Atlas of Battles

naval engagement, Revolutionary and Napoleonic

First Battle of Tripoli Harbor

First Battle of Tripoli Harbor was a naval engagement fought on 16 May 1802 at Port of Tripoli, in what is now Libya. It was part of First Barbary War, which ran from 1801 to 1805. The recorded result: Inconclusive. Recorded strength: 3 frigates against 7 corsairs.

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First Battle of Tripoli Harbor
Jean-Jérôme Baugean, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons.
Fought16 May 1802
WherePort of Tripoli, Libya32.905N, 13.193E
OutcomeInconclusive
BelligerentsSweden; United StatesagainstTripolitania
Casualties and lossesNoneand1 corsair grounded
Part ofFirst Barbary War1801 to 1805

Where it sits in First Barbary War

Action of 1 August 1801, 1801First Battle of Tripoli Harbor, 1802Action of 17 June 1802, 1802Action of 2 June 1803, 1803Action of 22 June 1803, 1803Action of 31 October 1803, 1803Action of 7 July 1804, 1804Second Battle of Tripoli Harbor, 1804Battle of Derna, 180518011805First Battle of Tripoli Harbor, 1802
9 placed engagements of First Barbary War in time order; taller ticks are more widely documented. Each tick is a link.

Record

Date16 May 1802
PlacePort of Tripoli, Libya
32.905N, 13.193E
KindNaval engagement, Revolutionary and Napoleonic
Strength3 frigates7 corsairs
Casualties and lossesNone1 corsair grounded
Commanders
  • Rudolf Cederström
First Battle of Tripoli HarborFirst Battle of Tripoli HarborSiege of TripoliSecond Battle of Tripoli HarborAction of 16 May 1797Action of 22 June 1803Shar al-ShattMisrataZuwaraGharyanBani Walid100 km32.905N, 13.193E
The recorded site, with the nearest other engagements in the atlas. Present-day coastlines, rivers and borders; towns from Natural Earth.

Nearest engagements

Contested ground: this site was fought over 9 times between 1289 and 1911.

In the same war

Elsewhere in 1802

First Battle of Tripoli Harbor is one of 3,507 engagements of the 19th century in the atlas and one of 57 in present-day Libya.

Sources

Identity, coordinates, dates and the war from Wikidata Q5452541, released under CC0. Result, belligerents, commanders, strength and casualties from the infobox of the English Wikipedia article First Battle of Tripoli Harbor, revision 1385756715, read 2026-11-14, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0; the article's text is not reproduced here. Present-day country and state from Natural Earth. Dates before 1582 follow the Julian calendar as recorded.