DON'T TOUCH OUR BOATS AND DON'T MESS WITH OUR MARINES
AMERICA'S NAVY - PIRATE HUNTERS
“Good. I didn’t have to tell ya twice. Now grab a stool, feed the goat sumthin’ and pay attention. I’m only going to tell ya once.” The Bosun
Listen close. Not long ago, our country squared off with the Barbary States, pirates outta North Africa, bold enough to demand tribute from every country in the world just so ships could pass safe. President Jefferson said to hell with that, and so we fought. That war, the Barbary War, made names like Stephen Decatur ring loud. He sailed straight into Tripoli harbor under cover of night and burned the Philadelphia—our own captured frigate—so the pirates couldn’t use her. Did it right under their bloody noses. Even the British admiral Nelson called it the bravest act he’d ever seen.
And don’t forget the Marines. In '05, Lieutenant O’Bannon led eight Marines, of which our Lieutenant Means was one. They gathered and led Greeks, and Arabs on a death march through desert sands to the fortress at Derna. Took it with steel and grit, raised our colors over foreign soil for the first time. That’s why the hymn says “to the shores of Tripoli.” So when you set foot on this deck, you follow in their wake. Hold fast and earn it.
AUTHOR’S NOTE - This video is on the long side, but it is very entertaining and informative. Please visit “The Fat Electrician” for his take on other overlooked stories of American military history.
America Dismantles Pirate Nations For Touching Their Boats - The Barbary Wars