By, For, and About Marines: A Book of Notable Quotes of the U. S. Marine Corps.

By Lt Col Sidney Atwater US Marine Corps

By, For, and About Marines is a nonfiction collection of notable quotes giving voice to U.S. Marines throughout its storied and illustrious history. Each quote is set in historical context to give the reader a better understanding of where, when, and why the quote is included.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Xlibris US
• Release date: Jul 8, 2021
• ISBN: 9781664182868

Lt Col Sidney Atwater US Marine Corps

Lieutenant Colonel Sidney E. Atwater, USMC, (Ret.) spent 24+ years on active duty entering the Corps in 1974. After Basic School he attended the Basic Officers Artillery Course. Subsequently, he attended the USMC Amphibious Warfare School and the USMC Command and Staff College. LtCol. Atwater served in the Gulf War as Executive Officer for 2nd Battalion,12th Marine Regiment, 3rd Marine Division attached to the 2nd Marine Division. After retiring from the Corps, LtCol Atwater taught as an Adjunct Faculty member for the USMC University while working at both USCENTCOM and USSOCOM located at MacDill AFB, Tampa. He and his wife Kathy currently reside in Valrico, Florida.

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Copyright © 2021 by Lt Col Sidney Atwater, US Marine Corps (Ret).

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the copyright owner.

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If you have comments or suggestions for the author, please contact:

Sidney Atwater

3503 Springville Drive

Valrico, Florida 33596-6362

[e-mail]

Rev. date: 07/08/2021

Xlibris

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CONTENTS

Preface

Chapter 1   In The Beginning

Chapter 2   The Formative Years

Chapter 3   Earning Respect

Chapter 4   Deployed Around The World

Chapter 5   World War I

Chapter 6   The Golden Years

Chapter 7   The Regional Wars

Chapter 8   Short Rounds

Epilogue

Dedicated to

Colonel Michael A. Malachowsky, USMC (Ret)

First Sergeant David Trevino, USMC (Ret)

PREFACE

F IRST, LET ME tell you what this book is. It is a labor of love. If you are looking for a complete, scholarly, and all-inclusive history of the United States Marine Corps, you will not find it here.

You should rather get a copy of Colonel Robert Debs Heinl’s Soldiers of the Sea, Colonel Allan Millet’s scholarly work Semper Fidelis: The History of the United States Marine Corps, or J. Robert Moskin’s eminently readable The U.S. Marine Corps Story. Additionally, any book written by Colonel Joseph Alexander, USMC (Ret.), is a must get/read.

Those and other books will give you a more complete picture of the storied history of the U.S. Marines. For the most part, all the books I have quoted have come from my library; but in this day and age, I must admit I have found some gems on the Internet that I have included.

This book is intended to do nothing more than give you a compendium of quotes by, for, and about United States Marines from before its creation in November 1775 to the present day.

The book is nothing more than a diverse collection of quotes I have come across in my reading of novels, autobiographies, history books, magazine articles, newspapers, the Internet, and selected letters from friends. I have also included a few quotes from my viewing of selected contemporary American movies.

In most cases, I attempted to place the quotes in the context of what was happening at that particular time in our Corps’ history, but some simply stand-alone without the need to enhance them. The words speak for themselves.

Finally, this effort is not intended to be a complete review of my sources but relies on my reading and viewing tastes and a nonprofessional interpretation and understanding of Marine history.

I began collecting quotes by, for, and about Marines in 1979 while I was on a one-year unaccompanied tour in Okinawa. I continued collecting quotes, facts, and stories throughout the 1980s and into 1990. In 1991, I was deployed in Saudi Arabia and Kuwait for Operations Desert Shield and Desert Storm while serving as executive officer for Second Battalion Twelfth Marine Regiment, assigned as general support artillery to the Second Marine Division, and continually kept updating my collection even while deployed to Saudi Arabia and subsequently Kuwait.

I continued collecting quotes as I came across them in casual reading while assigned as operations plans officer for Commander, United States Naval Forces Central Command and subsequently as Branch Chief, War Plans Division, Plans and Policy Directorate, United States Central Command, headquartered in Tampa, Florida. I continued my professional development and reading, all the while collecting quotes, after I retired from active duty in 1998.

The collection was, for several years, intended to be nothing more than a Uooo Rahh motivational mechanism I shared freely with my fellow Marines and others expressing an interest in the Corps.

Therefore, it is quite possible as many as 200 or more versions of the draft are floating around in Marines’ personal and professional kits. It wasn’t, however, until around 1999 that I began in earnest collecting quotes with the idea of perhaps one day publishing them.

It is for this reason some quotes appear in the book without the source cited. Quite honestly, in the beginning, it just didn’t seem to be important in quoting the source to my friends—that the words, with a short explanation of context, were powerful enough. It is now quite simply impossible for me—all these years later—to find the exact sources, but I assure you there was no attempt on my part to hide the source or not recognize the author. All are found in the public domain, and I thank each writer for his or her intellectual prowess.

For this book, I arbitrarily divided Marine history into seven sections. Each section is introduced with a short description about what was going on in the world in addition to other information. Additionally, I added a section simply entitled Short Rounds that has some information that I found interesting but simply didn’t fit into any of the chronological categories.

Lastly, I would like to thank those Marine general officers and other Marines with whom I shared By, For, and About Marines for their insightful input into the final product. A special thank you goes to Mr. Richard Alexander, Alexander Publishing and Sergeant Louis Lou Rinaldi, USMC both for their friendship and for help in bringing the project to a satisfactory completion.

I also wish to thank my wife, Kathy, for her backing of my career in the United States Marines and specifically this effort. She, for twenty-four-plus years, accompanied me from post to station and from base to camp with a supportive attitude and a love only other military professionals’ wives can know.

Sidney Atwater

Lieutenant Colonel, USMC (Ret)

Valrico, Florida

2018

CHAPTER 1

IN THE BEGINNING

T HE HISTORY OF the United States Marine Corps can trace its humble beginnings as far back as 1740 when four battalions of Marines (some three thousand British colonists living in the New World) were formed to fight for Britain against Spain in the War of the Austrian Succession. (The British have always fought to the last colonist.) The battalions were known as Gooch’s Marines, named for their commander Colonel William Gooch.

