The fledgling United States Marine Corps proved its dauntless
courage with a "miracle" victory in the Battle of Derna on the
shores of Tripoli in North Africa on this day in history, April 27,
1805.

The successful attack against overwhelming numbers on the
port city in present-day Libya, a stronghold of pirates who
spent years attacking United States ships at sea, was the
climactic battle of the First Barbary War (1801-05).

The victory is immortalized in a patriotic American anthem.

1st. Lt. Presley O’Bannon raised the American
flag during the Battle of Derna.

The Derna Plaque is part of "Defending the New Republic
1775-1865" display at the National Museum of the Marine
Corps in Virginia on May 25, 2010. This plaque was made
to honor a battle to take a fort from the Barbary pirates
off the northern coast of Africa. The Derna Plaque was discovered 175 years after the battle.