the Intrepid's men if necessary; and the gale-driven seas were running so high that it took a long time to recover them. Then he found that the Siren's anchor had dragged and fouled on some rocks. [The third 100 roll]. For hours the crew worked on the wet, heaving foredeck trying to hoist it; directing the operation, Stewart was thrown to the deck and injured. [The fourth 100 roll]. But he continued to command, finally ordering the anchor cable cut. Dawn was approaching as the Siren went pitching seaward to try to find the Intrepid.
The storm continued for a week, driving the two small vessels eastward into the Gulf of Sidra. The ships' lookouts managed to sight each other, but all the two crews could do was fight to keep their vessels afloat. The situation was particularly intolerable aboard the overcrowded Intrepid. Decatur and four other officers were crammed into one tiny cabin. Six midshipmen and Catalano were confined to a makeshift platform over the water casks, so close to the deck that, far from standing headroom, there was not even room to sit up. The eight marines were on a similar shelf on the other side of the vessel.
The sailors were jammed into a small hold amid crashing barrels and crates, listening to the seas thunder against the hull and wondering when her seams would open or whether the 60-foot vessel would be swamped by the mountainous waves. Worse, it turned out that the fumigators had not done their work well; the hold still swarmed with rats and other vermin. In the heavy seas the ketch shipped tons of green water, and the men frantically worked the pumps to keep her from foundering. As the punishing days went by, exhausted by working the ship in deck-sweeping waves, the men gradually weakened on their meager diet.
Finally on February 15 the winds began to slacken. Decatur called for more sail and a course westward for Tripoli harbor. By 5:30 P.m. both vessels were back off Point Tagiura, just east of Tripoli Harbor. Decatur and Stewart decided to get out of sight of land to avoid detection. At 9:30 they headed back toward the harbor-and could not find it in the darkness.
At 11 am on the 16th Decatur turned toward Tripoli again, towing a drag made of spare wood to slow her in the still blustery wind. The Siren held back while the Intrepid, her sails purposely flopping to make her look more like a trading vessel, approached the harbor. The Union Jack flew at her masthead. It was dusk and the wind was moderating as she reached the harbor entrance. Decatur looked out to sea for the Siren, but she was not in sight. At 7 pm, worrying about the dying wind, he decided to go ahead and hope that the Siren would be off the harbor waiting for him when he came back out. The Intrepid's lateen sails were trimmed to the light breeze, and she slipped through the outer harbor entrance.
Into The Harbor But Moving Too Fast!
Studying the sunset and calculating the ketch's speed, Decatur decided that she was moving too fast. Although there was only a breath of wind, the heavy sea of the storm's aftermath was propelling her shoreward. At this rate she would reach the Philadelphia too soon. Rendezvous with the Siren's boats assuming she made it had been set for 10 pm, and Decatur needed to wait for her in case his mission required a rescue.
He called for more drags; large buckets went over the side. The Intrepid slowed. They were already approaching the narrow, twisting entrance to the inner harbor, and Catalano was studying every reef, which in the darkness boiled white with surf. A crescent moon was high overhead. By 8 pm, with the breeze continuing to drop, Decatur ordered the drags brought in. At this point some boats could be seen approaching.
Before Decatur could become alarmed, the men identified themselves; they were from the Siren, which had reached the outer harbor entrance and anchored. In the boats were 30 men eager to join the Intrepid's crew. Decatur let them come aboard, except for those needed to take the boats back to await their rescue mission. He ordered every man to his hiding place and demanded utter silence.
Huddled in their hideouts, the men reviewed their assignments. All were to rush aboard the frigate at Decatur's signal. No guns were to be used; the Tripolitans aboard the Philadelphia were to be dispatched by sword, cutlass, and dagger. Decatur, two other officers, and 14 men were to concentrate on the frigate's spar deck. Other detachments were assigned to the berth deck and forward storerooms, the cockpit, and aft storerooms. A few officers and men were to remain aboard the Intrepid to watch for a counterattack. As soon as the Tripolitans in the frigate were subdued, the men aboard the Intrepid were to hand up the combustibles to be placed throughout the Philadelphia. At Decatur's command everything was to be set alight at once and everyone was to rush back aboard the Intrepid.
Nine O'clock
The ketch was barely moving in a near calm. Decatur and his masquerading companions on deck could see the winking lights of the city.
Then, silhouetted against them rose the large hull of the Philadelphia. The helmsman silently guided the Intrepid toward her. As the distance slowly closed, lights showed aboard the frigate. Her gunports were open and her cannon ready. Turbaned heads could be seen passing by the ports. There was no sign of anyone on her high, dark deck.
