The Battle of Derna at
Derna,
Cyrenaica
Cyrenaica ( ) or Kyrenaika ( ar, برقة, Barqah, grc-koi, Κυρηναϊκή ��παρχίαKurēnaïkḗ parkhíā}, after the city of Cyrene), is the eastern region of Libya. Cyrenaica includes all of the eastern part of Libya between ...
, was the decisive victory in April–May 1805 of a mercenary army recruited and led by
United States Marines under the command of
U.S. Army
The United States Army (USA) is the land service branch of the United States Armed Forces. It is one of the eight U.S. uniformed services, and is designated as the Army of the United States in the U.S. Constitution.Article II, section 2, ...
Lieutenant
William Eaton William Eaton or Bill Eaton may refer to:
* William Eaton (soldier) (1764–1811), United States Army soldier during the Barbary Wars
* William Eaton (athlete) (1909–1938), British long-distance runner
* William Eaton (guitarist), American luth ...
, diplomatic Consul to
Tripoli, and
U.S. Marine Corps
The United States Marine Corps (USMC), also referred to as the United States Marines, is the maritime land force service branch of the United States Armed Forces responsible for conducting expeditionary and amphibious operations through co ...
First Lieutenant
Presley Neville O'Bannon. The battle involved a forced 521-mile (839-km) march through the
North African desert from
Alexandria, Egypt
Alexandria ( or ; ar, ٱلْإِسْكَنْدَرِيَّةُ ; grc-gre, Αλεξάνδρεια, Alexándria) is the second largest city in Egypt, and the largest city on the Mediterranean coast. Founded in by Alexander the Great, Alexandria ...
, to the eastern port city of
Derna, Libya
Derna (; ar, درنة ') is a port city in eastern Libya. It has a population of 85,000–90,000. It was the seat of one of the wealthiest provinces in the Barbary States, and remains the capital of the Derna District, with a much smaller area. ...
, which was defended by a much larger force.
Background
In 1804, the former
Consul
Consul (abbrev. ''cos.''; Latin plural ''consules'') was the title of one of the two chief magistrates of the Roman Republic, and subsequently also an important title under the Roman Empire. The title was used in other European city-states throug ...
to
Tunis,
William Eaton William Eaton or Bill Eaton may refer to:
* William Eaton (soldier) (1764–1811), United States Army soldier during the Barbary Wars
* William Eaton (athlete) (1909–1938), British long-distance runner
* William Eaton (guitarist), American luth ...
(1764–1811), returned to the
Mediterranean Sea with the title of ''Naval Agent to the Barbary States''. Eaton had been granted permission from the
US government and US President
Thomas Jefferson (1743–1826; served 1801–1809) to back the claim of
Hamet Karamanli Hamet may refer to:
People
* Ali Hamet, Ottoman commander in the Battle of Alborán
* Barney Hamet, fictitious writer in several novels by Edward D. Hoch
* James Hamet Dunn, Canadian financier
* Jeffrey Hamet O'Neal, Irish miniature-painter
* ...
, the rightful heir to the throne of
Tripoli who had been deposed by his brother
Yusuf Karamanli, who had assassinated his older brother by shooting him in front of his mother.
Hamet was out of the country at the time and decided to remain in exile. Upon his return to the area, Eaton sought out Hamet, who was in exile in
Egypt. Upon locating him, Eaton made a proposal to reinstate him on the throne, and Hamet agreed to Eaton's plan.
Commodore Samuel Barron (1765–1810), the new naval commander in the
Mediterranean Sea, provided Eaton with naval support from several small warships of the
US Navy's Mediterranean squadron: , commanded by
Oliver Hazard Perry (1785–1819), , under
Samuel Evans (c. 1785–1824), and , captained by
Isaac Hull
Isaac Hull (March 9, 1773 – February 13, 1843) was a Commodore in the United States Navy. He commanded several famous U.S. naval warships including ("Old Ironsides") and saw service in the undeclared naval Quasi War with the revolutionary Fren ...
(1773–1843). The three vessels were to provide offshore bombardment support.
A small detachment of seven
US Marines was given to Consul Eaton commanded by
First Lieutenant Presley O'Bannon
Presley O'Bannon (1776 – September 12, 1850) was a first lieutenant in the United States Marine Corps, famous for his exploits in the First Barbary War (1801-1805). In recognition of his bravery, he was presented a sword for his part in a ...
