Marines of Washington D.C.
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- Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Wonderful book that both the Marine enthusiasts and veteran would both enjoy.
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Marines of Washington D.C. - Mark Blumenthal
invaluable.
INTRODUCTION
The presence of the United States Marine Corps in Washington predates the establishment of Washington as our Nation’s Capital, since Marines had established a small foothold at the Washington Navy Yard during the late 1790s. However, with the planned move of the Capital from Philadelphia to the newly formed District of Columbia, the Marine Corps began to look for a more permanent location in the Capital.
The last day of March 1801, a Sunday, Commandant of the Marine Corps, Lt. Col. William Ward Burrows was accompanied by President Thomas Jefferson to select a location for what would become Marine Barracks Washington. The President desired a location that would allow the Marines to come to the defense of the Capital and to be able to provide support to the Navy Yard. Riding to the southeast, the President selected a location within easy marching distance of the Capitol. Construction on the Marine Barracks began shortly thereafter, and once complete, the Washington Barracks became home to several companies of Marines and the U.S. Marine Band.
Washington Marines played a key role in the War of 1812 when they were hastily summoned to Maryland as part of the forces assigned to stop the British march on Washington. These forces could not stop the superior British forces, yet their delaying action allowed the evacuation of the Capital. A Marine legend declares that the British, out of respect for the spirited Marine defense at Blandensburg, Maryland, spared the home of the Commandant of the Marine Corps while the White House and unfinished Capitol were torched. Thus, the home of the Commandant lays claim to being the oldest continuously occupied government residence in the district.
In 1820 Archibald Henderson began his long tenure as the Commandant of the Marine Corps during which time he further cemented the position of the Marine Corps not only in the Capital, but as a force in readiness. The United States, being a country distrustful of standing armies, was disposed to task the small United States Army to garrison duty at frontier outposts thus leaving the Marines, by default, as the only soldiers
in close proximity to the Capital. This would prove valuable to the Marine Corps’ aspiration for permanence in the years to come.
Commandant Henderson, desiring to see the Marines as more than a force subordinate to the Navy, did much to ensure Washington politicos were inculcated as to the usefulness of a Marine Corps. Henderson’s personal leadership was demonstrated numerous times in his many years as Commandant. In 1832, Henderson personally led a hastily formed battalion of Marines, drawn from the Navy Yard and Washington Barracks Marines, on a campaign against the Seminole Indians in Florida, and in 1857 Henderson led Marines in quelling riots in the city. For Henderson’s skillful display of the utility of a Marine Corps and for his 39 years as Commandant, Archibald Henderson’s is rightfully considered the Grand Old Man of the Marine Corps.
On October 16, 1859, the town of Harpers Ferry, Virginia, awoke on a slumbering Sunday morning to find that abolitionists under the radical John Brown had attempted to seize the Federal Arsenal in order to foment a slave uprising, but instead, when thwarted by the local militia, had barricaded themselves in a firehouse. The local militia sent a request to Washington for Federal Troops. The Federal Government called once again on the U.S. Marines as Federal troops in residence
and readiness, sending Marines from the Washington Barracks. Lt. Col. Robert E. Lee was also summoned to take control of all forces at Harpers Ferry. Upon his arrival, Lee found the militia balking at assaulting the building, pointing to federal jurisdiction. Lee therefore offered the honor of assaulting