TRIPOLI GRAVES DISCOVERED

• Document Type: CREST
• Collection: General CIA Records
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): CIA-RDP05S00620R000100030131-3
• Release Decision: RIFPUB
• Original Classification: K
• Document Page Count: 14
• Document Creation Date: December 22, 2016
• Document Release Date: February 3, 2010
• Sequence Number: 131
• Publication Date: April 1, 1950
• Content Type: MISC

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TRIPOLI GRAVES DISCOV .p
Lieutenant (J.G.) ARTHJF, P. MILLER, JR., U. S. Naval reserve
iea of five American Naval heroes of the Barbary Frans which have be
en
, untouched, and unclaimed
or nearly a cent
= and a half have been
ecv~erred in Tripoli, North Africa
.
lioe were among thirteen officers and men who were killed in the explosion'
x 1
ch 0.S.3. INTREPID September 4 1$
?~ioa of
.
04
, . The graves were found by the
in Tripoli with the help of an t
b h
A
n
sra
arbormaster after a painstaking
search
was begun by the State Department in 1938.
haying washed ashore after the losion closeotoithe site ewhhcch were mentioned
x
senor red: ~'~~?-._.._..._.___...- _r. a .thwey were
m
Lerpiews of descendants of inhabitants of theetowncin11804,, g dofrom otherdsour
fats to the fadt that the bodies were five f ces
The overrhelming bulk of circu
4---
f iv
6 e bodies were reinter
d
re
in the spot :here they were discovered
ed cemetery
on the out
a hi
ki
h
t
,
, .
g
s
-
r
s of Tripoli overlooki
120), one of the fleet's nerest ng the harbor. U.S.S. SPOKANE
cruisers, was dispatched from the Mediterranean
Tripoli where her officers and men paid thei
fi
r
nal respects to these heroes of
s'Eerdeiy18 Navy before they were lowered into the
e
n
?
now Plainly marked. ground for the last time, their
'he location of the five ~N^0; m.
h
,~ ~ r --- ------- -
erjoc %;h4 tiers or American naval historrThe thi.
v
t
u
r
een
officers
ve of the thirteen these are is
not known-had bravel
ih on a mission vrhi
t t
h
y me
c
heir
wa
was a calculated risk and which , had it been successful
(have-.blown half'the Tripolitan fleet into splinters. '
' Tripolitan fleet on that fateful night in 1804, had been anchored close
ar the aea,:all.' The Bashavrt to
Ch
e
er
s castle stood close by. 7he w
'hjrtee, volunteers wEs to be sent into the darkened-harbor asap"fand her ire hi' "re o
t off amongst the enemy ships. 'Had the A.
p
n
3 `led castle might have been seriously damhag tdhe bottom and even the heavily
gerous plan Worked,- many of the
p
eshi s would undoubtedly have been t
e scheme'Waa a perilous mission in the'finest tradition of the U. S. Navy.
dose Edward Preble
who at th
?
ti
, ,
a
;
me Was in command of the American squcdron
the Lediterrane&n, knew the risk as did the gallant men who took part in the
ut'e. In addition, there was at least
i. outside.. eve ,.he plan and smuggled his idea to Preble
in Tripoli a one other man rho knew, a man who at the
. , prisoner of the ene;r, in the Bashawt s castle. He was
-cidore Villiam Banbridge who conc i d
YBltinbridge and his officers and men had been captured
kir'his ship, the frigate U.S.S. PHILknrLPHL4 the Tripolitan pirates
d
entally, they had an excellent view of +.'N6 ;hro,sn into prison, from where,
or the Tripolitans. -The--., were hence"reand his crew had fallen into the
,captured intact by the ene-y and B^irb -0 hs be~ore. The PHILADELPHIA had
run aground on some unchartered
while chasing a smaaler ens - ship some 'a
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ST TES X UAL INSTITUTE PROCEEDINGS Atir l 1950
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in prison, Bainbridge bad- been able to get the confidence of Nicholas Nissen,
Through 1issen, &:inbridge was able to smuggle secret
'bariish canetia in Tripoli.
