John Adams Launches the Career of Master Commandant Richard Somers, Martyr of Tripoli

One of the first 4 midshipman's appointments in the United States Navy

In the late 18th century, pirate crews from the Ottoman states of Algiers, Tunis, Tripoli, and the Sultanate of Morocco, collectively the Barbary States, terrorized the Mediterranean.  They seized goods, commandeered vessels, held captured crews ransom, and demanded payment of tribute from the European states that got caught in their nets.  Dating from the Treaty of Alliance with France, US vessels were protected by the French.  But once the US signed a formal treaty with Great Britain securing its independence, it was left to defend its own trade routes.  On October 11, 1784, the brigantine Betsey was captured by Moroccans.  The Spanish government helped negotiate the freedom of the crew but gave the Americans an important lesson: avoid this problem by paying tribute.  Over time, this resulted in a series of agreements with the Northern African states that came at a real financial price.  Yet this did not stop the attacks, and many captives remained in servitude for a decade or more in spite of such agreements.  In 1798, seeking to counter this, the US Department of the Navy was formed.

Thomas Jefferson objected vociferously to the continued payment of tribute. As US Minister to France, he had helped negotiate the agreements and met with his Northern African counterparts.  He understood their motives and that more tribute bred more demands.  When Jefferson took office in 1801, Congress immediately passed legislation providing for six frigates which "in the event of a declaration of war on the United States by the Barbary powers these ships were to protect our commerce and chastise their insolence…"  When the Bashaw of Tripoli, its ruler, demanded a $225,000 tribute from the new President on his inauguration, he refused, sparking a de facto declaration of war from the Barbary nation.  Jefferson, authorized to do so by Congress, took the initiative to send a force to patrol the waters around Tripoli, and on August 1, 1801, the USS Enterprise defeated the vessel Tripoli.  Congress continued to pass legislation authorizing the seizure of Tripolitan vessels and property, and the US Navy went unchallenged on the sea.

In 1803, therefore, needing a new and strong commander, President Jefferson turned to Commodore Edward Preble, who had served with distinction in the Navy since its 1798 founding.

Now solely in control of all the vessels engaging the Tripolitans, Preble sailed for the Mediterranean on August 14, 1803, on board the USS Constitution. On arriving, he established a blockade of Tripoli and convened with the officers under his command, among whom were Stephen Decatur and David Porter.  The Tripolitans captured the USS Philadelphia in October 1803 during a failed exercise to bomb Tripoli's harbor; and in a now legendary raid, Preble sent Stephen Decatur in February 1804 to burn the captured ship, depriving the Africans of their prize, which had been turned against the Americans.  Lord Nelson called this operation "the most bold and daring act of the age."

Richard Somers was a very close friend of Decatur and the two fought side by side. Both had been appointed midshipmen on the same day in 1798, and served in the West Indies during the Quasi-War with France on the frigate United States, commanded by Captain John Barry. In 1803, Somers was commander of the USS Nautilus, which sailed with Preble in October of that year. A friendly competitor of Decatur, Somers desired a similarly bold maneuver. When in July and August 1804 Preble renewed hostilities in Tripoli, including engaging in the Battle of Tripoli Harbor, he split his gun boats into two groups, one commanded by Somers, the other by Decatur.

On September 4, 1804, at the end of the Battle of Tripoli, Somers assumed command of fire ship Intrepid, which had been fitted out as a "floating volcano" to be sailed into Tripoli harbor and blown up in the midst of the enemy fleet close under the walls of the city.  That night, the Intrepid got underway into the harbor, but she exploded prematurely, killing Somers and his entire crew of volunteers.  This led to the rallying cry, "Remember the Intrepid."

In the 1850s, James Fenimore Cooper's history of the US Navy highlighted this episode and his hope that Somers' body would be returned.  Since then, generations have pressured Congress and successive Administrations to bring home the men of the Intrepid under the command of Richard. Somers. But they are still in Libya.

Six ships of the US Navy have successively been named the USS Somers in his honor.

This is Somers' first appointment, obtained at the same time as Decatur's, which began his legendary military career.  Document signed, "John Adams," Philadelphia, April 13, 1798, appointing Somers "Midshipman in the Navy of the United States." It is counter-signed by Benjamin Stoddert, Secretary of the Navy, and Josiah Fox, who helped build and design the first great naval warships in the US Navy, including the USS Constitution.

These very early appointments signed by Adams in the wake of the US Navy's formation are rarities, only a handful having reached the market in the past several decades.  This appears to be the most significant of those that have.