, USMC (1776–1850). Eaton and O'Bannon based their operations at
Alexandria
Alexandria ( or ; ar, ٱلْإِسْكَنْدَرِيَّةُ ; grc-gre, Αλεξάνδρεια, Alexándria) is the second largest city in Egypt, and the largest city on the Mediterranean coast. Founded in by Alexander the Great, Alexandri ...
,
Egypt. With the help of Hamet Karamanli, they recruited about 400
Arab
The Arabs (singular: Arab; singular ar, عَرَبِيٌّ, DIN 31635: , , plural ar, عَرَب, DIN 31635: , Arabic pronunciation: ), also known as the Arab people, are an ethnic group mainly inhabiting the Arab world in Western Asia, No ...
and
Greek mercenaries. Eaton became self-appointed
general and
commander-in-chief of the combined multinational force.
On March 8, 1805, Lieutenant Eaton (as self-designated general and commander in chief) began to lead his forces on a trek westward across the Libyan North African desert from Egypt.
Their objective was the port city of
Derna, the capital of the
Ottoman province of
Cyrenaica
Cyrenaica ( ) or Kyrenaika ( ar, برقة, Barqah, grc-koi, Κυρηναϊκή ��παρχίαKurēnaïkḗ parkhíā}, after the city of Cyrene), is the eastern region of Libya. Cyrenaica includes all of the eastern part of Libya between ...
(now in eastern
Libya). The mercenary forces were promised supplies and money when they reached the city. During the 50-day trek, Eaton became worried over the strained relationship between the
Christian Greeks and the roughly 200 to 300
Muslim Arab and Turkish mercenaries. The expedition's supplies were dwindling with Eaton reporting in 1805, "Our only provisions
rea handful of rice and two biscuits a day." At one point, some of the Arabs in the expedition made a desperate attempt to raid the supply wagon but were beaten back by the Marines and a few Greek artillerymen, who used the expedition's lone cannon.
Mutiny
Mutiny is a revolt among a group of people (typically of a military, of a crew or of a crew of pirates) to oppose, change, or overthrow an organization to which they were previously loyal. The term is commonly used for a rebellion among member ...
threatened the success of the expedition on several occasions. Between March 10 and March 18, several Arab camel drivers mutinied before they had reached the sanctuary of the Massouah Castle. From March 22 to March 30, several Arab mercenaries, under the command of Sheik el Tahib, staged mutinies. By April 8, when he crossed the border into Libya and Tripoli, Eaton had quelled the Arab mutinies. In late April, his army finally reached the port city of
Bomba, on the
Gulf of Bomba
The Gulf of Bomba, is a body of water in the Mediterranean Sea on the northern coast of Libya. It lies about 40 miles (64 km) east of Derna (or Derne) at 32 degrees 38 minutes North Latitude, 23 degrees 07 minutes East Longitude (). It is n ...
, some miles up the coast from Derna, where US Navy warships , and ''Hornet'' with Commodore Barron and Captain Hull were waiting for him. Eaton received fresh supplies and the money to pay his mercenaries.
Battle
On the morning of April 26, Eaton sent a letter to Mustafa Bey, the governor of Derna, to ask for safe passage through the city and additional supplies, but Eaton realized the governor probably would not agree. Mustafa reportedly wrote back, "My head or yours!" On the morning of April 27, Eaton observed a fort in Derna with eight guns. The brig USS ''Argus'' sent a cannon ashore to use in the attack. Captain Hull's ships then opened fire and bombarded Derna's batteries for an hour. Meanwhile, Eaton divided his army into two separate attacking parties. Hamet was to lead the Arab mercenaries southwest to cut the road to Tripoli and then attack the city's left flank and storm the weakly defended governor's palace. Eaton with the rest of the mercenaries and the squad of Marines would attack the harbor fortress. Hull and the ships would fire on the heavily-defended port batteries.
The attack began at 2:45 p.m., with Lt. O'Bannon and his Marines leading the advance. O'Bannon led his Marines and 50 Greek gunners with the field piece from the ''Argus'', but the gun's effectiveness was lessened after the firing crew carelessly left the ramrod in the barrel and fired it down range. The harbor defenses had been reinforced, and the attackers were temporarily halted. That, however, had weakened the defenses elsewhere and allowed the Arab mercenaries to ride unopposed into the western section of the city.