"gout of prison, letters %:hich carried an innocuous message in regular ink and
e, secret, message written between the lines, in lime juice which was invisible
1~rR.?1tp_ the message
g
n
~~. the plan o se
__..,... +t,e e?A. Ahineitp. According to the plan, the volunteer
t Esinbidge:hsd been able to get a message to Preble
th
tely shored up.
ate naked eye. Y1 en a match ivati s uu u==uvi / - - - ---. -.
a
through Nissen
di a fireship into the harbor laden with high explosives,
n
f
cwt whieh was to man the fireship should escape OUT of iue ~, ~~? +-_ ~~~-~- ..
x` applying the match to the train.
Preble had tried this type of hit-and-run tactic be{cre, and it had paid off
'it,tIdaomely in that case. That had been several months previously when another
tinteer crew had sneaked into the harbor in a ketch and burned the PHILADELPHIA,
a_ LU- M-4--14+ftf,s
ftny or the oii ].cars auu u,c.. ?????? -~ - _.__ __ . _ _
't? been among the crew of volunteers who had entered the harbor that night to board
they had climbed over the rails
fierce battle
A
I
,
n a
burn the PHILADELPHI
. 4fud
another early i;nericcn?'.aval raterline. The
leer ofitr killed
leader
V3,aatur.
Farr, Preble decided to try these tactics once more, tactics similar to some used
the British and American commandos and raiders in World War II. He put
:'inbridge' s? idea into action.
He cboee- INTREPID for the mThe I:ITPE9ID had been captured
:the ketch mission. `
originally from the Tripolitans in a running engagement in the open sea and had been
1converted to an American man-of-var. Perh-ps Preble thought that'by using a ship
whose lines vould be familiar to the Tripolitans and by sending her into the harbor
on a black night as a friendly merchent-ac.n, he could disguise the true purpose of the
fireship'. In ar$ event, he chose the IDTREPID and ordered her to be fitted out as
'''floating incendiary bomb.
A special compartment was built into the hold of the ketch just fo .,ard of her
mainmast. One hundred barrels (upproximately 15,000 pounds of polder in bulk) were
placed in the hold. On top of this lethal load, 100 thirteen-inch and nine-inch
hells were stacked, loaded and fuzed, and ready for action.
A tube was 'run from the ponder and shells to another compartment aft in the ship.
'Inside the tube was laid a train calculated to burn for fifteen minutes--time for
the volunteer crew to escape from the doomed ship. The compartment aft.was filled
combustibles which were to be set afire', in turn settirg afire the train. It
s thought that the fire in the after compartment would keep any boarders off the
;ship until it was too late.
.' o wide this res p ,
had acquitted himself well in a battle r;ith enely gunboats only a few reeks, before.
"hen they heard that Somers was to lead the mission, the entire cre? of the NAUTILJS
asked to accompany their captain.
a
i
Moutenant
fi hi or "inSorno " as it was then called, into the harbor. Somers
m Somers captain of the brig USS NAUTILUS, was chosen as the man
lli
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ozaers, however, chose only ffrom his ow
11 crew. They were Thomas Toplins,
~e Barris, William Keith and James Simms, all seamen. From the USS CONSTITUTION
H
h M
C
r ---- - -~ ..,
ug
c
ormick, Jacob 'reilliam s, Peter
e
nher and Isaac Comes, all seamen.
< 9.nally, one other officer besides S
omers was to undertake the mission. He ras
tenant Henry Wadsworth of the CONSTITUTION. At the last minute, however,
@~s i peen Joseph Israel of the CO
+STIiJTION
t
came aboard the INTRE'ID with a message
V&"Gnmodore Preble
H
l
.
e p
eaded with Somers to take him along and Somers tnedkthe consent.of the Commodore to allow Israel to join the bandLasEits+ finally
r: l"tAaritJ- 1h6 tuber .
'Somers impressed upon his crew the seriou
sness and heavy risk of the vetturp and
give to each and every man the chance to 'stey behind if he wished. But each of the
"tea seamen voiced his determination to go and left their respective ships NAUTILUS
. hd CONSTITUTION with a joke on their lips.
