Presley O'Bannon

Infobox Military Person
name= Presley Neville O'Bannon
born= 1776
died= death year and age|1850|1776
placeofbirth= Fauquier County, Virginia
placeofdeath= Franklin County, Kentucky


caption=
nickname= "Hero of Derne""First Lieutenant Presley Neville O'Bannon", "Who's Who in Marine Corps History."]
allegiance= United States of America
branch=United States Marine Corps
serviceyears= 1801-1807"First Lieutenant Presley Neville O'Bannon", "Who's Who in Marine Corps History."]
rank= First Lieutenant
commands=
unit=
battles= First Barbary War *Battle of Derna
awards=
laterwork=Kentucky State Legislature Kentucky State Senate

Presley Neville O’Bannon (1776 – 12 September 1850) was an officer in the United States Marine Corps, famous for his exploits in the First Barbary War. In recognition of his bravery, he received a sword for his role in restoring Prince Hamet Karamali to his throne at Tripoli. That sword became the model for the Mameluke Sword adopted in 1825 as the Marine officers' sword that is still part of the dress uniform today. [cite web |url=http://www.diakonos.com/tun-tavern/noteworthy.php3
accessdate=2007-02-10|title=Noteworthy Marines
publisher=Tun-Tavern.com]

Biography

Born in Fauquier County, Virginia, O'Bannon entered the Marine Corps 18 January 1801. As a First Lieutenant, he commanded a detachment of seven Marines in General William Eaton’s little force in the War with Tripoli. During the combined operations with the U.S. Navy, he led the successful attack in the Battle of Derna 27 April 1805, giving the Marines' Hymn its immortal “to the shores of Tripoli”. Although some sources maintain that at this battle Presley O'Bannon became the first man to raise the American flag over foreign soil,"Presley Neville O'Bannon", Find-A-Grave.] cite web|accessdate=2008-03-01
url=http://www.usmcfsa.com/Rough%20River%20KY,%202002%20014.jpg
title=O'Bannon House Historical Marker
publisher=Kentucky Historical Society] his superior William Eaton had done so a few months earlier while traveling on the Nile from Alexandria to Cairo. According to tradition, Hamet Karamanli was so impressed with O'Bannon's bravery that, following the attack, he presented Lt. O'Bannon with his personal Mameluke sword as a gesture of gratitude. Upon his return to the States, the state of Virginia presented him with a silver-hilted sword featuring an eaglehead hilt and a curved blade modeled after the original Mameluke given him by Hamet. Its blade is inscribed with his name and a commemoration of the battle of Tripoli."First Lieutenant Presley Neville O'Bannon", "Who's Who in Marine Corps History."]

After resigning from the Marine Corps 6 March 1807, O’Bannon moved to Logan County, Kentucky, where he built a home in Russellville. He served in the Kentucky State Legislature in 1812, 1817 and 1820-21, as well as in the Kentucky State Senate from 1824 to 1826. He died on 12 September 1850 in Franklin County, Kentucky. His remains were moved to the Frankfort Cemetery in 1919.

Mameluke sword

Perhaps due to the Marines' distinguished record during this campaign, including the capture of the Tripolitan city of Derna after a long and dangerous desert march, Marine Corps Commandant Archibald Henderson adopted the Mameluke sword in 1825 for wear by Marine officers. After initial distribution in 1826, Mameluke swords have been worn except for the years 1859-75 (when Marine officers were required to wear Army M1850 foot officers' swords). Since that time, Mameluke swords have been worn by Marine officers in a continuing tradition to the present day.cite web|accessate=2008-02-08
url=http://www.marines.com/page/usmc.jsp?pageId=/page/SubSection-XML-Conversion.jsp?pageName=SymbolsandIcons&flashRedirect=true
title=Swords of the Marine Corps
work=Symbols and Icons
publisher=Marines.com]

Namesakes

Three Navy ships have been named USS "O'Bannon" in his honor:
* the USS "O'Bannon" (DD–177), a "Wickes" class destroyer which was launched in 1919 and struck in 1936;cite web |accessdate=2008-03-01
url=http://www.history.navy.mil/danfs/o1/obannon-i.htm
title= O'Bannon (I)
work=Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships
publisher=Naval Historical Center, Department of the Navy]
*the USS "O’Bannon" (DD–450), a "Fletcher"-class destroyer which was launched in 1942 and struck in 1970;cite web |accessdate=2008-03-01
url=http://www.history.navy.mil/danfs/o1/obannon-ii.htm
title=O'Bannon (II)
work=Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships
publisher=Naval Historical Center, Department of the Navy] ; and
*the USS "O'Bannon" (DD-987), a "Spruance"-class destroyer, which was launched in 1978 and struck in 2005.cite web|accessdate=2008-03-01
url=http://www.nvr.navy.mil/nvrships/details/DD987.htm
title=O'Bannon (DD 987)
work=Naval Vessel Register
publisher=NAVSEA Shipbuilding Support Office, United States Navy]

O'Bannon Hall, at the Basic School in Quantico, Virginia is named in honor of Presley O'Bannon.cite web|accessdate=2008-03-01
url=http://www.usmcfsa.com/O'BANNON%20HOUSE.htm
title=O'Bannon House
publisher=USMCFSA]

ee also

*List of Historically Important U.S. Marines

Notes

References

*cite book
author=Crouch, Howard R.
title=Historic American Swords
location=Fairfax, VA
publisher=SCS Publications
year=1999
pages=pp. 99-103

*cite journal
author=Cureton, LTC Charles H., USMC (Ret.)
title=Early Marine Corps Swords
journal=The Bulletin of the American Society of Arms Collectors
issue=No. 93
year=2006
pages=pp. 121–132

*cite web|accdessdate=2008-03-01
url=http://www.globalsecurity.org/military/agency/navy/dd-987.htm
title=DD 987 O'Bannon
publisher=GlobalSecurty.org

*cite web|accessate=2008-02-03
url=http://www.tecom.usmc.mil/HD/Whos_Who/O%27Bannon_PN.htm
title=First Lieutenant Presley Neville O'Bannon, USMC
work=Who's Who in Marine Corps History
publisher=History Division, United States Marine Corps

*cite book
author=Mowbray, E. Andrew
title=The American Eagle Pommel Sword, the Early Years 1793-1830
location=Lincoln, RI
publisher=Man at Arms Publications
year=1988
pages=218-219

*cite book
author=Peterson, Harold L.
title=The American Sword 1775-1945
location=Philadelphia
publisher=Ray Riling Arms Books Co.
year=1970
pages=pp. 192-193

*findagrave|2339. Retrieved on 2008-03-01.

Further reading

*London, Joshua E. [http://www.victoryintripoli.com/ "Victory in Tripoli: How America's How America's War with the Barbary Pirates Established the U.S. Navy and Shaped a Nation"] . New Jersey: John Wiley & Sons, Inc., 2005.
* Smethurst, David. "Tripoli: The United States' First War on Terror." New York: Presidio Press, 2006.
* Zacks, Richard. "The Pirate Coast: Thomas Jefferson, the First Marines, and the Secret Mission of 1805." Hyperion, 2005.Was played by John Payne in the 1950 Paramount motion picture 'Tripoli'

External links

*cite web|accessdate=
url=http://www.obannon.navy.mil/Namesake.htm
archiveurl=http://web.archive.org/web/20050630073609/http://www.obannon.navy.mil/Namesake.htm
archivedate=2005-06-30
title=Presley Neville O’Bannon, 1st Lt., USMC (1776-1850)
work=Namesake
publisher=United States Navy