Decatur's Bold and Daring Act--The Philadelphia in Tripoli 1804 by Mark Lardas

Author:Mark Lardas
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Decatur’s Bold and Daring Act
ISBN: 9781849088329
Publisher: Osprey Publishing
Published: 2011-07-15T16:00:00+00:00

Boarding and the Fight for the Deck

The warning came too late. Catalano urged Decatur to give the order to board, but Decatur felt the moment was not yet right. The distance between the ships was too wide to jump. Intrepid was still a few feet from Philadelphia, but momentum was carrying it towards the frigate. Decatur told his crew – now up from crouching behind the bulkheads and pouring up from below deck – to wait for his command. They did, poised on Intrepid’s bulwarks. As the ships touched, Decatur shouted “Board!”

Decatur intended to be the first American aboard Philadelphia, but lost his footing as he leapt, falling against the side of Philadelphia. He might have fallen into the sea between the two ships, but grabbed onto a chain plate – one of the steel bars used to guy the mast’s shrouds – and hauled himself onto the deck. Decatur had been accompanied by two midshipmen – Charles Morris, commanding one of the incendiary teams, and Alexander Laws, part of James Lawrence’s team. Laws clambered through one of Philadelphia’s gunports, snagging one of the pistols hung from his boarding belt as he wriggled through, delaying his entry. Morris, agile and powerfully athletic, leapt from Intrepid’s bulwark to Philadelphia’s forecastle, gaining the distinction of being the first American aboard the captured frigate.

His reward was almost to get skewered by Stephen Decatur. As Morris began down the spar deck in search of the enemy, a figure loomed out of the darkness, swinging a sword at him. It was Decatur, who had finally gained the deck and was seeking the enemy. Both men were dressed as “Arabs” – wearing clothing of Mediterranean sailors. Decatur, believing he was the only American aboard Philadelphia had assumed Morris to be part of the enemy’s crew.

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