While I continue to look for information that sheds more light on the relationship between the Marine Corps and the US Navy, my search has led to discovery of some interesting additonal information. This post will discuss something that is awarded only to Marine Corps officers, and not to officers in the Navy.
Here is a story that provides some insight into the events leading up to the War of 1812. I wanted to share this story with my readers:
In April of 1805, Lieutenant Presley O’Brannon led a land assault on a fort in the Tripoli harbor. The brave Marines managed to capture that fort and to call for the lowering of the flag of Tripoli. In its place O’Bannon called for display of the Stars and Stripes. That was the first time that the raising of the Stars and Stripes demonstrated a land victory for American forces, forces summoned to fight on a part of the Old World.
The natives who fought O’Bannon and his men carried swords with a Mamaluke-styled handle. When the Marine Corps awarded O’Bannon for his victory, they gave him a sword with the same sort of handle. That sword and handle combination then became the standard style for the sword presented to Marine Corps officers.
The above story was included in a Corps yearbook–the yearbook for the Reserve Officers Class of 1942. Readers of this blog can expect to see a number of stories taken from that same yearbook.