The king of England named the field-grade officers (colonels and higher), and the company-grade officers were named by the colonies from whence the Marines came. After the war—in which the Marines participated in a Caribbean campaign where they conducted a successful (it was all but unopposed) amphibious landing in what is now Guantanamo Bay, Cuba—Gooch’s Marines continued to serve on British ships of the line (warships). From 1741 to 1775, they were the captain’s police force aboard ship, enforcing good order and discipline among the crew and acting as boarding parties and sharpshooters in the fighting tops of the sailing ships, as well as manning specific guns (cannons) in the battery. They also went ashore, from time to time, conducting raids and providing armed escort for sailors who were foraging for food, fresh water, and supplies.

It wasn’t until the beginning of the American Revolution, however, that the United States Continental Congress approved what we today call the Continental Marine Corps with two battalions of Marines be(ing) raised . . . for and during the present war between Great Britain and the Colonies . . . and they be distinguished by the names of the first and second battalions of American Marines.

Care should be made, however, to distinguish between Continental (United States) Marines and Marines belonging to eight of the thirteen original colonies who had also formed Marine contingents to serve on individual colony-owned sailing vessels. The total number of colonists, however, that by the end of the war could proudly claim the title U.S. Continental Marine was about 3,500.

It’s a little-recognized fact, however, the two battalions of Continental Marines were never really raised. The Marines didn’t get the officers the Continental Congress had authorized or anywhere near the two battalions of men.

These few, but proud, Marines served with distinction throughout the revolution. They participated in such notable battles as New Providence Island, the second battle of Trenton, defense of the Delaware forts, and aboard various ships, most notably the Cabot, Ranger, Randolph, as well as the famous Bonhomme Richard under command of Captain John Paul Jones, USN. All was not happy for the embarked Marines. Of the thirteen vessels authorized by Congress in 1775, all were eventually captured or destroyed.

Even the battle for which Captain Jones is most famous—his defeat of the fifty-gun Serapis by the forty-gun Bonhomme Richard—was a pyrrhic victory. Both ships were heavily damaged during the battle, and the Bonhomme Richard soon sank (but not before the sailors and Marines managed to abandon ship and get onboard the Serapis). By the end of the war, some approximately 120 Marines had paid the ultimate sacrifice and died a Continental Marine.

The uniforms, lifestyle, weaponry, and pay of the Old Corps Marines of the revolution contrast significantly from Marines of today. To say life was hard would have been an understatement. Beginning in 1798, one stock of black leather and clasp was issued to each U.S. Marine annually. This stiff leather collar, fastened by two buckles at the back, measured nearly three and a half inches high and was practical only for full-dress wear. It could hardly be worn in battle as it prevented the neck movement necessary for sighting along a barrel. It supposedly improved military bearing by forcing the chin high, although General George F. Elliott, USMC, recalling its use after the Civil War, said it made the wearers appear like geese looking for rain. The stock was dropped as an article of Marine uniform in 1872 after surviving uniform changes in 1833, 1839, and 1859. By then, it was a part of American vocabulary—a word preserved, like so many, beyond its original meaning . . . Leatherneck.

Marines of this period had many uniforms. Some coats were red (taken as contraband from captured British ships). Some were blue, and some were green faced with white (or blue). It wasn’t unheard of for others to have fought the entirety of the war without uniforms at all.

Shipboard life was particularly difficult for both sailors and Marines with sometimes open-ended deployments (depending on availability of powder, shot, and food aboard ship). Living conditions were cramped, dirty, and stifling hot or terribly cold, depending on the season and latitude. Medical assistance aboard ship, for those wounded in battle or injured during day-to-day shipboard operations, consisted of a sailor with some rudimentary medical training (sometimes the ship’s cook or barber had the additional duty as Corpsman); but more often than not, the cure was worse than the ailment.

Marines of the revolution were armed with a variety of shoulder-fired weapons. These included the famous Brown Bess (the standard British musket of the time) and the Tower Musket that could, in the hands of a skilled marksman, be fired at the rate of two to three rounds per minute to a maximum effective range of about fifty yards.

From a pay perspective, an enlisted Marine could be expected to earn between $6 and $7 per month (about $195 to $230 in 2021 dollars), while an officer (a second lieutenant) could be expected to earn twice that. No retirement plan existed.

Perhaps the most famous Continental Marine during the revolutionary period was Captain (subsequently Major) Samuel Nicholas, the first Commandant of the Marine Corps (or, as he was referred to then, the senior officer of the Corps). He distinguished himself on the field of battle as the commander of the U.S. Marine battalion (130 men) with General George Washington in the Trenton-Princeton campaign of December 1776 and January 1777 and later that fall in the successful defense of the Delaware forts. Major Nicholas died in 1790, eight years after he gave up his leadership of the Corps in August 1781, when the Marine Corps was disestablished.

It was two more years, however, before the last of the Continental Marines was mustered out; and a colorful chapter in the Corps’ history closed. Essentially, then, the United States Marine Corps did not exist from 1781 until 1798, a span of some seventeen years.

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Tell it to the Marines.

This legend goes back to London in 1664 when Charles II was king of England. A ship’s master, returning from a long cruise, told him a sea story he couldn’t believe.

Fish that fly like birds? the king exclaimed. I have my doubts!

Nay, sire, it is true, said Sir William Killigren, colonel of the new British Marine regiment raised that year. I have myself seen flying fish many a time in southern waters. I vouch for the truth of this strange tale, Your Majesty.

The king thought it over. At last, he turned to Secretary of the Admiralty Samuel Pepys. Pepys, he said, no class of our subjects hath such knowledge of odd things on land and sea as our Marines. Hereafter, when we hear a yarn that lacketh likelihood, we will tell it to the Marines. If they believe it, then we shall know it is true.

Marine Corps Lore, Marine Corps Historical Reference Series. Number 22. Washington, D.C.: Historical Branch, G-3 Division, Headquarters, U.S. Marine Corps, 1963.

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Tell that to the Marines; the sailors won’t believe it.

Many attributions, but most say Sir Walter Scott in Redgauntlet, volume 2. Redgauntlet was a novel about eighteenth-century England during the Jacobite era (1715–1745). In particular, it drew on Scott’s training as a lawyer, preparation for the bar, and on the main character meeting his future wife. All in all, pretty ho-hum stuff unless you’re an English literature major.

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The very first American Marines were enlisted in 1740 from the Colonies. They provided recruits for an overstrength regiment of 36 companies of Marines. They were put on the army list of British forces as the 43 Regiment of Foot, and 3,000 sets of muskets and accoutrements were set aside, along with 20 shillings bounty, and 10 more for shirts and shoes. Recruiting was slow, and a method which would be used for many years to round out volunteers for replacement battalions was instigated: the brigs were cleaned out, indentured servants were persuaded, and roustabouts and Irish volunteers were enticed from the taverns. Their commander was William Gooch of Virginia; they became known as Gooch’s Marines.

