Richard Somers was born at the intersection of Bethel and Shore Road, Somers Point, on September 4, 1778. He moved to Philadelphia in 1781 and attended Episcopal Academy in Burlington County. He began his naval career when Commodore John Barry, a family friend, recruited him as a junior officer. Although his life was in the Navy, he returned to Somers Point as needed to oversee inherited family properties.
Somers served in the United States Navy in the Mediterranean during the First Barbary War under the command of Edward Preble fighting the Barbary pirates. In 1804 Commander Preble ordered an “Inferno” attack to break the blockade of the Barbary pirates in Tripoli, Libya. The US ship, Intrepid, was converted into an “Inferno” with its bow packed with powder, shells, and an 11-minute fuse that was to give the crew time to escape. On September 4, 1804, the all-volunteer crew of thirteen, including Master Commandant Richard Somers and Acting Lieutenant Henry Wadsworth, uncle of Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, sailed the Intrepid into the Tripoli Harbor during darkness getting close to the pirate fleet.
Commander Preble, Stephen Decatur, and the rest of the American fleet waited anxiously to go into the harbor after the Intrepid was ignited and hoped for damage and chaos to reign among the Libyans. Then an ear-shattering, sky-lighting explosion was seen and heard from outside the harbor, but it seemed to be premature. Did something go wrong? Was the mission carried out successfully or was the Intrepid seen, fired upon, and an explosion took place too soon? Or, did the crew set the ship off purposely sacrificing their own lives rather than be captured and held as slaves? The answer is not known. We do know that Somers and his crew died in the explosion, sacrificing their lives in service to their country. The remains of the crew are buried in the Old Protestant Cemetery in Tripoli, Libya.
Somers served in the United States Navy in the Mediterranean during the First Barbary War under the command of Edward Preble fighting the Barbary pirates. In 1804 Commander Preble ordered an “Inferno” attack to break the blockade of the Barbary pirates in Tripoli, Libya. The US ship, Intrepid, was converted into an “Inferno” with its bow packed with powder, shells, and an 11-minute fuse that was to give the crew time to escape. On September 4, 1804, the all-volunteer crew of thirteen, including Master Commandant Richard Somers and Acting Lieutenant Henry Wadsworth, uncle of Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, sailed the Intrepid into the Tripoli Harbor during darkness getting close to the pirate fleet.
Commander Preble, Stephen Decatur, and the rest of the American fleet waited anxiously to go into the harbor after the Intrepid was ignited and hoped for damage and chaos to reign among the Libyans. Then an ear-shattering, sky-lighting explosion was seen and heard from outside the harbor, but it seemed to be premature. Did something go wrong? Was the mission carried out successfully or was the Intrepid seen, fired upon, and an explosion took place too soon? Or, did the crew set the ship off purposely sacrificing their own lives rather than be captured and held as slaves? The answer is not known. We do know that Somers and his crew died in the explosion, sacrificing their lives in service to their country. The remains of the crew are buried in the Old Protestant Cemetery in Tripoli, Libya.
View a Video of the Life of Richard Somers
For More Information About Richard Somers, the Intrepid Crew, the Repatriation Efforts, or the Barbary Wars
Please Contact
Somers Point Historical Society
PO Box 517, 745 Shore Road, Somers Point, NJ 08244
609-927-2900
sphs55@yahoo.com
www.somerspointhistory.org
Please Contact
Somers Point Historical Society
PO Box 517, 745 Shore Road, Somers Point, NJ 08244
609-927-2900
sphs55@yahoo.com
www.somerspointhistory.org