"Mints boys " one said according to the diary of a shipmate, "give a good account
of us when you get homes"
All was now in readiness. A light breeze came up on the evening of September 4
.nd Somers and Preble decided that now was the time to go. At 2000 the IP;IFID
weighed anchor and got underway. Two of the fastest rowing boats in the sruadron
.a
A'rd ccompanied her to take off the crew after they had guided the ship into the harbor
had lighted the combustibles.
, 77
The ketch was convoyed to the harbor entrance bar the brigs USS itRG7S, USS VIRIi~
"d the NAUTILUS. These vessels then turned back but remained near at hand to watch
tho result and to pick up the rowing boats upon their return.
Ev rything seemed favorable for the success of the mission except that three
ripolitin gunboats were seen hovering about the harbor entrance. But the enemy
hips disappeared, and the INTREPID approached in the manner of a friendly merchant-
1h bound for an anchorage in the harbor.
It vcac a dark night, according to the eye-witnesses, =_nd the INTREPID- was soon
lost to sight to most of those who stood ;;t tchin,g on the c ec_-s of the it erican ships
outside the harbor. The fireship entered the harbor and drifted slowly tov:ard the
archored ships of war of the rashawrs fleet. Several minutes elapsed with no more
fosse than the lap of the waves.
Suddenly, the sound of guns firing could be heard by the men -catching from the
;hips outside. Almost instantly a Jarring explosion reverberated through the
..iarbor and the town and a great blaze of light outlined the INTREPID and the other
ships in the harbor.
Lieutenant Charles G. Ridgely was intently ve .cuing the spectacle With right
glrsses from his vantage point on the deck of the nautilus. Her is his description
r: the explosion:
"For a mordent, the flash illumined the whole heavens arou
d
hil
n
, :?
e the terrific
oncussion shook everything far and near. .-Then all was hushed again and every object
fled in a darkness of double gloom. On board the hUTILJS, the silence of death
4f.
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seemed to pervade the whole 'crew; but, quickly the din of kettle drums', beating to
arms, with the noise of confusion and, alarm was heard from the inhabitants on
shore. To aid the escape of the boats, an order was given...to Show a light, upon
the appearance of which, hundreds of shot, from an equal number of guns,. of heavy
calibre, from the batteries near, came rattling over and around us, But we heeded
them not; one thought and one feeli
ng alone had possession of our souls--the
ireservation of Somers and his crew.
"As moment after moment passed. by without bringing with it the
signal from the boat, the anxiety on board became intense; and thermennwithed
lighted lanterns hung themselves over the sides of the vessel until their heads
almost touched the grater _,~~, ?+,,., 4- ..L, _t
'?+-a position in which an object th
th
on
e surface of the water can be seen
farthest on a dark night--with the.hope of discovering something which could give
us assurance of its (the boat's) safety. Still no boat came, and no signal was
given; and the unwelcome conclusion was at last forced upon us... We lingered on
the spot until broad daylight--though we lingered in vain--in the hope that someone
at least of the number might yet be rescued by us from a floating plant or spar
to tell the-tale of his companions' fate."
That the explosion of the Intrepid, described in this vivid passage from
Lieutenant Ridgely's notebook, was premature is certain. There was no blaze of
combustibles preceding the explosion. It was also evident to those waiting out-
side the harbor that there had not been enough time to have allowed the 1-etch
to have reached her target and exploded on schedule.
The exact manner of the explosion, however, retains a
mystery'
be ascertained for certain. The sound of the firing isaid dto will pcome have from the enemy shore guns., The most widely accepted. theory is that one of these
shots from the shore batteries passed through the wz-.ine the fire
the concentration of powder and. shells and de ga. of
on igniting
Another opi er pini ship,
that the Tripolitans sighted the American, ship, boarded them. em holds
his crew set fire to the train and blew their shship that and.
