Remember Richard Somers on Day He Died in Tripoli in 1804

The 10 am ceremony tells the remarkable story of Richard Somers. It also explains the mural and monument at the park and the original monument by the nearvy New York Avenue School. 

Somers was born in Somers Point in 1778 during American Revolution. He completed school and skippered merchant ships sailing between New York and Philadelphia by age 16. In 1798, Somers was one of the first to train as in officer in the newly formed US Navy at age 20. As a midshipman, he fought French pirates in the Caribbean.

In 1803, at age 25, Somers was given the task of converting a merchant ship into the warship Nautilus with 12 cannons. He was then put in command of that ship and its crew of 103 men and sent to the Mediterranean Sea. There they fought "Barbary Pirates" who were attacking and capturing American merchants and sailors, and selling them as slaves.

On the night of September 4, 1804, Richard Somers and a crew of 12 sailed a small ship named Intrepid into the harbor in Tripoli. The ship was packed with explosives. Their plan was to destroy the "Turkish flotilla" there...

The public is invited to the ceremony, and there is no admission charge. However, donations are encouraged.

At 11 am, after the ceremony all attending are invited to a $20 brunch at Sal's Coal Fired Pizza, 501 New Road, Somers Point, NJ. Please RSVP by paying online through the "Donate" tab of LibertyandProsperity.com, sending an email to info@libertyandprosperity.com, or leaving a voicemail with Seth Grossman at 609-927-7333. Or send a check payable to "Liberty And Prosperity” to our office at 453 Shore Road, Somers Point, NJ.