In 1805, America assembled an expeditionary force of Marines to subdue Barbary Coast pirates who were raiding American merchant ships in the Mediterranean. Lt. Presley O'Bannon and his Marines marched across 600 miles of N. Africa's Libyan Desert to successfully storm the fortified city of Derna. The first verse of the Marine's Hymn recalls the battle, which lives in Marine tradition. "From the Halls of Montezuma to the shores of Tripoli."

The Tripoli Chapter is located in Central PA (Harrisburg area).