The Burning of USS Philadelphia is the tenth Historical Battle in Age of Empires III: Definitive Edition, and the first scenario in the launch of the Mexicans' DLC. It is about the event of the same name in 1803 in the middle of the First Barbary War (1801-1805) between United States, Sweden, and Sicily, and the Barbary States (Ottoman Tripolitania) and Morocco.
Summary[]
| “ | Determined to put an end to predatory raids on merchant vessels, the United States has declared war on the Barbary pirates in North Africa. An auspicious start to the conflict quickly turned into disaster and disgrace when the frigate USS Philadelphia was captured intact by Barbary pirates. However, one brave young American lieutenant was unwilling to let the vessel remain in enemy hands. Assembling a group of volunteers, Stephen Decatur set sail to destroy the frigate and salvage the US Navy's reputation. | ” |
Scenario instructions[]
Starting conditions[]
- Starting Age:
Fortress Age - Starting resources: 0 food, 250 wood, 0 coin
- Population limit: 60
- Starting units:
Objectives[]
Primary objectives[]
- Capture the corsair ship Mastico by destroying its escort.
- Seize the outpost at the entrance to the harbour by killing all of its guards.
- Bring the captured corsair ship to the USS Philadelphia and kill its guards.
- Defend the corsair ship while the USS Philadelphia is loaded with explosives.
- The captured corsair ship must reach your frigates at the entrance to the harbor.
Secondary objectives[]
- Rescue the crew of the USS Philadelphia.
- Capture the fixed gun to open a swifter route to the USS Philadelphia.
- Destroy the docked Barbary fleet to the east.
Players[]
Marine Officer (Stephen Decatur), protagonist of the scenario.
Player[]
- US Volunteers ( United States): The player starts with 2 Sloops and 2 Rowboats with Marines, with whom they have to capture a Privateer. Once this is done, the player must seize the Outpost at the entrance of the harbor and stealthily infiltrate among the enemy ships to reach Tripoli and capture the USS Philadelphia that is in enemy hands.
Allies[]
- Tripoli ( Barbary Pirates): Tripoli is located in the southeast of the map. It only serves a visual role and has civil and military buildings of all kinds, but they do not attack the player or perform any other activity.
- US Navy ( United States): The U.S. Navy only gives tactical support in battle and also does not participate in combat. It has units captured and locked up by the enemy that the player must release to fulfill the secondary objective.
Enemy[]
- Tripoli Pirates ( Barbary Pirates): Tripoli Pirates have Galleys and Berber and Barbary units all over the map. The player must face them and prevent them from recapturing the USS Philadelphia anchored in Tripoli.
Home City Cards[]
- Click here to see an overview of all Home City Cards available in the "The Burning of USS Philadelphia" Historical Battle
| Some cards are highlighted with: | |
| Green | TEAM Shipment that is sent to each player in a team |
| Purple | Shipment that can be sent an INFINITE number of times |
| Red | Shipment that can be sent twice |
| Card | Description | Age |
|---|---|---|
 1 Rowboat
|
Delivers 1 Rowboat |  |
 3 Rowboat
|
Delivers 3 Rowboats | |
 6 Marines
|
Delivers 6 Marines | |
 5 Regulars
|
Delivers 5 Regulars | |
 Long Rifles
|
State Militia and Marine Line of Sight and ranged attack range +4; Sharpshooters available from the Commerce Age | |
 Overseas Weapon Shipments
|
Upgrades Regulars and Sharpshooters to Guard | |
 TEAM Improved Oars
|
Rowboat speed +20% | |
 2 Sloops
|
Delivers 2 Sloops |  |
 8 Regulars
|
Delivers 8 Regulars | |
 7 Sharphooters
|
Delivers 7 Sharpshooters | |
 Marine Volunteers
|
Delivers 1 Marine for each shipment sent so far including this one | |
 Naval Training
|
Ranged infantry hit points and damage +15% | |
 Rowboat Marksmen
|
Rowboat damage +20% | |
Treasures[]
There are seven treasures in the south of the map. The player can get them while doing the secondary objectives:
- Click for a list of treasures and their guardians related to the "The Burning of USS Philadelphia" Historical Battle
| Treasure | Reward | Guardians | Location |
|---|---|---|---|
| The boots of El Pollo Guapo, which increases speed of whomever picks them up by | 10% | 2x  Bandit Rifleman2x  Bandit Rider
| West end of Tripoli, beyond the Frontier Outpost and Estates behind |
| The attractive, but odd-looking roseate spoonbill worth | 75 XP | 2x  Alligator
|
West of the map, just east of above treasure |
| A map to the fabled Comstock Lode worth | 275 coin | 4x Bandit Rifleman
|
Southwest of the map, south of the Mosque |
| The shield of El Pollo Guapo, which increases Explorer or Hero hitpoints by | 30% | 3x  Wolf
|
South of the map, near the coast |
| The rutters of El Pollo Guapo worth | 400 XP | 1x  Buccaneer Captain4x  Pirate
|
South of the map, near the coast |
| Turquoise mask of the dread Aztec mummy worth | 275 coin | 4x  Bandit Gunslinger
|
South of the map, on top of cliffs |
| The boots of El Pollo Guapo, which increases speed of whomever picks them up by | 10% | 2x Bandit Rifleman 2x Bandit Rider
|
Beyond the Berber tents southeast of USS Philadelphia |
The map[]
The map is based on the Tripolitania and North African maps with a great Mediterranean Sea with fishes in the north and great deserts south across the map.