Waterhouse, Colonel Charles (USMC, Ret.). Marines and Others. Edison, New Jersey: Sea Bags Productions, 1994.

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Be it resolved: that two battalions of Marines be raised consisting of one colonel, two lieutenant colonels, two majors and officers as usual in other regiments, that they be enlisted and commissioned for and during the present war with Great Britain and the Colonies, unless dismissed by order of Congress. That they be distinguished by the names of the first and second battalions of American Marines, and that they be considered as part of the number, which the Continental Army before Boston is ordered to consist of.

The Continental Congress, 10 November 1775. This is a portion of the resolution creating the Continental Marine Corps. It is not apparent, however, that any Marines were actually recruited or officers commissioned for the two battalions, but the authority contained in the resolution appears to have been used to form more or less isolated detachments of Marines who served throughout the remainder of the American Revolution.

The first commission actually granted was not confirmed by Congress until December 22, 1775. The first Marine officer appointed, according to known records, was First Lieutenant John Trevett, who reported for duty onboard the Columbus in November 1775. The oldest existing commission of a Marine officer is that of Captain Samuel Nicholas, dated November 28, 1775. At about the same time, several other Marine officers were appointed for duty onboard ships of the U.S. Navy, then being placed in commission.

The first recruiting of the Continental Marines under the authority stated above appears to have been at Tun Tavern in Philadelphia—at the time a salty roast-beef-and-beer establishment on the east side of King (Water) Street. The proprietor, Robert Mullan, acted as one of the principal recruiting officers for the Marines throughout the revolution.

Mullan proved so successful at signing up men that the new Corps commissioned him as a captain, and a recruiting poster of that day dwells enthusiastically on the fine things that would come to a young man who signed up. Each man would get a daily ration of a pound of beef or pork, a pound of bread, and an ample supply of flour, raisins, butter, cheese, oatmeal, molasses, tea and sugar; not to mention a daily issue of either a pint of the best wine or half a pint of rum or brandy, as well as a pint of lemonade. A married man could allot half of his pay to his wife, thus providing for her security in his absence; and the man who wrote the poster, Captain Mullan or some other, produced a glowing final paragraph: The single young man, on his return to port, finds himself enabled to cut a dash on shore with his girl and his glass, that might be envied by a nobleman.

Catton, Bruce. The Marine Tradition from American Heritage: Collections, Travel, and Great Writing on History. Volume 10, issue 2. Rockville, Maryland: American Heritage Publishing Company, 1959.

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I am at a loss to know whether I am to raise the two battalions of Marines here or not. Again, on January 4, 1776, he wrote: Congress will think me a little remiss, I fear, when I inform them that I have done nothing yet toward raising the battalion of Marines.

General George Washington commenting on the fact that he just didn’t have the equipment or money to field two battalions (or even one battalion) of Marines. At this point (fall/winter 1775) Washington had twenty-six incomplete battalions in his Army and soon after this the Continental Congress directed that the Marines be raised from a source other than from his Army.

From: https://www.navalhistory.org/2011/11/10/236th-birthday-

of-the-u-s-marine-Corps

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In defense of Liberty Property & Independence; Liberty or Death.

I powder with my brother ball. A heroe like do conquer all.

Words on a powder horn used by a Continental Marine. This is the inscription on the oldest relic (at this time) of Marine equipment in the Museum of the United States Marine Corps and was inscribed on August 20, 1776.

Harumfrodite. Newsletter of the United States Marine Corps Museum. Volume 1, number 2. Quantico, Virginia: Marine Corps Museum, 1970.

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Willing and Morris wharves are located a few blocks from Tun Tavern, along the waterfront of colonial Philadelphia and are believed to have served as boot camp for the first Continental Marines. While experienced seafarers and military types were desired, according to muster rolls, the first recruits encompassed a wide range of ages, sizes, professions, abilities and character.

Waterhouse, Colonel Charles USMC, (Ret.). Marines and Others. Edison, New Jersey: Sea Bags Productions, 1994.

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Many of the first recruits were selected because of previous sea duty, and wore a cast-off combination of civilian and naval gear. He wasn’t pretty, but he was tough. Sometime during the latter half of 1776, stocks of the prescribed uniform were accumulated and issued to some of the Marines. It is assumed that they came from a stock of pre-war uniforms intended for the Philadelphia Associator company.

Finally, there are some standard uniforms for the Continental Marines. Up to this point, Congress did not have funds to purchase uniforms.

Waterhouse, Colonel Charles, USMC (Ret). Marines and Others. Edison, New Jersey: Sea Bags Productions, 1994.

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The first battle casualties of the Continental Navy and Marine Corps occurred when a 20-gun ship of the Royal Navy, the Glasgow intercepted the Alfred and Cabot off Block Island [Rhode Island] on the return voyage from the New Providence raid. Second Lieutenant John Fitzpatrick and others became the first names on Marine Corps and naval casualty lists.

Waterhouse, Colonel Charles USMC, (Ret.). Marines and Others. Edison, New Jersey: Sea Bags Productions, 1994.

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To have fifty lashes for desertion and twenty-one lashes for quitting his guard without leave of his officer, on his bare back, well laid on at the head of his company.

A portion of the court-martial sentence meted out for Private Henry Hasson of Major Nicholas’s battalion. Circa 1776. This was an example of discipline of the old Corps. Captain Robert Mullan, president of the court, signed the court-martial papers.

Montross, Lynn. The United States Marines. New York: Rinehart, 1959.

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It’s a fine fox chase, my boys.

In January 1777, the Marines were part of Continental Brigadier General Cadwalader’s brigade, and they had just suffered a temporary tactical beating by the British. General George Washington, ever the leader, rode out in front of the retreating Continentals and rallied the men into pouring more fire into the British formation. The British broke; and General Washington yelled this to his Marines, urging them on.

Waterhouse, Colonel Charles USMC, (Ret.). Marines and Others. Edison, New Jersey: Sea Bags Productions, 1994.

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"A close working relationship has always existed between a ship’s captain and his Marine commander but never more than during the American Revolution. After he arrived at Georgetown, South Carolina, in November 1777, Captain John Peck Rathbun of the Continental Navy sloop Providence was informed by a merchant captain, who had just returned from the Bahamas, the British brig Mary had been put into Nassau for repairs. Rathbun and his captain of Marines, John Trevett, resolved to take Fort Nassau and then we could have command of the town and harbor and take what we pleased. Continental Navy Captain Nicholas Biddle, then in Charleston, thought the scheme so presumptuous he attempted to persuade Rathbun and Trevett of its futility, but both were confident and determined the plan would succeed.