up rather than let it fall into
.2ainbri3ge records that all thirteen of the bodies were recovered following the
explosion, but he gives an account which varies sore what from the bodies that
were recently found. Bainbridge,. incidentally, him to view the bodies as soon as he realized thpt Valed to the Bzsraw to
Bai
nd had
been that of the Intrepid, The 3.ashaw reluctantly the rmisssion sionn for he
and two of his lieutenants to see the bodies after granted permi
nbridge
shore. they had been washed uBa up on
'Bainbridge states in his dairy that two of the bodies were found in the bottom
of the ketch itself which grounded on the ro t_$ -~t -ire*ror'li^sfdo of the western
entrance to the harbor. Another body was f
d
oun
in one
accompanied the Intrepid an had l ter iris'to of the two boats that had
~d ashore to the westl-:ard.
ou_others were discovered floating near the harbor and the six remaini
bodies were fovand on; t ie`baac~
"
0
i_
t
T-ne southeast of the town Th "Ex
s~:,~ou1]
t. .
let er group place the
near thesite of the present- Tg =Wa1'~ecl' cemetery wh
found.
ere they were
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or whether Bainbridge actually saw six and not
d
th b
i
y
o
x
of the s
,,;s become 'Odiee lying on the beach is hard to say. The account he gives is sketchy
mentions the number but once.
tY.at it ws~RQ~~~3~~et0
sotilatt4
bodies were
l th
_
e
e notes down that al
_. i entify them. He adds that the six were taken to the top of the bluff overlooking
ided with graves and that "they were
found and were prov
the beach where they were &U-4-
o,,, d be given them." including a funeral
c
usrniae which Bainbridge himself read over the graves.
the exact number of the bodies, which were get down by
t f
or
excep
These facts, 3ainbridge:near,v a,century and a half ago. have been borne out as a result of the
Mustafa
bormaster of Tripoli
b h
h
,
ar
e Ara
ted by t
exhaustive investigation initia 3utchis, and.theAmerican consul in. that city, Mr. Orray Taft, Jr.
The ingestn_actually_ mot its start in_1938 whn,. in response to an inquiry
from the American embassy in Rome concerning the fate ~of the men of the Intrepid.
Mr. Burchis undertook a meticulous examination of old Jewish records, private Arab
collection of letters, papers, and diaries, and interviewed innumerable descendants
of residents of Tripoli at the time of the disaster.
The harbormaster set down in detail aresults
.merican embassy
f the
matter which ch w
.
a complete report o
in dome. Unfortunately, however, this report was among American state papers which
were burned by embassy officials in 1941 upon the outbreak of war. The investiga-
tion was revived last year when Mr. Burchis retraced his findings from his original
votes. Together with Mr. Taft, he was able once more to piece together the story
of the five graves.
"The Intrepid had exploded in a pass located about half way down the length of
the present north breakwater and all the pertinent stories he (Mr. 3urchis) has
heard say that five bodies had drifted up on the beach in front of a cliff," Consul
Taft relates-inia report to the State Department concerning his research. "From
this beach they were unceremoniously dragged to the cliff and interred in a rough'
pattern. I questioned. Mr. Burchis at length as to his belief in the reliability
of his information and coull find no flaw in his pattern of investigation,"
Mr. Taft adds .
Mr. Taft and Mr. Burchis, together with the American vice consul, went to the
cemetery, Reined the old Protestant Cemeter on the outskirts of the tows and.
direcxly above the cliff where Mr.rBurchis sai the bo Mes had been dragged. Mr.
3urehis then without hesitation picked out five graves located in the northeast
corn-r.'
Subsequent to the burial of the bodies in 1304, Mr. 3urchis explained, it
became necessary to establish the old Protestant Cemetery for the burial of
foreigners. Since five Americc.ns were already known to be interred there, a wall
was erected around the plot and the whole cemetery was dedicated in a ceremony
which was attended by the then present diplomatic and consular officials, including
those of the United States.:
Upon this identification of the five bodies as being those cf five men from
the Intrepid, i:r. Taft sent a telegram to Vice Admiral Forrest P. Sherman, US/1,
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^o;..=,::3ing the U. S. J:e.~'.iteranean Fleet, stating that he had substantial erjZei
,'that tb ;;f five American sailors lost on the Intrepid in 1.804 had been
Sscosered. Admiral Sberz an ir.,mediatel,: arranged for a visit to Tr ipo11 of t-.