Eaton's mercenary army was hesitant under the enemy's musket fire, and he realized that a charge was the only way to regain the initiative. Leading the charge, he was seriously wounded in the wrist by a musketball. On the ''Argus'', Captain Hull saw the Americans and mercenaries were "gaining ground very fast though a heavy fire of Musquetry
icwas constantly kept upon them." The ships ceased fire to allow the charge to continue. Eaton would report that O'Bannon with his Marines and Greeks "pass'd through a shower of Musketry from the Walls of houses, took possession of the Battery." The defenders fled in haste and left their cannons loaded and ready to fire. O'Bannon raised the
American flag
The national flag of the United States of America, often referred to as the ''American flag'' or the ''U.S. flag'', consists of thirteen equal horizontal stripes of red (top and bottom) alternating with white, with a blue rectangle in the ca ...
over the battery (the unique 15 stars, 15 stripes emblem used from 1795 to 1818, later made famous in the
War of 1812 as the "
Star-Spangled Banner
"The Star-Spangled Banner" is the national anthem of the United States. The lyrics come from the "Defence of Fort M'Henry", a poem written on September 14, 1814, by 35-year-old lawyer and amateur poet Francis Scott Key after witnessing the ...
"), and Eaton turned the captured guns on the city. Hamet's force had seized the governor's palace and secured the western part of the city. Many of the defenders of the harbor fortress fled through the town and ran into Hamet's force. By 4:00 p.m. the entire city had fallen, and for the first time in history, an American flag flew over fortifications on the opposite side of the
Atlantic Ocean
The Atlantic Ocean is the second-largest of the world's five oceans, with an area of about . It covers approximately 20% of Earth#Surface, Earth's surface and about 29% of its water surface area. It is known to separate the "Old World" of Afr ...
.
According to Tucker, casualties during the fighting for the Americans were two killed and three wounded, and those among the Christian Greek mercenaries were nine killed or wounded. Muslim Turkish or Arab mercenary casualties are unknown, as are those of the defenders.
Yusuf, in Tripoli to the west, was aware of the attack on Derna and had sent reinforcements to the city. By the time the force had arrived, however, the city had fallen. His men dug in and prepared to recapture the city. Eaton fortified his new position, and Hamet took up residence in the governor's palace and assigned the Arab mercenary forces to patrol the outer areas of the city. Yusuf's men dug in south of the city and waited. On May 13, they attacked the city and drove Hamet's Arab forces back and almost recaptured the governor's palace.
USS ''Argus'' and Eaton's captured batteries pounded the attackers, who finally fled under heavy fire.
Nightfall found both sides back in their original positions. Skirmishes and several other minor attempts were made on the city in the following weeks, but the city remained in American control. From Derna, Eaton now planned to march across the desert and attack Tripoli from the land. During his march, he was informed of the
treaty
A treaty is a formal, legally binding written agreement between actors in international law. It is usually made by and between sovereign states, but can include international organizations, individuals, business entities, and other legal pers ...
signed on June 10, 1805, between American emissary
Tobias Lear
Tobias Lear (September 19, 1762 – October 11, 1816) was the personal secretary to President George Washington. Lear served Washington from 1784 until the former-President's death in 1799. Lear's journal details Washington's final moments and his ...
from the
US State Department
The United States Department of State (DOS), or State Department, is an executive department of the U.S. federal government responsible for the country's foreign policy and relations. Equivalent to the ministry of foreign affairs of other nat ...
and
Yusuf Karamanli. In the middle of his trek, Eaton was ordered to return to Egypt with Hamet.
Aftermath
The Battle of Derna was the first land battle of the United States on foreign soil after the
American Revolutionary War
The American Revolutionary War (April 19, 1775 – September 3, 1783), also known as the Revolutionary War or American War of Independence, was a major war of the American Revolution. Widely considered as the war that secured the independence of t ...
(1775–1783). It was the decisive action of the
First Barbary War (1801-1805) although Eaton was furious over what he called a "sell-out" between the State Department diplomat
Tobias Lear
Tobias Lear (September 19, 1762 – October 11, 1816) was the personal secretary to President George Washington. Lear served Washington from 1784 until the former-President's death in 1799. Lear's journal details Washington's final moments and his ...
and the
bey
Bey ( ota, بك, beğ, script=Arab, tr, bey, az, bəy, tk, beg, uz, бек, kz, би/бек, tt-Cyrl, бәк, translit=bäk, cjs, пий/пек, sq, beu/bej, sh, beg, fa, بیگ, beyg/, tg, бек, ar, بك, bak, gr, μπέης) is ...
