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U.S. MARINE CORPS. JROTC
Category 5 – General Military Subject
Skill 7 – Military History
The U.S. Marine Corps -The Early Years
(1775-1815)
than 250 years later, Guantanamo still serves as an
important U.S. foothold in the Caribbean.
PURPOSE
Marines were also involved in supporting
the British during the French and Indian War.
Detachments of Colonial Marines were on every
British fighting ship and were engaged in both sea
and land operations. During sea battles, Marines
fought from the mastheads and rigging as
sharpshooters and grenadiers. Marines were also
an important part of the landing force when it was
needed.
The history of the United States Marine Corps
began before the colonies became states and
continues today. It is a story of heroic deeds,
traditions, and dedication to country. The text
that follows is the first of four lesson texts that
chronicle the achievements of the Marines
covering the period 1775 to 1918. The first
section, “The Early Years” covers the period
from the first days of the Marine Corps through
the War of 1812. During this period of time
Marine Corps, traditions were defined; Marine
Corps heroes were identified; and Marine
Corps legends were established.
Introduction
Before there was a United States of
America, there was a Marine Corps in America.
Prior to the American Revolution, colonists
sometimes served as Marines in British naval
operations. In 1740, four colonial battalions were
raised to fight against Spain. Known as Gootch’s
Marines after Colonel William Gootch, these
American Marines included George Washington’s
half-brother Captain Lawrence Fairfax. Fairfax
served under British Admiral Edward Vernon,
after whom the Mt. Vernon home was named.
Colonel Gooch was wounded in action at
Cartagena, Colombia. In July of 1741, Gootch’s
Marines landed at Guantanamo Bay where they
secured a forward base for the British fleet. More
Courtesy of the Library of Congress
The American Revolution
In October of 1775, General George
Washington was asked by Congress to use
Marines in an effort to capture two English ships
loaded with munitions. This legislation established
both a Continental Navy and a need for a Marine
Corps. To oversee the development and
deployment of American sea power, Congress
created a Naval Committee with John Adams as
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U.S. MARINE CORPS. JROTC
Category 5 – General Military Subject
Skill 7 – Military History
its head. The Naval Committee met at Tun’s
Tavern in Philadelphia. On November 10, 1775, a
resolution sponsored by Adams to the Continental
Congress formally established the Marine Corps.
The resolution called for the forming of two
Marine battalions. It noted that the Marines that
formed the group should be good seamen and
serve for the duration of the war with Great
Britain. November 10 is annually celebrated as the
birthday of the United States Marine Corps.
navies of the individual states and on privateers ships that were privately owned but authorized to
attack and capture enemy vessels.
Continental Marines wore green uniforms
that included a special leather stock feature around
the neck. Some regarded it as a special bit of body
armor to protect a Marine’s neck from a cutlass,
and others thought it was a device designed to
keep a man’s head erect. Whatever its purpose, it
was used until after the Civil War and gave
Marines the nickname, “Leathernecks.”
While the two battalions were never
raised, on November 28, Congress commissioned
Captain Samuel Nicholas to be the first Marine
officer. Although he was never officially
designated as such, Nicholas is usually considered
by Marines to be the first commandant. Robert
Mullin, proprietor of Tun’s Tavern, was also
commissioned an officer. Some have argued that
Mullin’s success as a recruiter in Tun’s Tavern led
to his commission. Under the leadership of
Commodore Esek Hopkins, Captain Nicholas led
the first amphibious Marine landing party in
March of 1776 at New Providence Island in the
Bahamas. They marched against Fort Montagu
and received only token resistance. After
confronting the governor, Nicholas indicated that
their objective was to secure the island forts and
capture gunpowder, cannon, guns, and mortar.
They also recaptured three ships from the British.
All of this was accomplished without a shot being
fired.
In January of 1777, Nicholas, now a
major, and 300 Marines joined Washington in the
second Battle of Trenton. Washington tricked the
British by leaving his campfires burning and
slipping through the enemy lines. Washington
detached a brigade, with Major Nicholas on the
right flank, to hold a stone bridge two miles from
Princeton. They ran into British troops who
charged with fixed bayonets. Washington rallied
the American troops, who at first broke lines, and
the British were routed. The Battle at Princeton
was the first Marine land campaign.