E
tdm3rml . E. Cruzen, Ccxmanier, Cruiser Division Two, and the Spokane.
The five y,a}=own sailors who had die! so vaaiantl;; fighting for their caunti
were given final honors in a' colorful c_rera y attended by many higlr, diplor?atic
military, and, goverment officials.. A bad of scottish Carerons played tsartia]
music as the detachrent from the Spokrne as well as a it of the 3ritisb; r*,-
Stationed at Tripoli marched the half a mile from the two to the grave-site.
In short addresses, Bear Admiral Crz :.en stoke at the early. history of the I+a
and of its exploits during the :Sarbary Cease, Captain W. J. M xs. , USh' terse
officer of th.3 Spok=e; =arrated the Intrepid mission, an Consul Taft told of
resesrE cane to inen a graves And unve a t,oe memorial plague to the fi
heroesr . lieutenant Z. J,. Sheridan, USN, ch-slain of e 329 e, real $ s, or?
raver, and an honor guard- of Marines "ired several volleys over the new graves
and played taps.
Aatore stingly enough, Joseph E;_rpi a i , the preient mayor of Tripoli and ;.
direct descendant of the Joseph * .,amanli who was :Bashi of Tripoli at the time
the aLrbary Wars, attende& the ceremony with approxin_ately 50 other guests.
she plague honoring the five men was Isce3 in the cemetery on the cliff by
the officers and men of the Spo!:Lne. The Waney for the nar':ers was collected
-
fl
d
- ?r-
z-..., , ..~ .... -
-- -
-Q i epl~ce^ iii
a ~a er oa a ga, lie n.ten mer-:ers, were placed near each grave.
On each of these individual, plaqu9s is v: i tten: "were Lies An UnImown LmtricG
Sailor Los: Trom CSS Intrepid in '=Tirol: :.arbor 1804"- worthy tribute to the
cci::agcous sailors of the Navy of yeste y from the sailors of the Navy of
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11 '11
IM..E.. IN MEV. 11...1
Anchored as before.
1
UNITED STATES SNIP SPOKANE (CL 120) Saturday 2 April
00-04 Anchored in Tripoli, Tripolitani~ In 13 fathoms of water, sand bottom, with 75 fatt
of chain to*the starboard anchor on following anchorage bearings: Spanish Fort 2.4?t; Breakwat
Light 1640t, Beacon 1360t; Beacon 092?t. Boiler number 2 is steaming for au'dliary purposes.
SCPA is Rear Admiral CRU, USN, ComCruDiv TM0 in the U.S.S. 9POKANS. 0215 Pursuant to the
orders of the Commanding Officer dated 1 April 1949, serial CL120/GL, authority: U.S. Nay Ref
lations 1920, COMM, S.J. 274 41 66 BTO USU, returned aboard having completed tea:porary adds
duty as U.S. Navy Shore Patrol, Tripoli, x!.o:ths following members of the Shore Patrol: YALO3
R.s. 409 81 49 CSC USN; AIDBRIIAR, A.O. 834 91 92 CM3 USN; ANSEL, J. 234 84 08 1 URN; KML
798 35 62 1042 USN; HAGY J.A. 570 9219 1ST2 I$N; NI0 T A.L258 08 96 BN1 usN; LUTZ C.W. R.,
BT3 Us1; LOTTS, C.W. 266 81 47 03 USN = Plop, J.H. 216 02'76 IM USN; HERR, J.E. 610 17 9 CF
SPAULDING, R.H. 1088339 PFC U310; MINTER, FJH. 316'x,3 03312 UaN. 0215 Pursuant to the orders
Commanding Officer dated 1 April 1949, sari4:CL120/QL, authority-U.S. Navy Regulations 1948,
0625, LTJG C.A. STARR USN, returned aboard Hating completed temporary additional duty" Shore
Officer at the local and military Police Headquarters,-Tripoli. 0315 Pursuant to the orders c
Commanding Officer dated 1 April 1949, seriA CL120/QL, authority U.S. Navy Regulations 1948,
0625 LT R.N. FPLEi USN, returned aboard havtg completed temparary additional duty as the sent
shore patrol officer, T5ripoli.
