Believe it or not, back in the early 1800s the US Navy had the fireship, or ‘floating volcano’ as they called it, in their playbook. This was a ship filled to the brim with explosives, designed to be sailed directly into an enemy fleet where it would explode. It ended up being a complete disaster, which is probably why this incident is hardly ever discussed in our history textbooks. In this episode, we will be working through the events that eventually led up to the Navy’s use of this fireship maneuver. Along the way, we will be talking about Pirates, some underhanded moves the U.S. government pulled off and an epidemic of duels that were threatening the early U.S. Navy.