Atlas of Battles

naval engagement, Revolutionary and Napoleonic

Second Battle of Tripoli Harbor

Second Battle of Tripoli Harbor was a naval engagement fought on 3 August 1804 at Tripoli, in what is now Libya; it lasted 38 days. It was part of First Barbary War, which ran from 1801 to 1805. The recorded result: Tripolitanian victory.

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Blowing Up of the Fire Ship Intrepid commanded by Capt. Somers in the Harbour of Tripoli on the night of 4th Sepr. 1804. This . . . shows her blowing up with Somers and her entire crew. Copy of engrav
Blowing Up of the Fire Ship Intrepid commanded by Capt. Somers in the Harbour of Tripoli on the night of 4th Sepr. 1804. This . . . shows her blowing up with Somers and her entire crew. Copy of engrav. Service Depicted: Other Service, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons.
Fought3 August 1804lasted 38 days
WhereTripoli, Libya32.902N, 13.186E
OutcomeTripolitanian victory
BelligerentsTripolitaniaagainstUnited States; border|22px Kingdom of Sicily
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, 180518011805Second Battle of Tripoli Harbor, 1804
9 placed engagements of First Barbary War in time order; taller ticks are more widely documented. Each tick is a link.

Record

Date3 August 1804
to 10 September 1804
PlaceTripoli, Libya
32.902N, 13.186E
KindNaval engagement, Revolutionary and Napoleonic
Strength1 brig; 2 schooners; 2 galleys; 19 gunboats; 25,000 men; 115 cannons1 frigate; 3 brigs; 3 schooners; 2 bomb vessels; 6 gunboats; 1,060 men.
Casualties and losses47 men killed; 27 captured; 2 gunboats sunk; 3 gunboats captured30 killed; 20 wounded; 2 ships destroyed; 1 boat sunk
Commanders
  • Yusuf Karamanli
  • Edward Preble
  • Stephen Decatur
  • Richard Somers
Second Battle of Tripoli HarborSecond Battle of Tripoli HarborSiege of TripoliAction of 16 May 1797Action of 22 June 1803First Battle of Tripoli HarborBattle of TripoliMisrataZuwaraGharyanBani Walid100 km32.902N, 13.186E
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 1804

Second 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 Q6135223, released under CC0. Result, belligerents, commanders, strength and casualties from the infobox of the English Wikipedia article Second Battle of Tripoli Harbor, revision 1373494580, 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.