A?M. HAZER, 4....
LTJO, U.S.N.
A.H. HAZEN,
LTJO, U.S.N.
^'-12 Anchored as before. 0800 Mustered crew at quarters; absentees: none. 1000.The
ceremonial party left the ship for ceremony to honor five American sailors lost in 1804 fran t
U.S.S. INTREPID. 1015 Made daily inspection-of magazines and smokeless powder samples; candit
normal.
A
.t. ..
lawwj L2-16 Anchored as before. 1225 Ceremonial party?returned'aboard. 3300-Received fresh
)rovisions for general mesa from H. MOHAMMED BEN SAID, Tripoli, Tripolitaniaj is voted as 1000
juantity by HATAWAT, S.H. CSC USN and as to quality by OROWICK, S. HH2 714 41 02 ; pps 0
Lettuce 6z lbs, celery 200 lbs, spring anions 200 lbs, radishes 290 lbe, grapefruit co 3lbs,
sarsler 10 lbsj all fresh articles.
1A-27 Anchored as before.
if. J. MARSHALL, CAPTAIN,
U.S.N
JOHN WZL.L5,
ENS., U.S.N.R.
'-- ' .' ; ALr WUM
ENS, U.S.N.
D.K. SMISPNET,
LTJO, U.S.N.R.
T. A. MELUSKY, LCIR,
TO SE PONWARDED O111EOT TO THE BU1tAU OF NAVAL PERSONNEL AT THE END OP EACH MONTH
...L.IDII. RR..RM.?IIY r IM.-O.IN
lip
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DECK LOG-REMARKS SHEET
lag
UNITED SUM SHIP SPOKANE (CL 120) Saturday 2 April
Well (Dins (unu}
00-04 Anchored in Tripoli, Tripolitanil in 23
fathoms of water, sand bottom with 75 fat(
of chain to?the starboard anchor on following anchorage bearings: Spanish Fort 214?(; Breakwat
Light 164?t, Beacon 136?t; Beacon 092?t. Boiler number 2 is steaming for auxiliary purposes.
SODA is Rear Aclairal CRUZ O, USN, ComCruDiv TWO in the U.S.S. SPOKANE. 0215 Pursuant to the
orders of the Commanding Officer dated 1 April 1949, serial CL12;)/QL, authority: U.S. Navy Rol
lations 1920, CODERRE, E.J. 204 41 66 BTC U$N, returned aboard having completed temporary adds
duty as U.B. Navy Shore Patrol, Tripoli, wi h-the following members of the Shore Patrol: MAL01
R.S. 409 81 49 CSC USN; ALDtFM[AN, A.O.' 934 91* 92 CK3 USN; ANBPL, J. 234 84 08 1 3 W KS J
798 35 62 UK2 USN; HAGIY J.A. 570.9219 XT2 t$N; NIO! T A.L. 258 08 96 all. USN; LUTZ C.W. 6~1:
BT3 USN; LOTT$, C.W. 266 81 47 8113 USN; PIECE, J.B.' 2?6 02 76 993 USN; HERR, J.E. 610 179 Cr
SPAULDDIG, R.H. 10883339 PFC US6LC; 1[F10TFR, FJH. 316 831112 USN. 0215 Pursuant to the orders
Commending Officer dated 1 April 1949, eeri :CLl20fOL, authority-U.S. Navy Regulations 1948,
0625, LTJG C.P. STARR USN, returned aboard Ming completed temporary additional dutyas Shore
Officer at the local and military Police Heddquartera,?Tripoli. 0315 Pursuant to the orders c
Commending Officer dated 1 April 1949, serial CL120/QL, authority U.S. Navy Regulations 1948,
06251T R.H. FLIP USN returned aboard havf~mg completed temporary additional duty as the sent
shore patrol officer, Tripoli. l
Anchored as before.
a. ~~/.,/
A.U. RAZEN, -
LTJG, U.S.N.
A.m. HAZEN,
LTJG, U.S.N.
