Friday, 26 June 2009

• "..to the shores of Tripoli..."

  Seeing as we're broaching the advent of Independence Day, it came to my mind through various conduits of inspiration to honor our armed forces and American heritage. I'm starting with the Marine's hymn because I've finally learned of the significance of- one of its lines which is the title of this blog. I was reading the Freedom magazine (the NRA's magazine- for those who still believe in the God-given right to self-defense) and the feature story was about the recent pirate controversy and the role of international waters rights to bear and use weaponry for self defense. The story didn't just leave off there but shared a rather fair look at America's history of dealing with pirates and other sea scum.
  
  You guessed it- Tripoli is one of America's earliest military engagements- working to make passage of ships on the seas safer.
  
  History of the Battle of Tripoli:
  In October 1803, Tripoli's fleet was able to capture USS Philadelphia intact after the frigate ran aground while patrolling Tripoli harbor. Efforts by the Americans to float the ship while under fire from shore batteries and Tripolitan naval units were unsuccessful. The ship, its captain, William Bainbridge, and all officers and crew were taken ashore and held as hostages. The Philadelphia was turned against the Americans and anchored in the harbor as a gun battery.
  
  On the night of February 16, 1804, Lieutenant Stephen Decatur led a small contingent of the U.S.'s first Marines in the captured Tripolitan ketch rechristened USS Intrepid, to deceive the guards on board the Philadelphia and float close enough to board the captured ship. Decatur's men stormed the vessel and overpowered the Tripolitan sailors standing guard. With support from American ships, the Marines set fire to the Philadelphia, denying her use to the enemy. Subsequently, the bravery in action of Lieutenant Stephen Decatur made him one of the first American military heroes since the Revolutionary War.
  
  Preble attacked Tripoli outright on July 14, 1804 in a series of inconclusive battles, including a courageous but unsuccessful attack by the fire ship USS Intrepid under Captain Richard Somers. Intrepid, packed with explosives, was to enter Tripoli harbor and destroy itself and the enemy fleet; it was destroyed, perhaps by enemy guns, before achieving that goal, killing Somers and his crew.
  
  The turning point in the war came with the Battle of Derna (April-May 1805). Ex-consul William Eaton, who went by the rank of general, and US Marine First Lieutenant Presley O'Bannon led a mixed force of eight United States Marines and 500 Greek, Arab and Berber mercenaries on a remarkable overland march across the desert from Alexandria, Egypt to assault and to capture the Tripolitan city of Derna. This is the first time in history that the United States flag was raised in victory on foreign soil. This action was memorialized in a line from the Marines' Hymn — "the shores of Tripoli." [6]
  
  
  
  
  The Marine's Hymn
  
  From the Halls of Montezuma,
  To the shores of Tripoli;
  We fight our country's battles
  In the air, on land, and sea;
  First to fight for right and freedom
  And to keep our honor clean;
  We are proud to claim the title
  Of United States Marine.
  
  Our flag's unfurled to every breeze
  From dawn to setting sun;
  We have fought in every clime and place
  Where we could take a gun;
  In the snow of far-off Northern lands
  And in sunny tropic scenes;
  You will find us always on the job
  The United States Marines.
  
  Here's health to you and to our Corps
  Which we are proud to serve;
  In many a strife we've fought for life
  And never lost our nerve;
  If the Army and the Navy
  Ever look on Heaven’s scenes;
  They will find the streets are guarded
  By United States Marines.
  
  
  [edit] Original first stanza
  Lyrics in use before 1919 included:
  
  From the halls of Montezuma, to the shores of Tripoli,
  We fight our country's battles, on the land as on the sea.
  Admiration of the nation, we're the finest ever seen;
  And we glory in the title of United States Marines.
  This version can be heard in the 1950 film Halls of Montezuma. In 1919, the third and fourth lines were changed to include the "first to fight" motto. In 1942, the second line was changed to refer to the addition of air power to the world's military arsenals.[2]
  
  
  [edit] Extra verses
  Various people over the years wrote unofficial or semi-unofficial extra verses to commemorate later battles and actions, for example[1]:
  
  Again in 1941, we sailed a north'ard course
  and found beneath the midnight sun, the Viking and the Norse.
  The Iceland girls were slim and fair, and fair the Iceland scenes,
  and the Army found in landing there, the United States Marines.
  (In 1940, during World War II, British forces occupied Iceland to guard it from possible occupation by Nazi Germany. In 1941, responsibility for the occupation was transferred to the U.S., who garrisoned a brigade of Marines.)
  
  

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