First Iwo Jima Flag Raising, taken by Staff Sergeant Louis R. Lowery, USMC.

Dustin White
Editor

It all started in a pub called the Tun Tavern. Lured in with mugs of beer, and promises of adventure on the high seas, the first five companies of the Marine Corps were formed. Serving aboard Continental Navy ships, their fight and sacrifice have endured for 241 years.

Created a year before the United States adopted the Declaration of Independence, the story of the Marines begins in November of 1775. As the American Revolution waged on, the Continental Congress passed a resolution calling for “two Battalions of Marines to be raised.”

The purpose of the new military branch was as landing forces for the newly formed Continental Navy. With the resolution drafted by John Adams, and adopted in Philadelphia, the Continental Marines would be born, on Nov. 10, 1775.

The fight begins
Serving aboard Navy vessels during their first few months, the Marines would see their first real action on March 3, 1776.

Having journeyed to the Caribbean, 220 Marines led a search for military supplies. Under Captain Samuel Nicholas, they would storm the beaches of the British-held island of New Providence, in the Bahamas.



Landing near Nassau, the Marines were unopposed. After just a brief resistance from British troops, the Marines would take over the town, as well as two forts.

While the governor of New Providence had managed to ship out more than 150 barrels of gunpowder before they surrendered, Nicholas was able to seize several brass cannons and mortars. George Washington’s Continental Army would put them to good use.

With American Independence achieved in 1783, the Continental Navy was demobilized and the Marines disbanded. However, it would only be temporary.

The next decade would see an increasing amount of conflict at sea. As Revolutionary France’s Navy presence built, the United States would be led into a Quasi-War with France. To face the fight head on, the U.S. Congress formally established the U.S. Navy in May of 1798, and two month laster, on July 11, the U.S. Marine Corps was established as a permanent military force.

As new recruits joined the Marines, they were issued “one stock of black leather and clasp.” Worn to protect their necks during sword fights, the Marines would take on a new name; the Leathernecks.

It was a term they received proudly, and it would be equipment that proved to be exceptionally valuable.

Rise to fame
With the Quasi-War with France recent history, the Marines would find their first claim to fame.

In 1801, the United States found themselves dealing with a different problem on the seas. Piracy in the Mediterranean had seen American merchant ships raided, and the crews and cargo held at costly ransoms.

Making the decision to fight back, President Jefferson sent in the Navy. Four years later, in 1805, the Marines were sent in to finish the job.

Led by Lieutenant Presley O’Bannon, a small contingent of Marines arrived in Egypt. Sent to assist American naval agent William Eaton, they assembled a mercenary army to topple the Barbary ruler of Tripoli.



After a 50-day grueling march across the desert to Derna, in modern day Libya, the Marines would participate in a courageous assault on April 27. Under the cover of a bombardment by U.S. Navy ships, the Marines successfully seized the city of Derna.

It would be the first battle the United States ever waged on foreign soil, and it would lead to a peace deal in the First Barbary War. It would also be cemented in tradition with the famous line in the Marines’ Hymn, “to the shores of Tripoli.”

Always Faithful
After their daring assault during the First Barbary War, the Marines would see action in every war the United States has participated in since. Often the first soldiers to fight, they have executed more than 300 landings on foreign soil.

However, while the purpose of the Marines has largely been amphibious warfare, one battle they were largely absent from was the Normandy Invasion; quite possibly history’s most famous amphibious assault.

Utilized as sharpshooters, Marines were responsible to shoot floating mines, in order to detonate them, as a way to clear a way for Navy Ships. Yet, when the invasion began, the Marines were held back.

As the invasion began to look grim, the Marines had to continue watching from the U.S.S. Texas. Possibly because of an ongoing rivalry between the Army and the Marines, and the leaders of the Allied Forces being Army generals, there was little want to share the spotlight. As Journalist W. Thomas Smith also wrote, leadership didn’t want headlines to read, “Marines save Rangers at Normandy.”

Yet, even though the Marines would see little action at Normandy, they would play an essential role in the Pacific. Island hopping, the Marines would see battles on Iwo Jima, Okinawa, Tarawa, Guadalcanal, as well as elsewhere.

Whether at the forefront, or staying behind, it is a deep loyalty to the country that has led them to be recognized as a great force. While the smallest member of the U.S. Armed Forces, it has distinguished itself none the less.