Nine-thirty. The Intrepid was now under the frigate's guns-as well as more than a hundred cannon in Tripoli's shore batteries. The harbor was still except for swells lapping against the ships. Decatur could just make out two gunboats off the frigate's starboard bow. The Intrepid's long lateen boom creaked as she rolled with the swells.
Ten. A voice boomed from the Philadelphia. Catalano, who understood Arabic, whispered to Decatur that the lookout was ordering the Intrepid to bear off. At Decatur's nod Catalano called out to identify his vessel: He was a trader from Malta; his ketch had lost her anchor in the gale, and he requested permission to tie up alongside for the night.
The lookout's voice indicated his suspicion. He asked what the vessel's cargo was. Catalano's reply seemed to reassure him-until the lookout asked about another vessel just outside the harbor.
Decatur had prepared Catalano for this. She was the Transfer, Catalano replied; the Tripolitans, Decatur knew, had recently purchased her and were awaiting her arrival. As the pilot talked, the Intrepid drifted closer; she was now only 20 yards from the tall side of the Philadelphia. The breeze died, and the Intrepid stalled. [The fifth 100 roll.]
Men could be seen climbing down into one of the frigate's boats. They rowed around to the bow, took a line, and turned toward the Intrepid. Decatur responded quickly; he did not want the Philadelphia's boat getting too close. At this point the ketch was a sitting duck; one broadside from the frigate would blow her to bits. Softly he called for one of the Intrepid's boats to take a line toward the frigate. The two boats met, and the men spliced their lines.
The Intrepid's boat started back toward the ketch. Decatur whispered orders to the robed men on deck to bring in the line as fast as they could. Some of those hiding behind the bulwarks lent a hand, pulling as well as they could from their prone position. The gap between the two vessels began to close. A stern line went flying over to the frigate, and someone made it fast. At that moment a voice aboard the Philadelphia shouted, "Americanil"
"BOARD!"
Catalano panicked and shouted, "Board, Captain, board!" But Decatur could see that there still was too much water between the vessels, and called down the Intrepid's deck, "No order to be obeyed but that of the commanding officer!" For a few seconds, while the Intrepid's men pulled frantically on the lines and thumping noises of alarm could be heard aboard the Philadelphia, the members of the boarding party held their breaths. The two vessels' hulls came together, and Decatur yelled, "BOARD!"
Leading the charge, jumping for one of the frigate's chain plates to climb aboard, Decatur misstepped and nearly fell. [Nearly! But as he only nearly fell, it must have been a close call on a Agility Roll!]
Alongside him Midshipman Alexander Laws, grabbing a gunport lid, got his sword tangled. [Again, close call, but probably just a narrowly failed Agility Roll again.]
Midshipman Charles Morris was the first aboard, quickly followed by Laws and Decatur. Not realizing that Morris had beaten him aboard, Decatur mistook him in the dark for a Tripolitan and was about to cut him down when Morris gave the password: "Philadelphia." [Nearly a failed Reaction Roll!]
All along the Philadelphia's side the Intrepids men were swarming aboard. Within seconds they were pouring down the frigate's deck, slashing with sword, cutlass, and saber as the terrified Tripolitans retreated, most of them diving over the side with scimitars still in hand; the others were cut down before they could retreat. The frigate was taken, without a shot fired, in ten minutes.
The men aboard the Intrepid were ready with boxes of tar, lint, shavings, and powder that had been dried out after the storm and that they now passed up to the frigate's deck and through the ports. Everyone aboard the Philadelphia was at his station and quickly spread the incendiary debris. Each man carried a small sperm-oil candle, and the leader of each squad carried lanterns slung over his shoulder. Decatur ran along the Philadelphia's deck calling to each squad leader; as soon as all were ready, he gave the signal. The men lit their candles from the lanterns and tossed them into the flammable debris; nearly every fire was lit simultaneously.
The Philadelphia was dry as tinder, and her open ports and hatchways provided a surging updraft. She virtually exploded into flame in half a dozen locations. Midshipman Morris and his group, deep in the frigate's cockpit, were almost trapped by the flames above them as they rushed up the companionway to join the rest of the men pouring over the Philadelphia's side into the Intrepid. [Clearly another close call - again probably a failed Reaction Roll, causing the group to remain below for to long, and then a successful roll got them out just in time.]
Behind them they left some 20 Tripolitan bodies on the deck to burn with the ship. Hastily making sure everyone had escaped, Decatur jumped and almost went overboard again; he caught the ketch's rigging and slid down onto her deck as she swung away from the burning frigate. Only later did he realize that in the rush he had dropped the Philadelphia's Tripolitan ensign, which he had hauled down to take to Commodore Preble as a souvenir. [Another failed roll, this time Dexterity!]