Captain James Willing was asked by the
Commerce Committee of Congress to raise a
company of Marines and to open up the
Mississippi River. Willing and his Marines
captured several British ships and eventually
reached New Orleans where they defeated an
armed British sloop on Lake Ponchartrain. Later,
some of Willing’s men fought the pro-British
Indians in Illinois country. By securing the
western border, Willing and his men helped make
possible U.S. expansion beyond the Appalachian
Mountains.
On their return trip, Commodore
Hopkins’ fleet encountered the British frigate,
Glasgow, in battle. During that one and a half hour
battle, seven Marines were killed including
Second Lieutenant John Fitzpatrick - the first
Marine officer to die in battle.
Continental Marines played an important
role in battles fought by John Paul Jones in
European waters and a major role in what has
been called the greatest sea fight of the war. In
that battle, Jones was commander of a French
One unusual aspect of the American
Revolution was that colonists fought as Marines
not only in the Continental Navy, but also in the
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ship named the Bonhomme Richard. Sailing in the
North Sea, the Americans came upon 41 British
merchantmen escorted by the 50-gun frigate,
Serapis. Jones had the two ships lashed together,
with 35 Marines on board shooting from the tops
of the ship to clear the Serapis’s decks. After
shooting at each other from point blank range,
both ships were on fire. The British captain asked
Jones to surrender, and Jones replied, “I have not
yet begun to fight.” Eventually, the Marines won
the day. They climbed into the Serapis’s rigging and
kept her deck cleared of defenders. Finally, the
British surrendered, but the Bonhomme Richard sank
the next morning.
United States, the Constellation, and the Constitution.
In 1797, the number of Marines was established
by Congressional Act to include five lieutenants,
eight sergeants, eight corporals, three drummers,
three fifers, and 140 privates - or a total of 167
members.
On July 11, 1798, President John Adams
signed an act establishing and organizing a Marine
Corps into law. Under the Marine Corps act, there
would be 881 men commanded by a major. The
term of service was three years, and the Senate
was responsible for the appointment of all
officers. The concept of the Marine as a fighter
first was established at this time. Marines would
operate under naval regulations while on board
ship and under the Articles of War when ashore.
Marines were responsible for discipline aboard
ship; leading boarding parties and amphibious
landings; fighting with muskets in short-range
naval battles; and if the captain wished, working
some of the ship’s long guns. They would also
staff coastal installations and forts, “and any other
duty ashore, as the President, at his discretion,
shall direct.” While the original rules forbid blacks
and Indians from being Marines, at least three
blacks served in the Continental Marines,
including John Martin, a former slave, who was
killed at sea in 1777. It was not until World War II
that African-Americans were able to serve in the
Marines.
On April 11, 1783, the Treaty of Paris
officially ended the War of Independence. Shortly
thereafter, the Congress authorized the sale of the
ships in the Continental Navy and the Continental
Marines were dissolved.
President Adams named William Ward
Burrows the first official commandant of the
Marine Corps. Burrows moved Marine
headquarters to Washington, D.C. In 1801, the
site of the Marine Barracks Washington (8th and I
Streets, SE) was selected. The Barracks was
completed in 1806 and still stands today as the
“Oldest Post of the Corps” and home of the
present Marine Corps Commandant.
Courtesy of the Library of Congress
President John Adams
The First U.S. Marine Corps
In 1796, the Congress of the United
States authorized the construction of three speedy,
medium-sized war vessels called frigates, the
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U.S. MARINE CORPS. JROTC
Category 5 – General Military Subject
Skill 7 – Military History
The Marine Band also came into official
existence on July 11, 1798. Congress provided for
a drum major, a fife major, and 32 drummers and
fifers. Within a short time, this group of musicians
became extremely popular in the Washington area.
The Marine Band played at so many official
receptions and functions that it became known as
“The President’s Own.”
of money, ships, and arms yearly from foreign
powers in return for allowing the foreigners to
trade in African ports and sail unmolested through
the Barbary waters. They demanded tribute
money, seized ships, and held crews for ransom or
sold them into slavery.
War with France
France was at war with England, and she
expected the U.S. to side with her. The U.S.
attempted to stay out of war, but France began to
impress American merchant seamen on the high
seas. Impressment is the process of forcing
persons to serve in the military against their will.