I have had a long time to think of what I am going to undertake, Trevett later wrote, but I am very well satisfied that we are in a good cause and we are fighting the Lord’s battle.

About midnight on January 27, 1778, after a month’s sailing, the Providence dropped anchor off the western point of Hog Island; and the sloop’s barge was lowered into the water. Twenty-six Marines, under Captain Trevett, filled their pockets with extra cartridges and went ashore, landing a mile west of the fort. Cautioning his men to remain silent, he and his Marines made their way through an opening in the palisade, over the fort’s stone wall, and quickly captured the two-man British garrison. At daybreak the following morning, Trevett had the Stars and Stripes hoisted over the decaying fort. Later, accompanied by Midshipman Shortly from the Providence and freed American sailors, Trevett captured the Mary and retook several other vessels in the harbor. By January 30, powder and cartridges from the fort’s magazine were stowed onboard the Providence, and the captured ships were manned and ready for sea. Only Trevett and a few Marines remained ashore to complete the evacuation. As soon as Trevett and his men were onboard, the Providence, Mary (with Trevett in command), and the other vessels were put to sea for New Bedford, Massachusetts. The ball and powder brought back by Trevett and Rathbun were much needed by George Washington and the Continental Army.

Smith, Charles R., senior historian. Attacking the British at Nassau during the Revolution from Fortitudine. Vol. 34, no. 2. Headquarters, U.S. Marine Corps, Washington, D.C.: Commandant of the Marine Corps, 2009.

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The British like to think they have not been invaded [since 1066] in modern times. Napoleon couldn’t do it, nor could Hitler, but John Paul Jones, his sailors and a few Marines raided Whitehaven and St. Mary’s Island late in 1778. The raid didn’t accomplish much, but it did cause great concern among British ports and coastal communities.

The Marine detachment aboard Bonhomme Richard consisted of three officers—Lieutenants Edward Stack, Eugene MacCarthy, and James J. O’Kelly—as well as 137 Marines, many of whom were French citizens. St. Mary’s is just outside the Thames estuary, while Whitehaven is located northwest of Manchester on the other side of England.

Waterhouse, Colonel Charles, USMC (Ret). Marines and Others. Edison, New Jersey: Sea Bags Productions, 1994.

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The continental ship Providence, now lying at Boston, is bound on a short cruise, immediately; a few good men are wanted to make up her complement.—Marine Captain William Jones, Providence Gazette, March 20, 1779. The verbiage was contained in the very first recruiting poster for the Marine Corps.

Tomajczyk, S.F. To Be a U.S. Marine from Tom Bartlett’s book The Marine Machine, originally published in Leatherneck. Minneapolis, Minnesota: Zenith, 2010.

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They were dressed in the British uniform, red and white, instead of the green prescribed by Congress.

John Adams in a letter to his wife described the Marine contingent onboard the Bonhomme Richard after he and Captain Jones had inspected them on May 13, 1779. Speculation is, the Marines on the ship were from Ireland. The issued uniforms worn by the revolutionary Marines were very similar in style and cut to the army uniforms of the period, which followed the fashions of the times. The distinctive uniform color of the Continental Marines was green. The green coat was made with turn-back skirts, faced with white, and was well-supplied with decorative buttons. The officers wore silver buttons with fouled anchors on them; the enlisted men wore pewter buttons. A waistcoat of white material and white breeches edged in green were worn by officers. Knee-length black gaiters (garments worn over the shoe and lower pants leg, used primarily as personal protective equipment) and cocked hats completed the officers’ uniform. The enlisted men wore green shirts, green coats with red facings, breeches of light-colored cloth, woolen stockings, and a round hat with white binding.

Waterhouse, Colonel Charles, USMC, (Ret.). Marines and Others. Edison, New Jersey: Sea Bags Productions, 1994.

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The improbable engagement between the Bonhomme Richard and the Serapis was one of the most remarkable and desperate fights in the annals of our navy. The Bonhomme Richard’s guns proved to be very unreliable—two of them burst on the first broadside—and the crews refused to man the others on the same deck. This left only the guns on the upper deck to carry on the fight. The reduced gunfire from the Bonhomme Richard was more than compensated for by the deadly fire delivered by the Marines from the tops and other elevated positions against the personnel on the decks of the Serapis. Lieutenant Stack, with a group of Marines in the maintop, was able to keep the open decks of the enemy ship practically cleared of all men. The two ships soon became fastened together with grappling hooks and line. While the small arms fire, together with the fire of a gun that raked the Serapis, completely dominated her weather decks, she poured an incessant fire from her lower guns into the Bonhomme Richard and riddled her with holes, some of which were below the water line and caused imminent danger of sinking. The climax came when Jones’s men (Marines) succeeded in dropping hand grenades from the mainyard (the yardarm of the mainmast, from which the mainsail is hung) down the hatches of the Serapis. One of these ignited a powder chest. The explosion demoralized the entire British crew, and the Serapis surrendered. Sixty-seven of the Marine detachment of the Bonhomme Richard were killed or wounded during the battle.

Metcalf, Clyde H. A History of the United States Marine Corps. New York: Putnam, 1939.

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The Marines are strictly infantry soldiers, who are trained to serve afloat; and their discipline, equipment, spirit, character and esprit de corps, are altogether those of an army. The Marines impart to a ship of war, in a great degree, its high military character. They furnish all the guards and sentinels; in battle, they repel or cover the assaults of boarders; and at all times, they sustain and protect the stern and necessary discipline of a ship by their organization, distinctive character, training and, we might add, nature.

McClellan, Major Edwin N. American Marines in the Revolution from Proceedings. Annapolis, Maryland: U.S. Naval Institute, 1923.

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After the battle of Princeton, 40 Marines continued to serve with Washington’s army through the winter encampment at Morristown, New Jersey, under conditions more severe than Valley Forge. In January 1780, for the only time in United States history, all of the saltwater tidal creeks, anchorages, coves, inlets, and sounds along the Atlantic coastal plain, from North Carolina northeastward, froze over and remained closed to navigation for a month or more. Sleighs, not boats, carried cords of firewood across New York Harbor from New Jersey to Manhattan. The weather took an especially harsh toll on the 7,460 patriot troops garrisoned with General George Washington. At Morristown, we were absolutely, literally starved, Private Joseph Plumb Martin recalled after the war. I do solemnly declare that I did not put a single morsel of victuals into my mouth for four days and as many nights, except a little black birch bark, which I gnawed off a stick of wood, if that can be called victuals. I saw several of the men roast their old shoes and eat them, and I was afterwards informed by one of the officers’ waiters that some of the officers killed and ate a favorite little dog that belonged to one of them.

