[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 162 (2016), Part 4]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page 5486]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                 HONORING LT. PRESLEY NEVILLE O'BANNON

                                 ______
                                 

                             HON. ANDY BARR

                              of kentucky

                    in the house of representatives

                         Friday, April 29, 2016

  Mr. BARR. Mr. Speaker, I rise to honor a great American, Presley 
Neville O'Bannon. He was born in Virginia in 1776, where his father 
served as a captain in the Continental Army. O'Bannon was appointed a 
Second Lieutenant in the United States Marine Corps in 1801 and was 
quickly promoted to First Lieutenant in 1802. He served on the USS 
Argus, one of many ships used in the protection of United States 
commerce against the Barbary pirates. In 1805 he was selected for a 
special mission. During a storm, the USS Philadelphia went aground off 
the coast of Tripoli and the 180 member crew was captured and 
imprisoned at Derne. Lieutenant O'Bannon led a few brave Marines 
through fierce enemy fire, took possession of one of the enemy's 
batteries, and planted the American flag. He became the first American 
to raise our flag on foreign soil during a time of war. Weeks of 
fighting ensued and finally the captured Americans were freed. The 
bravery of Lt. O'Bannon and others is forever commemorated in the 
Marine Corps Hymn in the words ``To the Shores of Tripoli''.
  Hamet Karamanli, the new leader of Tripoli, was so appreciative of 
the actions of Lt. O'Bannon that he presented him with the now famous 
blade of Damascus, a jeweled sword with a Mameluke hilt. U.S. Marine 
Corps officers still wear the Mameluke sword today as part of their 
dress uniform.
  Lieutenant O'Bannon left the Marine Corps in 1807 and moved to Logan 
County, Kentucky to live for the rest of his days. He served in both 
the Kentucky House of Representatives and the Kentucky Senate. He died 
on September 12, 1850 at the age of 74. The Daughters of the American 
Revolution removed his remains to the cemetery in Frankfort, Kentucky 
in 1920 and erected a memorial to this ``Hero of the Derne''.
  Lieutenant Presley Neville O'Bannon was a true American hero and I am 
proud to honor his memory before the United States House of 
Representatives.

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