The United States Navy from the William Reese Company

Item 39 is a major item from the Barbary Wars, America's first major naval actions after the Revolution. The U.S. had been paying tribute to the Barbary states to get their pirates to lay off of American shipping, but in time, President Jefferson got tired of the practice. He decided to fight. One of the U.S. ships sent to combat the piracy was the U.S.S. Philadelphia. However, the Philadelphia got trapped on a reef near Tripoli and the ship and its crew were captured. There wasn't much the Americans could do to rescue the ship, but they did not want the pirates to be able to use it against them. Commodore Edward Pribble devised a plan to destroy the Philadelphia in Tripoli harbor, and sent Lt. Stephen Decatur Jr. and 80 volunteers off on the mission. Decatur snuck into the harbor at night, overwhelmed the crew on board, and set fire to the ship, destroying it. It was an accomplishment of great skill and bravery. Offered is Decatur's retained copy of the letter he sent Pribble describing the action. In it, he provides a complete description of the events, including that about 20 of the enemy died, though “with the greatest pleasure” he reports that none of his men were killed, and but one slightly wounded. He concludes by commending all of his officers, who are named, and all of the “brave Fellows” that were under his command. $50,000.

Item 89 is the private manuscript journal of W.M. Beers. It probably isn't a good idea for a deeply religious man to go off with a bunch of sailors even today, but at the time of his journal, 1843-45, it was even more of a rude awakening. He has difficulty understanding why, on board ship, unlike back home in Philadelphia, people don't stop working on the Sabbath. He notes they are regularly called upon to perform chores that could well be done on another day. He noted, “I was shocked...to hear the blasphemy and curses which accompanied almost every sentence...” Obviously, Mr. Beers did not know much about sailors. It was particularly surprising as he had come from a place where people put more thought into “the welfare of their eternal souls.” $900.

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