Swords of the Marine Corps
The Mameluke Sword
Originally, Marine Officers could wear swords of any style - as long as they were yellow-mounted. But that changed in 1805, when Lieutenant Presley O'Bannon and his Marines marched across 600 miles of North Africa's Libyan desert to successfully storm the fortified city of Derna in Tripoli. They were there to put down Barbary Coast pirates taking a toll on American merchant ships in the Mediterranean.
To show his appreciation for ridding the area of pirates, a desert chieftain presented Marine Lieutenant O'Bannon with a scimitar used by Mameluke warriors of North Africa. By 1825, all Marine officers had to wear the famed Mameluke sword, making it the oldest weapon in the United States military arsenal.
The Noncommissioned Officer's (NCO) Sword
The sword symbolizes the military virtues and traditions maintained by noncommissioned officers, or NCOs. The sword's origins are based in the decisions to discontinue the officer's Mameluke sword and replace it with the Cavalry sword. Unpopular with many officers, the Corps reverted back to the original saber. When the Commandant officially switched the officer sword back, he decided to present the 1858 Cavalry sword to the NCOs in recognition of their leadership in combat. The NCO sword remains the oldest weapon in the U.S. services still in continued use. Only the Marine Corps has this distinction.