The French also seized American ships and their
cargo. American warships fought a number of
one-on-one battles with the French at sea.
In the spring of 1800, the U.S. attempted
to disrupt the French in Haiti by supporting antiFrench blacks in their efforts for independence. A
landing party from the Constitution, commanded by
Captain Daniel Carmick, recaptured a British
ship held by the French in the Haitian port of
Santo Domingo. Carmick then led the Marines
ashore through neck-high water, captured the
forts, and spiked its cannon.
Barbary pirates seized American merchant
ships, no longer covered by British protection, in
the years after the United States gained its
independence, and American crews were enslaved.
In 1799, the United States agreed to pay $18,000 a
year in return for a promise that Tripoli-based
corsairs would not molest American ships. Similar
agreements were made at the time with the rulers
of Morocco, Algiers, and Tunis.
During the decade after 1801, the French
seized more than 500 American ships. When
Napoleon Bonaparte became the new leader of
France, he ended the war with the U.S.
In May 1801, the United States refused to
yield to the increasing demands of the Pasha
(ruler) of Tripoli; in return, the Pasha declared war
against the States. While Tripoli was not a strong
power and little effort was necessary to watch and
blockade it, the fear was that the other Barbary
powers would join against the United States. The
United States sent naval squadrons into the
Mediterranean under the slogan of "Millions for
defense, but not one cent for tribute!" Under the
leadership of Commodores Richard Dale and
The Barbary Wars
The four Barbary States of North Africa Morocco, Algiers, Tunis, and Tripoli - had
plundered sea-borne commerce for centuries.
Surviving by blackmail, they received great sums
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Edward Preble, the Navy blockaded the enemy
coast, bombarded the Pasha’s shore fortresses,
and engaged in close, bitterly contested gunboat
actions.
wounded, and O’Bannon led the charge to the
fort. By mid-afternoon, the first American flag to
be raised in battle in the Eastern Hemisphere was
flying over the fort.
On February 16, 1804, Lieutenant
Stephen Decatur led 74 volunteers including
eight Marines into Tripoli harbor to burn the
captured American frigate, the Philadelphia. The
pirates had captured the ship when it struck a rock
in Tripoli harbor and was disabled. The U.S.
feared that the pirates would be able to repair the
Philadelphia and use it against American ships.
Sneaking into the harbor under the cover of
darkness, Decatur and his men boarded the
Philadelphia, killed or captured most of the enemy,
and set the ship on fire. After only twenty
minutes, they escaped. British Admiral Lord
Nelson called the raid "the most daring act of the
age."
The Pasha counter-attacked. The defense
of the city lasted sixteen days. After Hamet’s
forces completely defeated his brother’s men,
news arrived that the Americans had made peace
with the Pasha. The treaty included a payoff of
$60,000 and left the Pasha in power. Hamet was
taken to safety and presented the jewel encrusted
“Mameluke” sword, carried by Marines officers
today, to O’Bannon in 1805. The European
powers ended the control of the Mediterranean by
Barbary pirates a decade later.
The War of 1812
When George Washington left office
after the completion of his second term in 1796,
he warned Americans to stay clear of foreign
entanglements. While this advice may have been
good for the country at the time, it left the United
States unprepared for a British invasion in The
War of 1812.
In 1805, Marines stormed the Barbary
pirates' harbor fortress stronghold of Derna
(Tripoli), commemorated in the Marine Corps
Hymn "To the Shores of Tripoli." Former consul
William Eaton devised a plan to overthrow the
Pasha of Tripoli and replace him with the Pasha’s
brother, Hamet, who was more favorably
disposed toward the U.S. In November of 1804,
Eaton sailed for Alexandria, Egypt to persuade the
Pasha’s brother to lead a force against Tripoli.
First Lieutenant Presley Neville O'Bannon,
only 20 years of age, commanded the Marine
detachment. Eaton, O’Bannon and 18 men
traveled on the Nile River and in February of 1805
met Hamet in the desert. Hamet agreed to return
to Tripoli, and in March they began their trek
across the desert with 500 men and more than 100
camels, determined to capture the Pasha and
Tripoli. After marching 600 miles and dealing with
mutiny along the way, Eaton arrived at Derna.
