NJ EDUCATORS SNUB RICHARD SOMERS HEROICS OF 1804...

September 2007

Most visitors to the Jersey Shore have driven around the traffic circle in Somers Point on their way to the 9th Street Bridge in Ocean City.

But not many notice that old brick house on the hill above that circle. Even fewer knew about Richard Somers, a man who spent a lot of time in that house built by his grandfather.

September is a good time to remember Richard Somers. He was born in Somers Point on September 15, 1778, during our Revolution. He was killed at age 26 on September 4, 1804, during a daring raid on Arab terrorists (then called pirates) “by the shores of Tripoli”, in North Africa.

As a child, Richard Somers sailed and rowed small boats through the same dangerous tides and sandbars we see between Longport and Ocean City today. In the 1790’s, during his late teens, Somers went to school in Philadelphia. During vacations, he sailed ships between New York and Philadelphia. While still in his teens, he was put in charge of one of those ships, and hired, managed, and paid the crew.

In those years, America had less government, fewer laws, and lower taxes than any other nation in the world. Yet Americans were better educated, and had more economic growth, wealth, and opportunity than anyone else. It was common for young Americans like Richard Somers to earn and save so much money in their teens, that they bought their own ships, farms and factories in their twenties.

But when Richard Somers was twenty, Arab pirates were attacking “infidel” ships in the Mediterranean. England, France, and Holland responded by bribing the pirates to leave their ships alone. The result was that new French pirates appeared in the Caribbean on this side of the Atlantic, and demanded the same payoffs.

America chose to fight, saying “Millions for defense, but not one cent for tribute.” We built expensive new warships, and an academy at Annapolis to train men to command them. Richard Somers and his high school roommate Stephen Decatur volunteered for that first class of naval officers.

Richard Somers was part of the new American navy that quickly eliminated the Caribbean pirates in 1799. Then he captained a ship that sailed with the fleet to North Africa in 1801.

The fleet commander, 42 year old Edward Preble, at first complained that his officers were "a pack of boys’" half his age. But those “boys” quickly showed personal bravery, intelligence, innovation, and technical and leadership skills that were not seen in any other navy. Richard Somers and the other twenty-something captains created and executed complex strategies, won battles, and negotiated treaties. In four years, they ended piracy in the Mediterranean – something the Europeans had failed to achieve in a hundred years.

But Richard Somers and his entire crew paid for that achievement with their lives. By the summer of 1804, the pirates of Morocco, Algeria, and Tunisia made peace with America. Only one Arab warlord in Tripoli held out. He kept his fleet safe in the harbor.

Young Richard Somers and his fellow officers feared that if the war dragged on another year, Congress would cut their funds and order them home before their job was done. So they made a daring plan to win the war before Congress went back into session.

On September 4th, 1804, Richard Somers and a crew of twelve volunteers packed a small boat named Intrepid with tons of high explosives. Their plan was to sneak the Intrepid next to the Arab warships in Tripoli Harbor, light fuses to explode the boat, destroy everything in the harbor, and escape by rowboat. The plan failed. The ship exploded prematurely and killed Somers and his crew without causing damage to the enemy.

But the Arab warlord was so stunned by the reckless bravery and ingenuity of these strange Americans, that he quickly made peace. He allowed American ships to freely sail by Tripoli without being attacked, and without paying bribes.

The next time you drive around that traffic circle in Somers Point, glance up at that old brick house on the hill. Remember Richard Somers, and ask why his story is not taught in our public schools today.

For more information, visit www.libertyandprosperity.org or contact Somers Point attorney Seth Grossman at seth@dandy.net or 609-927-7333. Seth Grossman hosts a two way talk radio program on 1020AM Monday thru Friday from 3PM to 5PM, and breakfast discussion groups every Tuesday at 8AM at the Breakfast Shop, 910 Bay Avenue in Somers Point.