The winter of 1780 was especially harsh, but the Marines stayed with General Washington. They believed in him and him in them.

Waterhouse, Colonel Charles, USMC (Ret.). Marines and Others. Edison, New Jersey: Sea Bags Productions, 1994.

Raphael, Ray. America’s Worst Winter Ever from American History magazine. HistoryNet, 2010.

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At no period of the naval history of the world, is it probable that Marines were more important than during the War of the Revolution, the history of the Navy, even at that early day, as well as in these later times, abounds with instances of the gallantry and self-devotion of this body of soldiers.

James Fennimore Cooper. From McClellan, Major Edwin N. American Marines in the Revolution from Proceedings. Annapolis, Maryland: U.S. Naval Institute, 1923.

CHAPTER 2

THE FORMATIVE YEARS

T HE NEED FOR a full-time navy was brought home to the U.S. Congress and the American people by the capture of two American ships (Maria and Dauphin ) in 1785 off the coast of Portugal. Algerian pirates ultimately took the ships back to Algiers and imprisoned their crews. Congress did nothing (not a lot has changed), however, until matters became more serious in 1793 when eleven American vessels were similarly captured and their crews imprisoned.

Congress then decided to build ships, man them, and establish a shore support network. In short, build a navy. It authorized the construction of six frigates (USS Chesapeake, USS Constitution, USS President, USS United States, USS Congress, USS Constellation) and provided for a crude naval establishment. Six navy captains who had served in the revolution were appointed, and each was assigned to supervise the construction of a particular ship.

An act of Congress authorized the establishment of the U.S. Navy on March 27, 1794, and further provided each of the ships carry a detachment of Marines consisting of one lieutenant and from forty-five to fifty-four enlisted men to properly outfit a ship of the line.

To this end, the United States Congress in April through July 1798 set into place the Department of the Navy; and on July 11, 1798, President John Adams signed An Act for Establishing and Organizing a Marine Corps.

The act provided for an organization of one major, four captains, 16 first lieutenants, 12 second lieutenants, 48 sergeants, 48 corporals, 32 drums and fifes, and 720 privates (881 total), including Marines who had already been enlisted. Under this authority, President John Adams, on the day following his approval of the act, appointed William Ward Burrows as Major Commandant of the Marine Corps.

Burrows, an officer in the Revolutionary War and at the time of his appointment a resident of Philadelphia with strong Federalist convictions, was a gentleman of accomplished mind and polished manner. The modern United States Marine Corps was (re)born.

The years 1798 to 1861 saw the United States Marine Corps fight in no less than six wars, participate in three major campaigns, and serve around the world as expeditionary troops on at least forty-four different occasions/expeditions/raids/ship engagements.

All the while gaining a reputation as elite warriors, the Marine Corps grew from modest beginnings of 83 Marines in 1798 (prior to the act establishing a Marine Corps) to almost 2,400 by 1861.

This period saw many changes for Marines. The base pay of a private increased from $6 per month (a little over $123 in 2018) to $13 per month ($373 in 2018), while officers’ pay increased from $25 in 1798 ($513 today) to just over $100 in 1861 ($2,869 in 2018 dollars).

Additionally, Marines during this period were armed with increasingly more accurate and lethal weaponry. Enlisted Marines in the early portion of this period were armed with a modification of the U.S. Navy’s cutlass and carried the U.S. Musket 1816 as a shoulder-fired weapon. Marine officers carried (beginning in 1826) the Mameluke sword, the very same they carry today.

The first Mameluke sword was purportedly given to First Lieutenant Presley O’Bannon, USMC, in 1805 by a grateful Hammet Bey (one of two competitors as Pasha of Tripoli) after the successful attack on Tripoli led by Lieutenant O’Bannon and his seven Marines (accompanied by five hundred Greek and French mercenaries, some Moroccans and a few Bedouins).

They marched five hundred miles to attack Tripoli from the rear. Now, Marines, don’t stone me here. The legend of Lieutenant O’Bannon receiving a Mameluke sword from the Pasha is well, a myth, but it’s a good myth. On the other hand, and further reflection, this member of the older generation of Marines is willing to let the O’Bannon-at-Derna legend stand as fact. It is, after all, a more colorful story than the facts and perhaps even more believable. Sometimes, I guess, the truth is just better left undisturbed.

The U.S. Musket 1816 was accurate to only a maximum effective range of about 75 yards; but by the end of this period, Marines were armed with a rifled musket, the U.S. Springfield. It was a .58-caliber weapon capable of firing accurately to 350 to 450 yards.

This period also saw the first real attempt to get rid of the Marine Corps by administrative action. President Andrew Jackson on December 8, 1829, sent Congress a memorandum suggesting that the Marine Corps be merged into the [U.S. Army] artillery or infantry. Fortunately, both houses of Congress rejected (but not by much) this suggestion.

In 1834, the issue was still in doubt until Congress passed the Act for the Better Organization of the Marine Corps. It set the number of officers (63) and the number of enlisted personnel (1,224), as well as cemented the semi-autonomous relationship with the United States Navy.

This period saw new Marine heroes, such as First Lieutenant Presley Neville O’Bannon, hero of the attack on Tripoli and the first American to raise the Stars and Stripes over a foreign land; First Lieutenant John Marshall Gamble, the only Marine to command a United States Navy ship; and First Lieutenant Israel Greene, who led the attack at Harpers Ferry where abolitionist John Brown had barricaded himself and taken forty hostages. But without question, the overriding personality of the Corps during this period was Archibald Henderson.

In October of 1820, Brevet Major Archibald Henderson assumed the title of the Commandant of the Marine Corps. At thirty-eight years of age, he was—and still is—the youngest Marine ever to hold this august title.

For the next thirty-nine years (until January 1859), the Grand Old Man of the Corps presided over and greatly influenced changes making, in large part, our Corps what it is today. He served our Corps honorably for a total of fifty-three years. His legacy is a Corps able to be called upon to fight our country’s battles and keep our honor clean.

Commandant Henderson set a moral compass that all Marines of that period through the present day have tried to follow. As an example, he ordered there to be no more cursing by officers or enlisted. Okay, so this one has changed over time. Furthermore, Archibald Henderson, like John A. Lejeune in the twentieth century, fought to keep the uniqueness of the amphibious landing (although he couched this idea in fighting shipboard Marines) at the forefront of politicians and others in the defense establishment, who from time to time made efforts to lessen the importance/viability of the Corps. He was the first (and only) Commandant to hold the title of brevet brigadier general.

