US Marine Corps Base - Yearbook (Quantico, VA)

Page 11 text:

i l TTT TES Mllll l ETIITPS H. RENTFROW, U. S. M. C. oT money on a iourney Through hosTile TerriTory, buT The record is noT clear as To wheTher These were ConnecTicuT or Federal Marines. AnoTher early Marine uniT was called The Marines oT John Glover oT Marblehead. They were re- Terred To as Glover's Amphibious RegimenT, a designaTion noT Too dissimilar Trom The one used Today. OTTicially, The Marine Corps came inTo being on November IO, I775, when The ConTinenTal Congress adopTed a resoluTion creaTing The FirsT and Second BaTTalions oT American Ma- rines. ln Philadelphia, aT Tun Tavern, a hosTelry on King lnow WaTerl STreeT, The Marine Corps was born. The proprieTor oT The Tavern, RoberT Mullin, was acTive in local poliTics and an oTTicer in The Masonic Lodge. The broTherhood oT The Square and The Compass held Their meeTings in Tun Tavern. l-lere as well gaThered paTrioTs Trom all over The ciTy To discuss The issues oT The day. Samuel Nicholas was appoinTed CapTain, and his commission, daTed November 28, I775, is said To anTedaTe all miliTary or naval appoinT- Uniforms of commissioned and enlisTed Marines: World War Period. menTs in This counTry. The proprieTor oT The Tavern, among oThers, was also appoinTed an oTTicer. From The beginning many diTTiculTies beseT The oTTicers oT The new Corps. RecruiTing was slow, because The Marines soughT The deTermined, unaTraid Type oT man so much in demand by The privaTeers and iT was diTTiculT To persuade such men To give up The promise oT vasT riches in privaTeering Tor The hardships and The Tew shil- lings ThaT were The loT oT a Marine. BuT, diTTiculT as was The beginning, Marines were ready Tor acTion wiThin a shorT Time. March 3, I776, Tound AnoTher drawing of Old Tun Tavern Marine Corps.

Page 10 text:

Commissioned and enlisfed uniforms: Period I8I0. American Marines have garrisoned fhe pages of our hisfory for more fhan ZOO years. Firsf designafed as Gooch's Marines and Spoffs- wood's Marines fhey were parf of fhe Royal Marines recruifed in l74O fhroughouf fhe Col- onies, and fhey followed fhe Union Jack from l-laifi and Cuba fo Canada. Among fhe early officers was Capfain Lawrence Washingfon, brofher of fhe firsf Presidenf. Alfhough recognized as fhe pafernal ancesfors of fhe presenf Marine Corps fhese unifs are nof HISTIIHY Ill THE accorded fhe official sfafus of parenfhood. Their appearances were infermiffanf during fhe fhirfy- five years preceding fhe Revolufion. Af various places and af various fimes fhe official archives of fhe period reveal fhese Marines in acfion. Briefly, gloriously, we hear of exploifs by isolafed groups who performed expedifions and opera- fions so similar fo fhe funcfion of fhe Marines foday fhaf fhey could have been performed by no ofher organizafion. For example, Benedicf Arnold, in fhe days be- fore his disgrace, capfured and re-equipped a sloop called fhe Enferprize. Wifh fhe Green Mounfain boys he assailed Ticonderoga and Crown Poinf. ln his command were Marines. This we lcnow, for fhere resfs in fhe archives an original pay roll of fhe ship dafed July, l775, on which is inscribed fhe names of one officer and I7 Marines. This musfer accredifs some of fhe men wifh pay from May 3, I775. This docu- menf is fhe oldesf in which American Marines are menfioned. Elsewhere in fhe archives is a brief reference fo eighf Marines guarding a considerable sum adelphia. If was in This building +ha+ 1' is claimed fhaf fhe Marine Corps had ifs origin in l775. L-,,qmm,,,,, ,,,,W5,M , igfix-4: ofb rigxrzmilifvnxsvezfxrxv, fffzilici Ziciipfasin.

Page 12 text:

Marine Corps uniforms: Civil War Period. 270 oT Them warping Their way in Two sloops Toward The shores oT New Providence, in The Bahama Islands. SecreT agenTs had reporTed a quanTiTy oT powder sTored in an ancienT TorT on The island, and as such supplies were desperaTeIy needed by The sorely pressed American armies The new Marines was assigned To The Task. Mov- ing quickly, They accomplished a landing on The beach, surprised The guards and capTured The TorT wiTh iTs precious powder. This was The TirsT land engagemenT ToughT by The Marines. The Tollowing monTh Marines parTicipaTed in The TirsT sea engagemenT oT The newly-creaTed naTion. On April 6, I776, Marines were among The crew oT The AITred and The CaboT when These Two ships engaged The I-I. M. S. Glasgow. I.ieuTenanT J. I-I. Wilson, oT The Marines, was killed in The ensuing TighT and became The TirsT Marine To die in baTTIe. ThroughouT The Iong sTruggle Tor Independence The Marines conTinued To serve vaIianTIy on Iand and aT sea. They were a parT oT The compIemenT oT every capiTal ship, and while The ship was aT sea perTormed guard and orderly duTy. In ac- Tion, however, The Marines Then, as now, pro- vided sTriking power in eTTecTing landings and in boarding enemy ships. Since iTs incepTion The Corps has been acTive in every war, and has been used Tor The quelling oT insurrecTions, keeping oT order and oTher Tasks ThaT did noT require The use oT large numbers oT Troops. BeTween The years I8OO and I934 The Marines engaged in I8O landing parTies, an aver- age oT more Than one each year. In I798 The Navy, as we know iT Today, was TormaIIy creaTed, and on July I I, an acT was ap- proved Tor The esTabIishing and organizing oT a Marine Corps. The now Tamous Marine Band was also creaTed ThaT same year. In I779 SergeanT John MerediTh marched a squad oT Marines inTo a sprawling, mud soaked village ThaT was To become our naTion's CapiTaI. ATTer some delay, consTrucTion oT The Marine Barracks was begun. The CommandanT's QuarTers were esTabIished aT The norTh end oT The garri- son. This building sTiII serves The CommandanT oT The Marine Corps and is The oIdesT oTTiciaI building in WashingTon. While These acTiviTies were going on. Marines aT sea were encounTering hosTiIiTy Trom Their ersTwhiIe allies, The French. Several biTTer baTTIes were ToughT in This undeclared war and The Marines acquiTTed Themselves crediTabIy. During The TirsT Tive years oT The new cenTury The Marines were called upon To go inTo acTion I