^-12 Anchored as before. 0800 Mustered crew at quarters; absermteest none. 10001he
oeruncnial party left the ship for ceremony to honor five American sailors lost in 1804 from t
U.3.3. INTREPID. 1015 Made daily inspection of magazines and smokeless powder samples; condit
116 Anchored as before. 1225 Ceremonial party' returned' aboard. ' 1300 ? Received fresh
,rovisions for general mesa from H. MOHAMMED BEN SAID, Tripoli, Trippoolitania inspected as to
luantity by HATAWAZ, E.H. CM U3N and as to quality by?GROWICK, S. HU2 714.41 02 SN; peas 100
Lettuce X66 lbbs,.i a levy 200olbs,_spring anions 200 lbe, radishes 390 lbo, grapefruit 300 lbs, -ANAft
JOHN WF TV ,
ENS., U.S.N.R.
1A-20 Anchored as before.
EIS, U.S.N.
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Mustapha Burchis+ ._.__ _,. .
Account of His Research Concerning Burial
Place of the American Sailors of the'S.S. Intre id
(Translated-from Arabic by Shafia,Ibrahim
I first heard i.n lday 1938 of the five graves of the American. sailors .;oho..
died in the explosion of the Intrepid."
At the time, .Italy ruled my country and 'I was a "marshal" working .with 'tbs.'r. ... r:.
Tripoli'Port Authorities. The rank of "marshal" was equivalent to'Sergeant
Major and it was the highest rank a Libyan could get in the Italian Armed''
Forces. As head of all Libyans employed at the Port, I had a great deal of
influence and the Italians often used my services in collecting and finding
inforration.
One day Colonel Carlo Pumo, Port Carmander, called me to his office--
Port Captain Mario Battaglieri was also there. The Colonel showed me a message-
No. 13625--received from the Civil and Political Affairs Office of the Tripolitanian
Government informing Colonel Pumo of a telepress crmunication No. 212844, dated
April 9, 1938, from the American Embassy in Rome, requesting any available,in,
formation that might lead to the discovery of the whereabouts of the graves of
the American sailors killed in the explosion of the "Intrepid" in 1804. Even
if no information were available, the Embassy agreed to pay for any search made.
It, seemed to me that the Italian 4#4cr t3ea were not very interested in
the subject, as they askod me to t"ry and get any information available, making
it clear . t t..if, _ fir. ,work -met-w`3tl -au 666-ii'. tie - Italian Port ,Authorities
not ensure cpnpensation and that whatever work I did would have to be'
reported to Rome- first. and on my, awn 1 -responsibilities.
That day I went. home with big dreams and great ideas. I thought of myself
as the discoverer of a hidden secret, a secret!of.-,heroic death. I dreamed that
the American Government wol.iid tak3 me to America and I would be a great man.
America was a dream to me, a dream of wealth and freedom and now I had my big
chance of having it come true.
I discussed the problem with my family, relatives and friends. They all
thought that I was crazy and sounded the same question, "Bow can you find'graves
of people who died and were buried in 1804?!' "Yes, how?" I asked myself and I
had no'.answer.'-?Bowaver,'against overyone'e advice I decided to take a chance
and try.-- In this decision,;;my wife stood by tie and. gave me all encouragement and
help.- Por.me this was a chance to make a?dream come true.
The''driving force behind my decision goes back to the way of life I lived
and was living :at .the time 'when I started my search. I * come from an old Moslem
family. that fought Italian colonization and kept fighting. One of my uncles
was the present.King Idris' private telephonis?~, - when the King was our Prince,
that was in 1914. Even'now my uncles family is known in Cyrenaica as.the
All Al-Telephone family. During one of the many battles with the Italians,
I was taken prisoner at the age of 12. The Italians took me from Perna to
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Tripoli and put me. to work. Ever since. December 16, 1914, I have been working ._
at the Port. I grew up among sailors - Arabs, Italians and.many other nationali-
ties. I could.not get any formal education, I only learned to read and write .