Strategy[]
This scenario may seem nearly impossible (on hard) at first due to the overwhelming horde of enemies that spawn and the player's limited unit access. However, it can be made much easier using micro and doing optional objectives before activating the defense timer.
The first section is simple: capture the Corsair ship. To preserve ship hit points, the player can use hit-and-run tactics, as the two Privateers take ample time focusing on one or two targets.
Once the ship has been captured, use the provided Rowboats to clear the first island. The first group of pirates can be dealt with by using the Rowboats' range to snipe them one at a time. To speed things up, the player can lure the pirates into the explosives. After clearing the first group, land the Marines in the boats, and again, use the boats and explosives to clear the second group of enemies. Be aware of the Outpost, but as the player loses access to these particular Rowboats after this area, use them liberally. This section can be passed losing one or no Marines.
If the player wants a damage-less approach for the Marines, use the ships as bait to enemy fire. The player will not be able to control all the ships following the next section of the battle. The player does not need to destroy the Outpost.
The next section will give the primary objective: kill the guards around the USS Philadelphia. To make the scenario much more manageable, the player should complete available secondary objectives first; once the timer starts, there will be incessant waves of pirates, and it will be nearly impossible to navigate the streets as they march through them while also leaving sufficient defense at home. Some of these objectives will not trigger early, but can still be completed at this stage.
These pointers will significantly ease the playthrough. The player can immediately finish the primary objective, but defending the Docks with a few ships and troops is not ideal:
- Keep the Rowboat alive; this will be important later.
- Navigate and land somewhere around the two Docked Corsair ships (right before reaching the USS Philadelphia); there will be no patrolling ships in this area. This will trigger the secondary objective to rescue American soldiers held captive. This will usually be triggered directly after clearing the guards, but can be done early. Use Decatur to tank enemy attacks, let the Marines clear the rest. Clearing groups of enemy units guarding an area not only allows the player to destroy the Stockades to free prisoners, which consist of Marines and, at one point, a Falconet, But rescuing the them can also transfer control over docked Intrepid Privateers nearby, mentioned earlier.
- Next, there are two important treasures on this western section of the map, granting 335 XP, 400 XP, and a 30% hit point boost for Decatur respectively. The first is slightly up a hill in the west, the second is right by the first stockades, and the third can be found close by the two docked Corsair ships, surrounded by Houses. Use Decatur (the Marine Officer) to tank and damage many guardians, but keep in mind that unlike most heroes, the Marine Officer only has 850 hit points (with the Shield of El Pollo Guapo treasure) and regenerates 1-2 hit points per second, which is quite slow, so have lots of patience.
- Load all units into the Corsair. Keep both of the captured ships and the Rowboat where they were Docked. Use the Corsair's flag ability to sail around to the other side, and unload between the closest two Docked Corsairs. Move the captured Corsair about 20-25 range directly parallel to the USS Philadelphia, where it will be out of range of a patrolling Privateer and also not begin attacking the units on the Dock.
- Using Decatur to tank, clear the stockade with the Falconet first. Remember to use Decatur's abilities. Then, once the cannon has been obtained, put all Marines on hold position and put Decatur in the front to soak damage. Use the Falconet to clear each of the other prisoner groups at range. If the player engages with the cannon first and parks the Marines out of range, this can be done without losing any units. When attacking groups of enemies, keep an eye out for nearby Gunpowder Stores, which can be destroyed to cause them to explode, killing nearby enemies very quickly.
- At this point, the player's army should be very close to the units guarding the Dock. Do not engage; rather load all of the Marines (40) into the Corsair again. Using the flag ability, go towards the center of the map, where there will be a Fixed Gun. This is a later objective, but can be mostly completed at this point. Unload the large group of Marines and micro them under the cannon to avoid its damage, and clear the guards, capturing the cannon. There is no need to risk the Falconet here.
