Benjamin Franklin designed, minted and gave the Sovereign
Military Order of Malta the first American medal, Libertas
Americana, in recognition of their assistance during the
American Revolutionary War. To visit Malta became a mission.
Each time I passed the United States Ship Constitution, still
berthed at Charleston Naval Yard near Boston, I knew that
she had been given protection at Malta during America���s first
substantial foreign engagement, the Tripalian War, waged
against the Barbary pirates in 1804 to secure unencumbered
shipping in the Mediterranean.
HYLAND