. Hamet returned to Egypt. The very few US Marines and the Greek mercenaries left Derna without notifying the Arab part of the force. The Arab mercenaries were left in Derna and were never paid for what they had achieved.
William Eaton returned to the United States as a national hero. Legend holds that O'Bannon was presented a
Mameluke sword by Hamet, the
Ottoman Empire viceroy
A viceroy () is an official who reigns over a polity in the name of and as the representative of the monarch of the territory. The term derives from the Latin prefix ''vice-'', meaning "in the place of" and the French word ''roy'', meaning "k ...
. No evidence supports that claim. The first mention of Hamet giving O'Bannon a bejeweled sword seems to be in a lengthy article, "Kentucky Officer First to Carry Stars and Stripes to Victory in Foreign Country," by John Presley Cain in the 29 July 1917 edition of the ''Louisville Courier-Journal''. One sword that was purported to be the sword in question has turned out to be a late-Victorian era forgery. He was later awarded a sword of honor by his home state of
Virginia. A further legend holds that O'Bannon's exploits in North Africa inspired the Marine Corps officers to adopt Mameluke swords, but that is also uncorroborated by any contemporaneous sources. Swords of the style were very popular in Europe, and a more likely scenario is that the Marines imitated the influential military leaders who were wearing them.
The attack on Derna was the inspiration for the lyrics of the
Marines' Hymn
The "Marines' Hymn" is the official hymn of the United States Marine Corps, introduced by the first director of the USMC Band, Francesco Maria Scala. Its music originates from an 1867 work by Jacques Offenbach with the lyrics added by an anonymo ...
in the line "to the shores of Tripoli."
The 1950 American film ''
Tripoli'' starring
John Payne,
Maureen O'Hara,
Howard da Silva
Howard Da Silva (born Howard Silverblatt, May 4, 1909 – February 16, 1986) was an American actor, director and musical performer on stage, film, television and radio. He was cast in dozens of productions on the New York stage, appeared in mo ...
is a fictionalized account of the Battle of Derna.
Legacy
The , the that was the US Navy's
most decorated destroyer during
World War II, was named in honor of
U.S. Marine Corps
The United States Marine Corps (USMC), also referred to as the United States Marines, is the maritime land force service branch of the United States Armed Forces responsible for conducting expeditionary and amphibious operations through co ...
First Lieutenant
Presley Neville O'Bannon.
In 1850, the American poet
John Greenleaf Whittier
John Greenleaf Whittier (December 17, 1807 – September 7, 1892) was an American Quaker poet and advocate of the abolition of slavery in the United States. Frequently listed as one of the fireside poets, he was influenced by the Scottish poet ...
wrote the poem "Derne" to commemorate this battle.
References
Bibliography
*
*
*
Further reading
*Lambert, Frank. ''The Barbary Wars: American Independence in the Atlantic World'' New York: Hill & Wang, 2005.
*London, Joshua E. ''Victory in Tripoli: How America's War with the Barbary Pirates Established the U.S. Navy and Shaped a Nation'' New Jersey: John Wiley & Sons, Inc., 2005.
*
*Wheelan, Joseph. ''Jefferson's War: America's First War on Terror 1801-1805''. New York: Carroll & Graf, 2003.
*Zacks, Richard. ''The Pirate Coast: Thomas Jefferson, the First Marines, and the Secret Mission of 1805''. New York: Hyperion, 2005. .
*''Naval Documents related to the United States Wars with the Barbary Powers'', Volume V, Part 3 of 3, ''Naval Operations including diplomatic background from September 7, 1804 through April 1805'' by United States Government Printing Office Washington, 1944.
{{DEFAULTSORT:Derna, Battle of
1805 in the Ottoman Empire
Battles involving the United States
Battles of the Barbary Wars
Naval battles of the Barbary Wars
Conflicts in 1805
United States Marine Corps in the 18th and 19th centuries
United States Marine Corps lore and symbols
1805 in Africa
Battles involving Ottoman Tripolitania
April 1805 events
May 1805 events
Derna, Libya