The entire operation had taken 25 minutes. And now at last the Bashaw's shore batteries opened up. In their surprise the gunners were firing wildly. Still, one shell tore through the Intrepids topsail. Desperately pushing away, her men rushed to get clear of the fiery frigate. The flames had already burned through the bowline between the two vessels, but in the confusion no one remembered the stern line.
[A truly amazing event, which would be hotly disputed in any game - how could anyone be so stupid as to forget to cut a tied line which stopped the ship escaping - "it just couldn't happen"? But it did, and would be a failed Reaction Roll, I guess.]
By the time someone did, steaming tar was pouring down onto the Intrepid, and gusts of flame were shooting through the frigate's gunports into the ketch, threatening to ignite the barrels of combustible debris intended for use if she were turned into a fireship.
Caught Fast!
There was no time for that. The immediate problem was getting clear of the burning Philadelphia. The stern line was cut, and Decatur called for the sweeps. But the Intrepids long boom caught on the frigate's stern. [What! Another 100? Is that the sixth?] The fire was singeing the ketch's cotton sails. The Philadelphia was now one huge flame towering into the sky and lighting the whole harbor as her blazing lines and yards broke away and fell hissing into the water. The frigate's firestorm was so intense that the Intrepid was almost sucked into it. But the boom was finally freed; the oarsmen got to work, and the ketch slowly pulled away from the zone of fire.
She was a perfect target in the light of the flaming frigate, and the Bashaw's gunners redoubled their fire. Then the Philadelphia's guns, which had been double-shotted, to aid in the harbor's defense, were ignited by the flames. Thundering like gigantic bombshells as each was touched off, the frigate's guns fired a concert of salvos straight into the castle guns ashore, throwing their gunners into confusion. Her seaward guns fired just short of the Intrepid. [something going right for a change!] A providential fresh breeze came up to help the men at the sweeps, and the ketch raced out of range toward the outer harbor. At that point the flames reached the Philadelphia's powder magazine.
With a volcanic roar the frigate seemed to rise out of the water and nearly disintegrate into a thousand arcing fireworks. The men aboard the Intrepid paused in flight, awed by the spectacle they had created. It was 1 am by the time the Intrepid left the outer harbor. Across the water Decatur heard a man call, "Siren's boats, sir. Have you a line?" The Intrepid did not need a tow, but Decatur jumped into one of the boats to be rowed to the Siren where he reported to Lieutenant Stewart that the mission had been accomplished without a man lost and only one injured.
For an hour the two vessels stood off the harbor while everyone watched the remains of the Philadelphia burn. Then, before a freshening breeze they set sail for Syracuse. As dawn began to light the sky at 6 am, they could still see the last glimmering flames on the horizon 40 miles away.
Signal 232
Commodore Preble was waiting at Syracuse with mounting anxiety. By February 19 the Intrepid and Siren were nearly two weeks I overdue. His fleet, too, had fought a storm for four days, and Preble began to fear that the gale had driven both vessels ashore on the Tripolitan coast. The Siren should have returned if the Intrepid had been captured in the harbor. Of course, it was also possible - even probable, considering the Siren's Lieutenant Stewart - that the Siren had tried to go to the Intrepids rescue and had also been captured.
In a report to Secretary Smith on the proposed action, Preble had written, "It will undoubtedly cost us many lives, but it must be done." He had not, however, expected to lose every man aboard both vessels. Agonizing over the fate of his men and two of his favorite lieutenants, Preble became more than usually irascible. He ordered a constant watch at the flagship's masthead. For a week, ten days, 12 days, there was no sign of the Intrepid or the P Siren. At 10 A.M. on February 19 the lookout reported two sails on the horizon. As they approached, the Intrepids lateen yards were soon recognized. Preble called for the hoist of signal number 227: "Have you completed the business you were sent on?" There were a few tense minutes before signal flags could be seen in the distance fluttering to the Siren's masthead: a 2, then a 3, then a 2: "I have completed the business I was sent on."
As A Game
There you have it - a short, sharp action, which in the end was entirely successful, but which had a whole series of difficult moments, and which could have gone disastrously wrong at any time. All that's needed are the 3 ships, some ships boats, and a few figures. Whilst the Corsairs might seem to be doomed, actually it could go either way. Surprise is on the Americans side at the start, but if any of the cock-ups occur during the action [like Decatur not even making it across into the Philadelphia,] it could turn into a crock of cack in a moment, I feel.
What it would need would be the key events and options identifying and being given chances, perhaps, and being diced for as they are reached.
We play in 54mm, of course, and I have a Playpeople frigate which would make a good Philadelphia, and a couple of smaller vessels which be OK for the Siren [though this vessel could be "off table" actually, and just ships boats from it used] and the Intrepid. For figures, we have plenty of "pirates" who would pass as Tripolitans, and some generic Naval types [mainly the superb Replicants' Royal Navy set].
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© Copyright 2003 Hal Thinglum
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