In 1804, the crew of the frigate Philadelphia were being held hostage by the Bey of Tripoli. While diplomatic efforts to free them remained deadlocked, William Eaton came up with an outrageous and impossible plan to free them Eight Marines under the command of Lieutenant Presley O'Bannin made that plan work. They marched across hundreds of miles of hostile desert, attacked a fortress garrisoned by many times their number and took it. Their achievements were so remarkable that they thoroughly unnerved the Bey and forced him to release the Philadelphia prisoners. And so was the reputation of the U.S. Marine Corps established