26 April 1805: Consul William Eaton (an army lieutenant), a handful of Marines led by 1st Lt. Presley O'Bannon, a navy corpsman, and some mercenaries stormed a fort in Derna, Libya, after a 30-day, 500-mile trek across the desert from Egypt.

The successful action, the first by American troops on foreign soil after the Revolutionary War, ended the First Barbary War and made Eaton and O'Bannon famous. It also inspired the "to the shores of Tripoli" line in the Marine Hymn. The accompanying illustration shows Eaton leading the assault in Derna.

For details, see: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Derna_(1805)