In October 1859, within months of Henderson’s death, Commandant John Harris dispatched eighty-six Marines from the barracks in Washington, D.C., led by First Lieutenant Israel Greene, USMC, under the command of Army Lieutenant Colonel Robert E. Lee, to capture the abolitionist John Brown after Brown’s raid at Harpers Ferry, West Virginia.

Lieutenant Greene struck down Brown, and his Marines made short work of the abolitionist raiders at a cost of one Marine being killed and one wounded. In his after-action report, Lee said, The Marines were at all times ready and prompt in the execution of any duty.

Additionally, the Marines fought many battles both on ship and in other land engagements throughout this period. The following are but a fraction and represent just the most famous: the battle of Bladensburg, Maryland, August 24, 1814; and the defense of Fort McHenry, Baltimore, September 12–14, 1814, both against the British in the War of 1812. On January 27, 1837, Colonel Archibald Henderson successfully led the Marines against the Seminole Indians on the Hatchee-Lustee River in the Florida Indian War 1835–1842. On September 13, 1847, the Marines distinguished themselves in Mexico with the storming of Chapultepec Castle (home of the Mexican Military Academy and located on a key approach to Mexico City) and gave the Marines the now-famous from the halls of Montezuma line in our hymn. Please note the official song of the U.S. Marine Corps is the Marines’ Hymn, not the Marine Corps Hymn.

Life for the average enlisted Marine was hard, and the discipline under which he lived was even harder. Marines who became drunk were forced to drink several quarts of saltwater and wear a drunkard’s dress. This had, by all reports, a sobering effect upon the Marine.

If a Marine fell asleep while on guard duty, he was given, as you might expect, more guard duty but also had to wear an iron collar and drag a ball and chain while doing so. Reports do not indicate how effective the Marine was while on guard duty, but one can surmise this brand of discipline had the desired effect upon the offending Marine.

An act of Congress in 1800 permitted the liberal allowance of one hundred lashes if awarded by a general court-martial. The lashes were unleashed at the tap of a drum, and floggings were made occasions of ceremony. Other punishments, such as shaving the head or half the head, drumming a man out of garrison, and sentencing a Marine to hard labor with ball and chain, were commonly awarded.

Besides getting a taste of the cat (the lash), Marines were also punished with a reduction or total forfeiture of their rum ration. This was particularly distasteful to the average Marine as a tot of rum was often the only good thing to look forward to while sailing for weeks and months on end. Commandant Wharton, who did not look with great favor on the rum ration, on one occasion, ordered it so highly diluted that it was impossible for the Marines to drink it in sufficient quantity to get a kick out of it.

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At the above rendezvous [the federal eagle, kept by Mrs. Broaders in forestreet, according to the notice] Lt. Clarke of the Marines will enlist three sergeants, three corporals, one armourer, one drummer, one fifer, and 50 privates, to compose a company for the ship Constitution. None can be enlisted who are not five feet, six inches high.

Anonymous. The Gazette Takes a Look at Marine Recruiting Posters from the Columbian Centinel in May 1798 and reprinted in Leatherneck Magazine. Vol. 34, issue 1. Quantico, Virginia: Marine Corps Association, 1950.

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Sir, your particular duty as lieutenant of Marines on board this ship is to train the Marines to the use of small arms, to cause sentinels to be placed according to the regulations of the ship . . . as it often happens, that Marines are sent ashore on certain enterprises during an expedition or cruise, as well as cooperate with the Army on particular occasions. At home, you should pay particular attention to every part of the duty of a soldier in all situations.

Truxton, Captain T., USN. From a letter to Lieutenant of Marines James Triplett from Semper Fidelis: The History of the United States Marine Corps. New York: Macmillan Publishing Company, 1980.

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Onboard the Ganges, about 12 mos. ago, Lt. Gale was struck by an officer of the Navy. The Capt. took no notice of the business, and Gale got no satisfaction on the cruise. The moment he arrived he call’d the Lt. out and shot him. Afterward, politeness was restor’d.

Yr. obdt. svt,

W. W. Burrows,

Lieutenant Colonel,

Commandant, MC.

Lieutenant Colonel Burrows was the second Commandant appointed by President John Adams. He began his Commandancy one day after the reestablishment of the U.S. Navy and U.S. Marine Corps, July 12, 1798. Burrows established shipboard duties for embarked Marines, founded the Marine Barracks at Eighth and I Streets in Washington, D.C., and argued both for more enlisted and the necessary officers to lead them.

In 1798, Major Burrows assessed every officer in the Corps $10 (a second lieutenant earned $25 a month) to acquire suitable musicians for the Corps—instrumentalists rather than drummers and fifers.

Perhaps his greatest contribution to the success of the Marine Corps was his ability to select and recommend for commission only the most loyal and efficient men. He left the Commandancy a sick and financially troubled man. He died a year after he left the Corps.

Notable Quotes. Marine Corps Association and Foundation: mca-Marines.org/leatherneck/Marine-Corps-quotes

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I find it impossible to keep my men clean. They must be granted a sailor suit of clothes, besides their uniform, if it is expected for them to be kept decent.

In May 1799, Captain Daniel Carmick, USMC, was ordered to New York City to guard stores being gathered for the frigate USS President, then being built in the East River. From New York, he wrote to Major Commandant William Ward Burrows, telling him of the need for an additional uniform for his enlisted men. History does not record if an additional uniform was furnished for the Marines.

Simmons, Brigadier General. Major Carmick at New Orleans from Fortitudine. Vol. 14, no. 4. Headquarters, U.S. Marine Corps, Washington, D.C: History and Museum Division, 1985.

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It is not possible to produce such another shabby set of animals in this world.

Captain Carmick, USMC, on July 9, 1799, in a letter to the Commandant of the Marine Corps after reviewing the Marine detachment aboard the USS Constitution.

Simmons, Brigadier General Edward H. The U.S. Marines from 1775 to 1975. New York: Viking Press, 1974.

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We caught, a few days ago, a corporal who had deserted. We have just given him 200 lashes and had his head shaved. But we will never cure this evil ‘til we can shoot one or two of them.

Major William Ward Burrows, second Commandant of the Marine Corps, Philadelphia, 1799.

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Like devils . . . carrying all before them and taking possession of the corvette, without the loss of a man.

