Marines at Derna
April 27, 1805
In the First Barbary War, a ragtag force of eight US Marines and several hundred Greek and Arab mercenaries under William Eaton crossed five hundred miles of Libyan desert and stormed the port of Derna. It was the first American flag raised over a foreign city and the source of the Marine Hymn's reference to the shores of Tripoli.
In context
Also in 1805 (4 other events on record)
- Battle of Trafalgar · Europe · War
- Austerlitz: The Sun of Bonaparte · Europe · War
- Muhammad Ali Seizes Egypt · Middle East · Politics
- Dessalines Crowned Emperor · North America · Politics
Before and after in Africa
Before and after in War
Era
Industrial Age (1801–1900), one of 513 events from that era on Saeculum.