A Mameluke Sword is a cross-hilt, curved, scimitar-like sword. It is related to the shamshir, which had its origins in Persia from where the style migrated to India, Egypt and North Africa. Adopted in the 19th Century by several western armed forces, including the French Army, British Army and the United States Marine Corps, the Mameluke sword remains the ceremonial sidearm for some units to this day; United States Marine Corps 1805 was the birth of the Marine Officers Sword. Barbary Pirates had been attacking American merchant ships in the Mediterranean. As a result Marines were deployed to Derna. Under the command of Lieutenant Preseley O'Bannon a group of Marines marched across 600 miles of North African desert to attack the Tripoli fort of Derna. The was captured and O'Bannon was the first man to raise the American flag on foreign soil. A desert chieftain presented the Mameluke Scimitar to O'Bannon as gratitude and respect for his accomplishment. By 1825 all Marine Officers were required to wear the Mameluke Sword. It has stayed in the Marines ever since.
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