U.S. ships bombarded the city that morning, and
Eaton and O’Bannon led the attack. Eaton was
Courtesy of the Library of Congress
President George Washington
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Causes of War
of 1814, Perry led his crew on the flagship
Lawrence against the British. In short order, 83 of
the 102 men aboard the Lawrence were killed or
wounded. Despite these losses, Perry was able to
defeat the British. His victory ended the British
and Indian attacks on the western frontier and
provided the opportunity for expansion to the
Northwest.
The United States declared War on Great
Britain on June 12, 1812. This marked the first of
time in all of U.S. history that Congress declared
war on another country. The war was declared
because of long simmering disputes with Great
Britain. The central dispute surrounded the
impressment of American sailors by the British.
The British Navy claimed that the Americans were
actually British-born subjects of the king. The
British had previously attacked the USS Chesapeake
and nearly caused a war two years earlier. In
addition, disputes continued with Great Britain
over the Northwest Territories and the border
with Canada. There were many in the U.S. who
wanted to make Canada part of our country.
Others wanted to expand our territory to the
south. Finally, the attempt of Great Britain to
impose a blockade on France during the
Napoleonic Wars was a constant source of
conflict with the United States.
Battle of Bladensburg
The British had some 4,000 men on hand
to invade the United States. The naval defense of
the Chesapeake Bay was given to Joshua Barney.
A few Marines, under the command of Captain
Samuel Miller, cooperated with Barney from the
shore. When the British entered the area, Barney
had his own ships sunk. As the British began the
forty-mile march to Washington, Captain Miller
arrived from Washington with 110 Marines and
five artillery pieces. He joined Barney’s 400 to stop
the British. At the Battle of Bladensburg, just
outside of Washington, DC, the combination of
seamen and marines withstood three British
charges, even though they were badly
outnumbered. Finally, they were forced to
withdraw, and the British went on to burn the city.
It is said, however, that the Marine headquarters
was spared because of the bravery shown by the
Marines at Bladensburg.
Marine Sharp-shooters
One of the primary reasons for the early
success of the U.S. in the War of 1812 was the
effectiveness of Marine sharpshooters. In battles
against the Guerriere off the coast of Boston and
the Java near Brazil, it was this skill that won the
day. When able to get close enough, the Marines
boarded British ships and usually defeated the
enemy. Several successful sea battles included
victories by the Constitution commanded by
Lieutenant William Bush and by the Chesapeake
commanded by Captain James Lawrence.
Lawrence as he was dying, uttered the famous
words, “Don’t give up the ship.”
The Star Spangled Banner
After two nights in Washington, the
British moved toward Baltimore where ten
thousand Americans had built up the earthworks
and prepared to defend the city. A thousand
sailors and Marines formed a brigade under
Commodore John Rodgers. The British pushed
the defenders back and when the British
commander was killed, the attack slowed. The
British army halted and waited for the navy to
bombard the defenders. For 24 hours, they
Marines, serving under Commodore
Oliver Hazard Perry on Lake Erie, used their
excellent marksmanship to decimate the English
seamen on the decks of their ships. In September
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bombarded Fort McHenry. When dawn came, the
U.S. flag was still flying over the fort, and Francis
Scott Key had the inspiration for what was to
become the Star Spangled Banner.
The Battle of New Orleans
In 1815 at New Orleans, the Marines
were under the command of Major Daniel
Carmick. Their job was to defend the canal against
thousands of British troops. Even though
Carmick was wounded and unable to participate,
his men so well defended the fortifications that
Congress cited them for “valor and good
conduct.” After all was said and done, the British
had 2,100 dead and wounded and 500 soldiers had
been captured. The Americans had 71 casualties.
The irony of the Battle of New Orleans was that
the victory came after a peace treaty with the
British had been signed the month before.
Conclusion
In its first 40 years of existence, the
Marines fought the British and the French, and
pirates on the shores of Tripoli. The Marines were
established as an organization and their roles were
defined. They defended their country at home and
abroad. They became known for their skill as
sharpshooters and for their daring. As pages were
added to the story of the new nation, the long and
proud history of the Marines would continue to
grow as well.
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