"To The Shores of Trip-O-Leeee"

By Lt Col P

(Editorial note: Meant to post this last night, but got involved with some of THIS, and the time positively flew by.)

27 April 1805: First Lieutenant Presley N. O'Bannon, who with seven other Marines was part of a force of Greeks and Arabs led by American Consul William Eaton, raised the United States flag for the first time over a conquered fortress of the Old World at Derne, a stronghold of the Tripolitan pirates. Two Marines were killed and one wounded in the assault on the walled city.

There are several points of interest above and beyond the boldness-and-daring aspects. One, the entire enterprise was led by a diplomat. Two, there was employment of private military contractors. And three, the Marines took substantial casualties but pressed on nonetheless. Except for the warlike diplomat (a rare bird indeed), one could say that the more things change, the more they stay the same.

And, although not noted in that paragraph, it was a joint op with the Navy, featuring a good old fashioned iron shampoo delivered in the form of a naval bombardment of shore fortifications.

Sunday Update: A comment from our dear friend and colleague Boston Maggie jolted my memory. Please see this article by Christopher Hitchens for an interesting take on the Barbary Wars. The more things change, indeed, the more they stay the same!

April 28, 2007 05:05 AM History

TrackBack

TrackBack URL for this entry:
http://op-for.com/mt/mt-tb.cgi/928

Listed below are links to weblogs that reference "To The Shores of Trip-O-Leeee":

» Aspect Bird Feeders from Aspect Bird Feeders
Nottawa's price for this Aspect thistle feeder is the best I. [Read More]

Comments

I have a little bit of a bottle here at the house...good whisky.

bullnav · April 28, 2007 03:18 PM

If you have to have "a wee drap" of something, 'tis a great choice. There are very few bad Islay Scotches, if any.

As my best man taught me years ago, "'Tis like angels dripping on my tongue" (I changed one of the words).

Enjoy
-SJBill

SJBill · April 28, 2007 05:42 PM

Not bad, my tastes run toward Inishowen.

It's a great story. Have you read Robert Allison's biography of Decatur? O'Bannon and Eaton are in it as well. The Tripolitan wars are very interesting and not enough attention is paid to their historical significance.

Maggie · April 28, 2007 07:33 PM

It was a very nice idea! Just wanna say thank you for the information you have shared. Just continue writing this kind of post. I will be your loyal reader. Thanks again.

Christian Louboutin Boots · November 1, 2009 07:33 PM

Thats actually not over the destin coastline at all. That's the north shore sexy lingerie wholesale lingerie of choctawhatchee bay. You can tell by the sparsely populated coastline and the fact that they didnt land on top of an Escalade or H3

Siman · November 25, 2009 05:33 PM

Found it a great launch
I thank you very much
Appreciation and respect
I liked your topic
I wish you success

منتديات · February 14, 2010 01:42 AM