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In February 1804, under Commodore Edward Preble’s command, Lieutenant Stephen Decatur slipped into Tripoli Harbor aboard the captured and disguised ketch Intrepid. There, he and his crew boarded the Tripolitans’ prize, USS Philadelphia, and made the heavy decision to set her ablaze to prevent her use as a Barbary warship. This was one of many special operations at sea, one that was a daring act and cost no American lives; yet it struck fear into our enemies and forever cemented Decatur’s legend.

Stephen Decatur Jr. was born in Maryland on January 5, 1779, and became one of America's most celebrated naval heroes. He joined the U.S. Navy at age 19 in 1798 and was promoted to captain at 25, making him the youngest person ever to reach that rank in Navy history. Decatur gained international fame in February 1804 when he led a daring nighttime raid into Tripoli harbor, where he and 75 sailors destroyed the captured USS Philadelphia by setting it ablaze. British Admiral Horatio Nelson praised

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