http://militaryhistory.about.com/od/naval/p/sdecatur.htm
On December 23, 1803, Enterprise and the frigate USS Constitution captured the Tripolitan ketch Mastico after a sharp fight. Renamed Intrepid, the ketch was given to Decatur for use in a daring raid to destroy the frigate USS Philadelphia which had run aground and been captured in Tripoli harbor in October. At 7:00 PM on February 16, 1804, Intrepid, disguised as a Maltese merchant ship and flying British colors, entered Tripoli harbor.
Claiming that they had lost their anchors in a storm, Decatur asked permission to tie up alongside the captured frigate.
As the two ships touched, Decatur stormed aboard Philadelphia with sixty men. Fighting with swords and pikes, they took control of the ship and began preparations to burn it. With combustibles in place, Philadelphia was set on fire. Waiting until he was sure the fire had taken hold, Decatur was the last to leave the burning ship. Escaping the scene in Intrepid, Decatur and his men successfully evaded fire from the harbor’s defenses and reached the open sea. When he heard of Decatur’s achievement, Vice Admiral Lord Horatio Nelson called it “the most bold and daring act of the age.”
Holy shiite!