- Use the Corsair and Rowboat to clear the bridge at range. Make sure the Marines and Falconet are on their defense positions, since they will be wherever the player left them when the next section starts.
Now, it is time for the player to defend. The defense setup is generally simple: build up the Outposts, both of them by the tip of the dock to maximize fire against incoming ships. The Marines can hold out on their own without the Outpost.
- The player immediately gets 4 shipments (5 if the treasures were obtained). There is a lot of heavy infantry, so send the Sharpshooters and ideally as many upgrade cards (Guard upgrade, range, stats) as the player can manage. The early waves are easy to deal with, so this is the best time to upgrade and make sure as many units are conserved as possible.
- Place the Falconet near the back, but behind the Outpost, to deal with enemy ships. All infantry can defend the ramp. Place down a flag.
- As one of the first shipments, the player can also opt to send 3 Rowboats. Take the Rowboats east, and sneak by the Privateer and two Galleys into a Dock area using their stealth. A secondary objective to destroy the Docks will trigger, and can easily be completed. This can also be done with only the starting Rowboat, but the additional Rowboats do have a strong attack with long range and will be useful anyway.
- A secondary objective to destroy the passage with the Fixed Gun will trigger. Usually, this objective is to first capture the gun, and then destroy the bridge. Since (if the player did it) is already captured, proceed to blow the bridge explosives.
At this point, all the player has to do is defend the ramp. Do not be afraid to send ships, but keep them very close to the Dock to minimize attracting patrolling ships. Occasionally, Privateers will attack alongside some Galleys. These ships are, oddly, very strong compared to the player's ships. Abuse the ships' firing mechanic and kite them into the Outposts and Falconet.
When dealing with attacks on land, it is advised for Decatur to plant a flag near or on the base to boost unit attack. Utilize the units' fire; the Falconet (if still alive) fires at low-hit-point units like the Berber Spearman and the Berber Arquebusier, while Marines attack Tribal Horsemen and Barbary Corsairs.
There will be a couple of times that a pair of Falconets will attack with the pirate forces. Use Decatur's grenade and Marines, which have a bonus against artillery; destroy them as soon as possible, before they can deploy. The player may also use ships for extra damage.
Kill XP continually increases throughout the scenario. Around 5 minutes on the timer, attacks will become very persistent, but kill XP will be around normal values. The player should have sent enough shipments to send a good number of Marines using their ramping card.
As the timer finishes, a new objective will activate: escape with the Corsair. Load any/all units into the Corsair, then activate its flag and race back to the starting island, to freedom. Capturing the Fixed Gun can open a shortcut, making the escape easier.
Trivia[]
- This is chronologically the first Historical Battle that happens in the 19th century.
- Despite being set in 1803, the burning of the USS Philadelphia occurred in February 16, 1804.
- The conflict of this scenario is around the First Barbary War (1801–1805), also known as the Tripolitan War and the Barbary Coast War, a conflict during the 1801–1815 Barbary Wars, in which the United States fought against Ottoman Tripolitania. The conflict started because Tripolitania had declared war against the United States over disputes regarding tributary payments in exchange for a cessation of Tripolitanian commerce raiding at sea. United States President Thomas Jefferson refused to pay this tribute and the war started. The First Barbary War was the first major United States/American war fought outside the New World, and in the Arab world, besides the smaller American–Algerian War (1785–1795).
- The Burning of USS Philadelphia, also known as the Second Battle of Tripoli Harbor, was a naval action that occurred during the American naval blockade which took place in Tripoli Harbor on July 14, 1804. The battle was part of the First Barbary War between forces of the United States and the forces of the Eyalet of Tripolitania where the US forces burned their battleship USS Philadelphia that had been captured since October 1803 by the Barbary troops. The Americans did not want the Barbarians to use the battleship against them to break the blockade. Decatur's bravery in action made him one of the first American military heroes since the Revolutionary War. This naval action impressed several leading men of the time. British Admiral Horatio Nelson (winner of the battle of Trafalgar next year), known as a man of action and bravery, is said to have called this "the boldest and most daring act of the age." Even Pope Pius VII declared, "The United States, though in its infancy, has done more to humiliate the anti-Christian barbarians on the African coast than all European states had done..."
- Several of the United States' early naval heroes served in the blockade and the naval action, including the same Stephen Decatur, William Bainbridge, Charles Stewart, Isaac Hull, David Porter, Reuben James, and Edward Preble. Collectively referred to as Preble's Boys, many of these officers would play a significant role in the upcoming War of 1812 several years later.
Gallery[]
