The Anniversary of the Marine Corps
November 10, 1775 (239 years ago today) is considered to be the birthday of the United States Marine Corps. The Corps traces its roots as an institution to the Continental Marines of the American Revolutionary War, a group formed by Captain Samuel Nicholas and by a resolution of the Second Continental Congress passed on November 10, 1775. The resolution approved the raising of two battalions of Marines. At the end of the American Revolution, both the Continental Navy and the Continental Marines were disbanded in April 1783. The institution was resurrected on July 11, 1798, in preparation for the Quasi-War with France, when Congress formally created the United States Marine Corps.
The Marines' most famous action of this period occurred during the First Barbary War (1801–1805) against the Barbary pirates, when William Eaton and First Lieutenant Presley O'Bannon led eight Marines and 500 mercenaries in an effort to capture Tripoli. The action at Tripoli has been immortalized in the Marines' hymn in the opening lyrics "from the halls of Montezuma to the shores of Tripoli."
During the War of 1812, Marine naval detachments took part in the great frigate duels of the war. Their most significant contribution was holding the center of General and future President Andrew Jackson's defensive line at the Battle of New Orleans. During the war the Marines acquired a reputation as expert marksmen, especially in ship-to-ship actions.
As President, Andrew Jackson attempted to combine the Marine Corps with the Army. Instead, Congress passed the Act for the Better Organization of the Marine Corps in 1834. The Marines served in the Seminole Wars of 1835, and in the Mexican–American War, the Marines made their famed assault on Chapultepec Palace in Mexico City, which would be later celebrated by the phrase "From The Halls of Montezuma" in Marines' hymn. In the 1850s, the Marines would see further service in Panama and Asia, escorting Matthew Perry's East India Squadron on its historic trip to the Far East. The Marine Corps played a moderate role in the Civil War, with their most prominent task being blockade duty. The Corps' history continues through every major conflict up to the modern war on terror.
The anniversary of the Corps has been used to commemorate other important events. The official dedication of the Marine Corps War Memorial by President Dwight D. Eisenhower occurred on November 10, 1954 (60 years ago today) on the 179th anniversary of the Marine Corps.
On November 10, 2006 (8 years ago today) President George W. Bush presided at the opening of The National Museum of the Marine Corps, the historical museum of the United States Marine Corps, located in Triangle, Virginia near MCB Quantico.
The Marines' most famous action of this period occurred during the First Barbary War (1801–1805) against the Barbary pirates, when William Eaton and First Lieutenant Presley O'Bannon led eight Marines and 500 mercenaries in an effort to capture Tripoli. The action at Tripoli has been immortalized in the Marines' hymn in the opening lyrics "from the halls of Montezuma to the shores of Tripoli."
During the War of 1812, Marine naval detachments took part in the great frigate duels of the war. Their most significant contribution was holding the center of General and future President Andrew Jackson's defensive line at the Battle of New Orleans. During the war the Marines acquired a reputation as expert marksmen, especially in ship-to-ship actions.
As President, Andrew Jackson attempted to combine the Marine Corps with the Army. Instead, Congress passed the Act for the Better Organization of the Marine Corps in 1834. The Marines served in the Seminole Wars of 1835, and in the Mexican–American War, the Marines made their famed assault on Chapultepec Palace in Mexico City, which would be later celebrated by the phrase "From The Halls of Montezuma" in Marines' hymn. In the 1850s, the Marines would see further service in Panama and Asia, escorting Matthew Perry's East India Squadron on its historic trip to the Far East. The Marine Corps played a moderate role in the Civil War, with their most prominent task being blockade duty. The Corps' history continues through every major conflict up to the modern war on terror.
The anniversary of the Corps has been used to commemorate other important events. The official dedication of the Marine Corps War Memorial by President Dwight D. Eisenhower occurred on November 10, 1954 (60 years ago today) on the 179th anniversary of the Marine Corps.
On November 10, 2006 (8 years ago today) President George W. Bush presided at the opening of The National Museum of the Marine Corps, the historical museum of the United States Marine Corps, located in Triangle, Virginia near MCB Quantico.