The Quasi-War between the United States and France from 1798 to 1800 took place entirely at sea. A captured American corvette, the Sandwich, was being refitted in the harbor of Puerto Plata in the Dominican Republic. The USS Constitution’s captain ordered a boarding party be raised, and they boarded the Sandwich to make her ready to sail by midnight. Marines and sailors steered a small sloop next to the Sandwich, where they boarded her and took her back. The after-action report noted the Marines did well.

Waterhouse, Colonel Charles, USMC, (Ret)). Marines and Others. Edison, New Jersey: Sea Bags Productions, 1994.

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I have been all this morning engaged riding with the president [Thomas Jefferson] looking for a proper place to fix the Marine barracks on. Jefferson had required the site to be near the navy yard and within easy marching distance of the Capitol.

Lieutenant Colonel Commandant William Ward Burrows wrote the above regarding the original Marine Corps barracks in Washington, D.C. The actual birth date of the barracks was March 31, 1801.

The two formally settled on City Square 927, measuring 615 feet north and south by 250 feet east and west. The tract was purchased that June for $6,247.18, and Burrows received an additional appropriation of $20,000 to construct a barracks and quarters.

The oldest post in the Corps remains the oldest building in DC. The remainder of Washington was burned by the British on August 24, 1814, during the War of 1812. On that day, British troops burned the White House and the rest of DC in retaliation for the American attack on York in Ontario, Canada, in June 1812.

Miller, John G. Barracks History: Oldest Post of the Corps Celebrates 200 Years from Pass in Review. Bicentennial Edition, 1801–2001. Marine Barracks Eighth and I Streets SE, Washington, D.C.: Public Affairs Office, 2001.

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The Marine band performed for Thomas Jefferson’s inauguration in March 1801 and has performed for every presidential swearing-in since. President John Adams gave the band its charter, but Jefferson (1801–09) gave the band its identity. Recognizing the unique relationship between the band and the chief executive, he gave the Marine band the title the President’s Own.

Today, The President’s Own is the only military organization that has to have the express permission of the President of the United States, acting in his capacity as Commander in Chief, to be sent outside the city limits of the District of Columbia.

President’s Own Celebrates 200 Years from Pass in Review. Bicentennial Edition, 1801–2001. Marine Barracks, Eighth and I Streets SE, Washington, D.C.: Public Affairs Office, 2001.

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At about a half after three, we had the satisfaction to see Lieutenant O’Bannon & Mr. George Washington Mann, midshipman of the Argus—with a few brave fellows with them—enter the fort, haul down the enemy’s flag and plant the American ensign on the walls of the battery. And on turning the guns of the battery upon the town, they found the enemy had left them in great haste, as they were found primed and loaded at their hand.

Captain Isaac Hull, USN, aboard the USS Argus, bore witness to the raising of the U.S. flag for the first time over a foreign land. First Lieutenant Presley N. O’Bannon on April 27, 1805, assaulted the walled city of Derna under cover of smoothbore naval gunfire from the eighteen-gun brig Argus, along with the ten-gun sloop Hornet and the twelve-gun schooner Nautilus. O’Bannon and his Marines were in the van of the attack.

Simmons, Brigadier General Edward H. O’Bannon’s Sword? from Fortitudine. Vol 14, no. 1. Headquarters, U.S. Marine Corps, Washington, D.C.: History and Museum Division, 1984.

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In her book(s) originally titled ‘The Adventures of Lucy Brewer,’ Lucy describes the occurrences that eventually led her to join the Marine contingent on board USS Constitution, serve for three years, fight in the tops with the rest of the Marines, and eventually be honorably discharged. According to her story, [these were real books, folks] she was a farm girl from Plymouth, Massachusetts. At age 16, she fell in love with a boy named Henry and became pregnant. Henry spurned her and she left for Boston. In Boston, she said she was tricked into prostitution after her baby died in childbirth. To escape the brothel, she disguised herself as a man and, motivated by a patriotic desire to fight for America in the War of 1812, conned her way onto the USS Constitution. She took the name George Baker, United States Marine. She wrote [that] she served fearlessly, and was in many naval engagements against the British. She did all this while keeping her true gender a secret. ‘The Adventures of Lucy Brewer’ has a happy ending, however, as she returns to Plymouth [as a woman], finds a respectable man and settles down in marriage bliss. In fact, Massachusetts history does not acknowledge anyone with the name Lucy Brewer in historical records of that time. It is unlikely a female could have assumed the identity of a Marine and served on the USS Constitution, as the crew had absolutely no privacy. For example, no toilet facilities or private quarters existed on the ship, and physical examinations were thorough even in the early Marine Corps. In addition, the female Marine’s identifying details of the Constitution’s travels and battles are nearly the same as accounts published by the ship’s Captain in the then present-day newspapers. In 1816, shortly after the publication of the first edition of ‘The Female Marine,’ a woman claimed to have been the madam of the bordello in which Lucy was supposedly tricked and wrote an article stating the story was true. She said Lucy was an excellent lady-of-the-evening who quickly learned all the wicked deceptive arts of prostitution, and it was that ability that allowed her to fake her way into the Marine Corps and eventually onto the USS Constitution.

We are so fortunate as a service to have such vivid legends like Lucy Brewer in our institutional DNA. While no historical facts correspond in any way to the truth of this legend, let’s just accept it for what it is—a great story about a true patriot.

Marine Corps Lore, Marine Corps Historical Reference Series. Number 22. Washington, D.C.: Historical Branch, G-3 Division, Headquarters, U.S. Marine Corps, 1963.

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Constitution [Old Ironsides] carried 48,600 gallons of fresh water for her crew of 475 sailors and Marines, which was enough for six months of sustained operations. On 23 August 1812, Constitution set sail from Boston with a full crew, 48,600 gallons of fresh water, 7,400 cannon shot, 11,600 pounds of black powder and 79,400 gallons of rum. Her mission . . . to harass and destroy English shipping. Arriving at Jamaica on 6 October, Constitution took on 826 pounds of flour and 68,300 more gallons of rum. Then she headed for the Azores, arriving there on 12 November. She provisioned with 550 pounds of beef, 54,300 gallons of Portuguese wine and set sail for England. In the ensuing days, she defeated and scuttled five British men-of-war and captured and scuttled 12 English merchantmen, salvaging only the rum. By 27 January 1813, her powder and shot were exhausted. She then made a night raid unarmed up the Firth of Clyde. Her landing party, undoubtedly Marines, captured a whiskey distillery and transferred 40,000 gallons aboard by dawn. The USS Constitution arrived in Boston in February 1813 with no cannons, no shot, no food, no powder, no rum, no whiskey, no wine and 48,600 gallons of stagnant water.

