Happy 250th Birthday United States Marine Corps
The Birth and Legacy of the U.S. Marine Corps
During the American Revolution, the Continental Congress passed a resolution calling for “two Battalions of Marines be raised” to serve as landing forces for the newly formed Continental Navy. Drafted by future U.S. president John Adams and adopted in Philadelphia on November 10, 1775, this resolution established the Continental Marines—a date now celebrated as the birth of the United States Marine Corps.
Serving both on land and at sea, the original Marines quickly distinguished themselves. Their first landing on hostile territory came in March 1776, when a force under Captain Samuel Nicholas captured New Providence Island in the Bahamas from the British. Nicholas, the first commissioned officer of the Continental Marines, is honored today as the first Marine commandant.
After the Revolutionary War ended in 1783, the Continental Navy was disbanded, and its Marines were dissolved. But rising tensions at sea with Revolutionary France in the 1790s led Congress to formally establish the U.S. Navy in May 1798. Two months later, on July 11, President John Adams signed legislation creating the U.S. Marine Corps as a permanent military force under the Department of the Navy.
The newly established Marines soon saw action in the Quasi-War with France and battled Barbary pirates along the North African coast in the early 19th century. Since then, U.S. Marines have participated in every American conflict, frequently being the first to engage in combat. Over the course of history, Marines have carried out more than 300 landings on foreign shores.
Today, the Marine Corps comprises over 200,000 active-duty and reserve personnel, organized into four divisions stationed at Camp Lejeune, North Carolina; Camp Pendleton, California; New Orleans, Louisiana; and Okinawa, Japan. Each division includes expeditionary units capable of launching major operations anywhere in the world within two weeks. The Corps’ motto, Semper Fidelis—Latin for “Always Faithful”—reflects the enduring commitment of its members.
7 Things You May Not Know About the U.S. Marine Corps
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The first recruitments may have happened in a bar.
Marine tradition holds that the Corps was born in a tavern. In late November 1775, Captains Samuel Nicholas and Robert Mullan are said to have organized the first Marine muster at Tun Tavern in Philadelphia. Lured by mugs of beer and promises of adventure on the high seas, their recruits became the first five companies serving aboard Continental Navy ships.
While some historians argue the Conestoga Wagon tavern was the actual recruitment site, the story endures in Marine lore. Today, the National Museum of the Marine Corps in Virginia even features a restaurant named “Tun Tavern” in honor of the tradition.
2. The Marines’ first battle took place in the Bahamas.
On March 3, 1776, the Marine Corps carried out its first-ever amphibious landing when Captain Samuel Nicholas led a force onto the beaches of the British-controlled island of New Providence in the Bahamas. The 220 Marines had sailed to the Caribbean alongside a Continental Navy flotilla, seeking critical military supplies.
Landing without opposition near Nassau, the Marines captured the town and secured its two forts, both of which surrendered after only minimal resistance. Although the British governor of New Providence managed to evacuate over 150 barrels of gunpowder before their arrival, Nicholas and his men successfully seized several brass cannons and mortars. These weapons would later bolster George Washington’s Continental Army.
3. The Marine Band is nicknamed ‘The President’s Own.’
First established in 1798, the Marine Corps’ military band has performed at the inauguration of every American president since Thomas Jefferson in 1801. Jefferson himself gave the band the nickname “The President’s Own.” Since that time, the ensemble’s primary mission has been to provide music for the commander-in-chief at state dinners, parades, and other official events.
While the band is best known for its marches—John Philip Sousa, composer of The Stars and Stripes Forever, once served as its director—it has also performed classical and opera pieces to suit the tastes of presidents and their guests. On one occasion, it even played a Scott Joplin ragtime tune at the request of Alice Roosevelt, daughter of President Theodore Roosevelt.
4. The Marines first won fame for fighting pirates.
After a brief disbandment following the American Revolution, the Marine Corps was reestablished in July 1798 and soon deployed against the Barbary pirates, North African corsairs who had long raided American merchant ships and demanded costly ransoms and tributes. In 1805, Lieutenant Presley O’Bannon and a small group of Marines arrived in Egypt to assist American naval agent William Eaton in assembling a mercenary force to overthrow the Barbary ruler of Tripoli. The Marines then led their hired soldiers on a grueling 50-day march across the desert to Derna, in what is now Libya.
With support from U.S. Navy bombardments, the Marines launched a daring assault on April 27, capturing the city and its fortifications. This marked the first battle the United States fought on foreign soil and helped secure a favorable peace in the First Barbary War. The Derna campaign is commemorated in the Marines’ Hymn with the iconic line, “to the shores of Tripoli.”
5. The Marine Corps is part of the Department of the Navy.
Although the Marine Corps is a separate branch of the U.S. military, it operates under the administration of the Department of the Navy. This close partnership dates back to the American Revolution and has been reinforced by several acts of Congress. Marines serve aboard Navy ships, often train alongside sailors, and many Marine officers attend the United States Naval Academy in Annapolis.
Marines have also operated under Army command, most notably during World War I, when the Fourth Marine Brigade was attached to the Second Infantry Division in Europe.
6. More Marines died at World War I’s Battle of Belleau Wood than in their entire history up to that point.
Marines participated in every American war of the 18th and 19th centuries, but their traditional role as naval troops and ship’s guards meant they rarely saw major land combat. That changed in June 1918, when Marines under General James Harbord confronted German forces in a French hunting preserve known as Belleau Wood. Ignoring orders to withdraw—one captain famously declared, “Retreat? Hell, we just got here”—the Marines held their ground and later led an Allied counterattack on June 6.
Over the following three weeks, Marines and Army units launched multiple assaults to capture the woods. They endured relentless machine gun fire, poison gas, and often fought hand-to-hand with bayonets. On June 26, the Marines finally drove the last German forces from Belleau Wood. Media coverage of the battle helped cement the Corps’ reputation as an elite fighting force, but the victory came at a heavy cost: more than 5,000 Marines were killed or wounded—exceeding their combined casualties in all 18th- and 19th-century wars.
7. Marines served in the European and African Theaters of World War II.
Marines in World War II are best known for their island-hopping campaigns in the Pacific, with iconic battles at Guadalcanal, Tarawa, Iwo Jima, and Okinawa. Yet they also played a smaller but significant role in other theaters of the war. A Marine brigade occupied Iceland in the early stages, and Marines later served as advisors and trainers for British and American amphibious operations in Africa and Europe. During the Normandy invasion, Marine sharpshooters helped detonate floating mines, clearing paths for Navy vessels.
At least 50 Marines also worked as intelligence agents and saboteurs for the Office of Strategic Services. Among them was Colonel Peter J. Ortiz, who parachuted into Nazi-occupied France and was twice awarded the Navy Cross for his efforts assisting the Resistance. In total, roughly 6,000 Marines participated in the European and African Theaters during the war.
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