Italian and Arabic - and my Italian, owing to more practice and use, is stronger
than my Arabic. I got my promotions at the Port till I became "marshal". This
gave me authority over Libyans but not Italians -- they were the rulers. I
enjoyed my work as harbormaster and I loved the sea and sailors.. From sailors
I first heard of a new world, America, where people are free and can become rich
overnight. )tr mind exaggerated those stories and I imagined myself there; and
that dream grew up with me. It would be exactly what I would do one day,,go to
America, become free..and rich.
It was that dream, perhaps my familiarity with the see, that decided me to
find out more about the dead American sailors.-
Besides the fact that those sailors were killed in 1804, in the explosion
of the "Intrepid" in Tripoli harbor, I knew nothing of the subject. Thus my
first logical step.was to read about its history in order-that my steps might
be guided in finding the secret that had been hidden for almost one hundred and
fifty years.
The Italian Authorities in Tripoli had many libraries which I visited day
after day, after my work, to read the history of the. Barbary Pirates. They all
told almost the some story in few paragraphs. I found that the American
"Tatra id" was irate s rpl-q],ynam?, ' ~astico". The
Americas used this sailboat for dangerous missions because it could be easily
mistaken for a Tripolitanian sailboat. As such it was used successfully in
1803, -under the captaincy of Stephen Decatur to enter Tripoli'harbor and blow
up the American "Philadelphia" before it could be used by the Pirates. In
1804, the "Intrepid" was Bent on a more dangerous mission to*blow up the Tripoli
pirate fleet anchored in the harbor. The "Intrepid", with 13 sailors on board/
exploded for reasons unknown, and what became of its sailors, no book mentioned.
Having saturated myself with the history, I turned my attention to the
problem of getting information about the dead sailors. This took me to the
following possible sources. The first was Suleiman Bey Karamanly who gave me
permission to use his private collection of books, publications and manuscripts.
This' collection yielded no information to me because a large number of the publi-
cations were-in Turkish which language I do not know. I was forced to'get
translators who could help me.
The Castle library was of-great interest but yielded no new information.
? However, my constant trips to the Castle aroused the interest of an old guard
who in his quiet manner daily inquired about my health and my studies; and in a
longer conversation he accidenta].Iy mentioned municipality records and-the
Moslem Property Department records,. saying that If I wanted any information of
my missing relatives I could find something in those places, not here.
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Follc'.-ing t x. o.d man' a wisdom, I carried my search to those two places.
At the municipality I met another KErcmpnli who was head end mayor of the Moslem
eonmiunity in Libya. He gave me all assistance I needed, but there were no
records that went as far back as 1804. At the offices of the Moslem Property
1 epartment I not the Director Ilviai1 Kemal, a Libyan historian well informed of
Libyan history and evens, but he knew nothing of the fate of the American sailors.
At this point, I found it interesting '.~ compare the Karamanli family that
I met -.all respectable law-abiding citizens and leading figures of the.Moslem
canmunity. They were great Zrmadrons of Youssef Karamanli who in 1800 ruled
Tripoli with an iron hand and d:ixect~1 its piracy and the ~arbary Wars with
ruthlessness and intrigue.
!' ext, I visited to "Judge of Judges," President of the Moslem Coins,
N4ohemmed Burkhis, an old learned mwn and one who gave the impression of never
having'lost his tcich ?th old customs and habits of Bedouins. The stories he
knew and he'd heard of rbout the naval battles between Americans and Tripoli
Pirates were n'a.'.ercuas, and he told me of the many ships that sank in Tripoli.
harbor, and the mtmy daad that were always found on the Eastern shores of the city.
The story about the Eastern shore J.ak turned out to be a fact, later, but at
that point, it had no signific:.r ce to .roe. The Judge, however, indicated in his
conversation test he Christian churches in Tripoli might know something of the
fate of the Christian sailors.
Seeing the wisdom of his suggestion; I got in touch with 1Monsignore
Facahinetti who gave me permission to look at their registers of the dead. Two
Catholic Brothers hculped mr dwing my short search of the Cathedral's archives.
Darin; t?tis time the Brothers told me about Christianity and its greatness and
way of life, try ng to convert n to their religion. It was the first time I
had heard stew-, t:.e ;,ligion and I admired it and saw how near it is
to mars beceure 4?e a1.:,o b