Combat· First Barbary War
Philadelphia and Essex vs 2 Tripolitan gunboats
The frigates USS Philadelphia and USS Essex are credited with engaging two Tripolitan gunboats off the North African coast in 1801, one of the small, scattered skirmishes that marked the war's opening phase before a strong American squadron reached the Mediterranean.
Marines aboard the frigates were at their usual stations, firing on the enemy craft. In this early period the American effort was thin and largely a blockade-and-patrol affair, with little force available for a sustained campaign against Tripoli.
Record no. 203