The Tripolitan War, 1801 - 1805

Escalation, a new American President, and a failure to honor treaties, led to a declaration of war between the Barbary State of Tripolitania and the United States of America.

Recorded as the first land engagement of American troops outside the American continent, the battle at Derna has a particular place in the memory of the United States Marine Corps. The trek across the desert is commemorated in the first verse of the Marines' Hymn: "to the shores of Tripoli". Find out more...