Marine Corps 240th Birthday

[Rich Riddle]

On today's date 240 years ago patriots went to Tun's Tavern in Philadelphia, PA and formed the United States Marine Corps. Figures Marines would go to a tavern to do this. Happy birthday to our fellow Leathernecks, Jarheads, Marines, etc. from an old one.

[Scott Shepherd]

Happy Birthday Marines!

If you are ever near Quantico, VA, do yourself a favor and stop by the museum. It's amazing.

[Dave Anderson NH]

I second that Scott. The National Museum of the Marine Corps is a truly amazing place.

Warning though. If you served in RVN as a grunt and made any hot landings in a CH-46 Sea Knight avoid the walk through the airframe onto 881 South. It will raise your blood pressure, make you break out into a sweat, and raise all the hair on your arms and the back of your neck. Some things are just too realistic. It threw me for a loop the first time I went there.

[Bert Kemp]

Happy Birthday Marines and Thank You, can I eat cake now:D

[Mike Henderson]

I believe the Marines were created by an act of the Continental Congress passed on 10 November 1775. You can see a write up on the creation of the Continental Marines here (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Continental_Marines). It's unlikely that a force such as the marines could be formed or supported unless it was authorized and paid for by the Congress.

Not as romantic as the story of being formed in a tavern, however.

But in any case, Happy Birthday to all the marines on the forum.

Mike

[Oops, I had a bad link there. Fixed now.]

[Rich Riddle]

Mike,

Congress did authorize it but it most definitely formed in Tun's Tavern. Many of us in the forum did careers in the Marine Corps and know the history, but for the rest, you can find it here:

http://www.usmcpress.com/heritage/usmc_heritage.htm

[Mike Henderson]

Mike,

Congress did authorize it but it most definitely formed in Tun's Tavern. Many of us in the forum did careers in the Marine Corps and know the history, but for the rest, you can find it here:

http://www.usmcpress.com/heritage/usmc_heritage.htm
The Wikipedia article on Samuel Nichols (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Samuel_Nicholas) (first Marine commandant) says that his commission was confirmed on 28 November and that as soon as he received official word of his confirmation he set up recruiting in Tun Tavern. This would imply that he began recruiting on, or slightly after, 28 November, not on 10 November.

While the Marine Corps may have been "born" in a tavern, it appears that the birthday is the day it was authorized by the Congress, and not on the day recruiting began.

Mike

[Two dates are given for the formation of the first battalion - December 1775 and January 1776, depends on which article you read. And how you read the article. The article on Samuel Nichols says that he joined the first battalion in January so it may have been formed in December, as stated in the Creation of the Continental Marines article.]

[There's even controversy about whether Tun Tavern was the first recruiting place. See here (http://www.angelfire.com/ca/dickg/tuntav.html). Seems that Samuel Nichols (or his family) owned a tavern in Philadelphia so it's more likely that he set up the first recruiting there, rather than in a competitor's tavern.]

[Mark Blatter]

Regardless of when or where the Marines were formed, happy belated birthday. Us squids are proud to have you all as part of the Navy.

[Rich Riddle]

Mike,

Why don't you give the Marine Corps HQ a buzz in Quantico and tell them the history they have taught every Marine since 1921 is wrong according to your research in Wikipedia. They will forward your call to the entity that documents the history of he Marine Corps, the Marine Corps Institute, or the Marine Corps University. They also have a Marine Corps history branch that answers questions under the "about us" area.

http://www.mcu.usmc.mil/historydivision/SitePages/Home.aspx

The historian will also likely tell you to not believe everything you read on Wikipedia. There used to be a Dr. Bittner when I took classes at the University, but he likely retired and there is a Dr. Baughn. There was also a Melson there. They are all Marine Corps historians. They changed dates in 1921, so perhaps they are open to changing other things they publish in all the "green monster" books and other publications.

[Dave Anderson NH]

Yes Mark, the Marine Corps is a department of the Navy. The Men's Department!!

[Mike Henderson]

Mike,

Why don't you give the Marine Corps HQ a buzz in Quantico and tell them the history they have taught every Marine since 1921 is wrong according to your research in Wikipedia. They will forward your call to the entity that documents the history of he Marine Corps, the Marine Corps Institute, or the Marine Corps University. They also have a Marine Corps history branch that answers questions under the "about us" area.

http://www.mcu.usmc.mil/historydivision/SitePages/Home.aspx

The historian will also likely tell you to not believe everything you read on Wikipedia. There used to be a Dr. Bittner when I took classes at the University, but he likely retired and there is a Dr. Baughn. There was also a Melson there. They are all Marine Corps historians. They changed dates in 1921, so perhaps they are open to changing other things they publish in all the "green monster" books and other publications.

I remember when I was in the Army, I was taught things about the Army that I later learned were untrue and were just puffery about the Army.

I first replied to your post because your opening post made it sound as if a bunch of guys got together in a tavern and decided to form the Marines. That raised a host of questions in my mind: "How were they going to serve? Were they going to serve under some overall leadership, or as a separate force? How were they to be supplied and paid? Etc." So I started doing some research.

Note that my first post just said that the Marines were created by an act of Congress on 10 November. It is unlikely that everything would be in place where they could begin recruiting people on that exact day. Further research uncovered that the first commandant was not confirmed until 28 November and he did not begin recruiting until he received word of his confirmation. All of that sounds reasonable and logical.

Then I ran into the questions of whether it was actually Tun Tavern where the first recruiting took place.

I'm not a Marine and have no interest in causing any Marine any heartache. I appreciate your service, and all veterans, and hope you have a long and happy life.

Mike

[Regarding Wikipedia, it can be edited by anyone. For articles of high interest, such as the formation of the Marines, many people pay attention to those articles and submit corrections. In fact, even historians in the Marine Corps can (and likely would) submit corrections to articles. I suspect that the information in the article on the creation of the Continental Marines has been read by thousands of Marines and hundreds of historians who could correct incorrect information. Of course, you need more proof than "My DI told me this."]