News and Music Discovery
Play Live Radio
Next Up:
0:00
0:00
0:00 0:00
Available On Air Stations

Remarkable Kentuckians: When Presley O'Bannon Fought the Barbary Pirates

Wikimedia Commons, United States Marine Corps

Up to and through the Civil War, Kentucky was considered America's frontier. It was a central part of American history, says historian James Claypool, who writes for the Kentucky Humanities Council. On Sounds Good, he shares the story of Logan County's Presley O'Bannon, "one of the most remarkable people in Kentucky - and American history for that matter. Certainly one of the most significant Marines ever," who fought the Barbary Pirates in Tripoli in 1805, became a model for US Marine Corps traditions and retired to serve in the State Legislature and Senate.

Presley O'Bannon was buried in Russellville when he died at the age of 74. His remains have since been moved to Frankfort, but his legacy extends well past the borders of Kentucky and the United States. He was born in Virginia, but as a first lieutenant in the United States Marine Corps was shipped around the world. In 1805, the Barbary Pirates operating in the Mediterranean (primarily in what is now known as Libya), had begun capturing American merchant ships, exacting tributes and imprisoning and enslaving Americans. President Thomas Jefferson sought to end this by sending a group of Marines to storm their stronghold in Derne.

From Alexandria, Egypt, O'Bannon led a 'motley' group of Marines and mercenaries for 45-days across the desert. They arrived at the fortress and stormed the citadel by bayonet. Claypool says this was the first time the American battle flag was flown on foreign soil. He adds that the group wore leather collars around their necks to protect against sword slashes, which is where the slang term 'leatherneck' originates when referring to the US Marine Corps. After seizing the fortress, the group then had to hold off counter-assaults from the Barbary Pirates, which explains the origin of the lyrics "From the Halls of Montezuma to the Shores of Tripoli." The then legitimate sultan won over the rebels and to honor O'Bannon's bravery presented him with a bejeweled Mameluke sword, which was later adopted by the Marine Corps as the ceremonial sword won by officers.

Claypool says O'Bannon ended up as a captain in the US Marine Corps, but retired a few years later and moved to Russellville, Kentucky, where his mother lived. He then got invovled in Kentucky politics, serving in the Legislature and the Senate from 1808 to 1820. As for the Barbary Pirates, incidents against American ships flared up again in 1815-16, but by then the US were strong enough to end it quickly, Claypool says. The US Marine Corps has since named three different destroyers after O'Bannon: in WWI, WWII and Korea.

James Claypool's complete article on Presley O'Bannon was featured in the Fall 2014 issue of Kentucky Humanities.

Matt Markgraf joined the WKMS team as a student in January 2007. He's served in a variety of roles over the years: as News Director March 2016-September 2019 and previously as the New Media & Promotions Coordinator beginning in 2011. Prior to that, he was a graduate and undergraduate assistant. He is currently the host of the international music show Imported on Sunday nights at 10 p.m.
Related Content