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The Battle of Derne was the decisive victory of a mercenary army recruited and led by U.S. Marines under the command of U.S. Army Lieutenant William Eaton and U.S. Marine Corps First Lieutenant Presley Neville O’Bannon. The battle involved a forced 600-mile march through the desert to the city of Derne, which was defended by a much larger force.〔Naval History and Heritage Command, Battle of Derne, April 27, 1805, Selected Naval Documents〕 == Background == In 1804 the former Consul to Tunis, William Eaton returned to the Mediterranean with the title of ''Naval Agent to the Barbary States''. Eaton had been granted permission from the United States government to back the claim of Hamet Karamanli. Hamet Karamanli was the rightful heir to the throne of Tripoli and had been deposed by his brother Yussif Karamanli. Upon his return to the area, Eaton sought out Hamet Karamanli who was in exile in Egypt. Upon locating him, Eaton made a proposal to reinstate him on the throne. The exile agreed to Eaton's plan.〔Lambert, Frank. ''The Barbary Wars: American Independence in the Atlantic World''. Hill and Wang, 2005, p. 150.〕 Commodore Samuel Barron, the new naval commander in the Mediterranean, provided Eaton with naval support from , and . The three vessels were to provide offshore bombardment support.〔Lambert, Frank. ''The Barbary Wars: American Independence in the Atlantic World''. Hill and Wang, 2005, p. 152.〕 ''Nautilus'' was commanded by Oliver Hazard Perry, ''Hornet'' by Samuel Evans, and ''Argus'' by Isaac Hull. A small detachment of U.S. Marines was given to Eaton commanded by First Lieutenant Presley O'Bannon. Eaton and Hull based their operations at Alexandria, Egypt. With the help of Hamet Karamanli, they recruited about 400 Arab and Greek mercenaries.〔Hickman, John. ''Early American Wars''. Kurose Ross, 1982, p. 82.〕 Eaton became general and commander-in-chief of the combined force.〔Lambert, Frank. ''The Barbary Wars: American Independence in the Atlantic World''. Hill and Wang, 2005, p. 151.〕 On March 6, 1805, Lieutenant Eaton (having designated himself as general and commander in chief) began to lead his forces on a trek across the Libyan desert. Their objective was the port city of Derne, capital of the province of Cyrenaica. The mercenary forces was promised supplies and money when they reached the city. During the 50-day trek, Eaton became worried over the relationship between the Christian Greeks and the roughly 200 to 300 Muslim mercenaries. Mutiny threatened the success of the expedition on several occasions. Between March 10 and March 18, several Arab camel drivers mutinied before reaching the sanctuary of the Massouah Castle. From March 22 to March 30, several Arab mercenaries under the command of Sheik el Tahib staged mutinies. By April 8, when he crossed the border into Libya Tripoli, Eaton had quelled the Arab mutinies. In late April, his army finally reached the port city of Bomba, some miles up the coast from Derne, where ''Argus'', ''Nautilus'' and ''Hornet'' were waiting for him. Eaton received fresh supplies and the money to pay his mercenaries. 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Battle of Derne」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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