Marines have never let the truth get in the way of a good story. A legend for a U.S. Marine may be defined as a shining truth that cannot always pass the test of strict factual accuracy. The legend is poetry; the fact is prose, and very dull prose it is sometimes. I also found this story in remarks at the Navy League Joint Services Luncheon, Sheraton-Washington Hotel, Washington, D.C., March 27, 1986, in a speech by Admiral William Crowe, USN, then chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff.

I changed the dates slightly to make the story a bit more believable.

Corbett, K. S. Water on the Rocks from Marine Corps Gazette. Vol. 48, issue 11. Quantico, Virginia: Marine Corps Association, 1964.

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My left arm and right leg broken, and my right arm, left leg and abdomen pierced by musket fire. I am in dreadful situation, thou yet hope I shall recover in a few months.

Captain John Williams, USMC, September 14, 1812. He wrote the above in a dispatch to the Commandant of the Marine Corps after his company of Marines had been ambushed by Seminoles at Twelve-Mile Swamp (outside St. Augustine, Florida).

The captain sustained eight separate wounds (one shot in his left leg, one stab wound and one musket ball in his right hand, one stab wound in his shoulder, a broken right arm, a punctured stomach, a ball in his left thigh near the groin, and a broken right leg). He did not survive.

Waterhouse, Colonel Charles USMC, (Ret). Marines and Others. Edison, New Jersey: Sea Bags Productions, 1994.

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"In 1813, the first USS Essex was commanded by a tough skipper named Captain David Porter, USN. By all accounts, he was the type man you did not want to see at captain’s mast. He was tough, but he was a true warrior. On one particular mission, the Essex was ordered to sail alone to the Pacific and attack Great Britain’s whaling fleet. Obviously, Captain Porter knew the fleet was well-guarded by British men-of-war. His job would be a tough one as he was severely outgunned.

Prior to sailing, Captain Porter addressed the assembled crew of sailors and Marines on the deck and asked his men to take seven steps forward if they would willingly go in harm’s way with him. He then turned his back and waited. After a few moments, he turned to face his crew and noticed no holes in the ranks. The ranks looked just as they had and not a single Marine or sailor stood to the front of the formation. It is reported that he went on a tirade and screamed, ‘What is this? Not a single volunteer among you?’ With this, an aide leaned over and whispered in Porter’s ear, ‘Sir, the whole line has stepped forward seven paces.’

Lowe, Colonel James Michael, USMC. Speech from a mess night at The Basic School. Quantico, Virginia. http://potomac-institute.org/academic-centers/international-center-for-

ter-rorism-studies-icts/icts-events/37-news-room/announce-ments

/160-the-passing-of-a-Marine-mike-lowe-march-21

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At the sound of ‘Beat to Quarters,’ the Marines went aloft with a supply of grenades and a brazier of coals. As the enemy ship closed the distance, a grenade would be placed among the coals. When heated and the cloth sealing the holes set afire, the grenade was whirled about the head by means of the leather thong. At the proper instant, with the materials burning brightly, the grenade would be released like an ancient sling shot. The flaming shell would fly through the air, and upon impact of the enemy’s deck would burst apart. The flaming contents would be rapidly spread across the wooden planking. If not leading to the destruction of the ship, the flames would certainly hamper the enemy’s ability to fight on.

A description of what the duties of the Marines in the fighting tops would have been during the Revolutionary War, the War of 1812, and the campaign against the Barbary pirates. The grenade, a ceramic ball filled with flammable materials, had holes in it that oozed the packing material. Once this material was hot and whipped around the head of the Marine, slinging it toward the enemy vessel, it burst into flames.

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On 24 August 1814, Marines [100 in the battalion] joined a mixed force of regulars and militiamen from the Washington area in trying to halt the advance of a 4,000-man British raiding force near Bladensburg, Maryland. In a day that will live in infamy [the battle has been called ‘the greatest disgrace ever dealt to American arms’], the American regulars and militiamen broke and ran, leaving the late-arriving Marines trying to stop the British assault. This they did three times until they were forced to withdraw in good order, plagued by a shortage of ammunition, 25% casualties and the collapse of the units on their flanks. By the time they returned to the barracks a few days later, they found a city, including the Navy Yard, burned to the ground. But the barracks and the home of the Commandant were unscathed. Had British Major General Robert Ross spared the buildings because of his appreciation of the Marines’ gallant stand at Bladensburg or because they offered him an elegant, fortified, temporary command post? The question lingers.

Miller, John G. Barracks History: Oldest Post of the Corps Celebrates 200 Years from Pass in Review. Bicentennial Edition, 1801–2001. Marine Barracks, Eighth and I Streets SE, Washington, D.C.: Public Affairs Office, 2001.

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The Marines were delirious with joy and relief. They had just whipped the British army with hardly a loss. They laughed, yelled and swore, showering taunts, debris, rations, water and gear upon the bewildered prisoners in the muddy moat before leading them away.

A description of the reaction of the fifty-eight U.S. Marines led by Brevet Major Thomas Adair, USMC, at the Battle of New Orleans fought between January 8–18, 1815. The British made one last attempt to breach the levy upon which Andrew Jackson; U.S. Army forces; U.S. Navy forces; militia from Kentucky, Tennessee, Mississippi, and Louisiana; and U.S. Marines (in the center of the defensive line) stood.

There was also a fair-sized contingent of pirates. Those disparate forces beat His Majesty’s best, the Ninety-Third Highlanders, the Forty-Fourth Essex Regiment of Foot, four West India regiments, and three Light Companies. In just twenty-five minutes of action, the British lost 700 killed, 1,400 wounded, and 500 prisoners. The American side had 7 killed and 6 wounded in action.

Waterhouse, Colonel Charles, USMC, (Ret). Marines and Others. Edison, New Jersey: Sea Bags Productions, 1994.

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You must leave this hall. I give you three minutes to decide. If at the end of that time, a man remains, he will be shot dead. I speak no more.

Major R. D. Wainwright, USMC, speaking to 283 armed and dangerous prisoners in the chow hall of Massachusetts State Prison in 1824. Major Wainwright had been sent, along with thirty Marines from the Boston Barracks, to the Massachusetts State Prison when the inmates rioted and took over. The reports later indicated the riot ended and in two and one-half minutes the hall was cleared as if by magic.

Murphy, Jack. The History of the United States Marine Corps. New York: Exeter Books, 1984.

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"Discontinuance