Merryweather: Usmc

Prologue

The history of the USMC began with the founding of the Continental Marine Corps in 1775. They were to conduct ship-to-ship fighting, provide shipboard security and assistance in landing forces. Its mission evolved with changing military doctrine and foreign policy of the US. Owing to the availability of Marine forces at sea, the United States Marine Corps has served in nearly every conflict in our history. It was formed in this manner by the Continental Congress: Be it resolved, that a letter from this Congress be sent to General Washington. The letter shall inform him, that the Congress has certain intelligence of the sailing of two British Brigs from England on August 11th last. The brigs are loaded with arms, powder and other stores, for Quebec. They are without a convoy. He shall apply to the Council of Massachusetts Bay, for two armed vessels in their service and dispatch the same. A sufficient number of people, stores and arms hereby is authorized in order to intercept the Brigs and their cargoes for the use of the Continental Army. He may also seize any other transports laden with ammunition, clothing or other stores, for the use of the army or navy in America and secure them in the most convenient places for the purpose above mentioned. He may give the commander or commanders such instructions as are necessary, as also proper encouragement to the marines and seamen, that shall be sent on this enterprise. Instructions, are to be delivered to the commander or commanders sealed, with orders not to open them until out of sight of land.

Whereas, a letter has been written to council, to put vessels under the General’s command and to furnish him instantly with every thing necessary in their power, at the expense of the Congress. The General is authorized to employ vessels for the formation of a continental navy.

The letter to General George Washington, October 5, 1775, was the first time that Congress ever mentions Marines in United States history. When the battles of Lexington and Concord, sparked the beginning of the Revolution on April 19, 1775, the leaders of the American rebellion soon recognized that in order to prevent the British army from restoring Crown rule and further occupation into the colonies of New England, they would have to resort to a naval war. Although this realization had consumed the Congress, they remained reluctant to support a naval campaign against the world’s strongest fleet. Thus, the Royal Navy had the ability to reinforce and supply the British garrisons in Boston, in the Province of Massachusetts Bay.

The Marblehead Marine Regiment of Massachusetts Bay was entirely composed of New England mariners. It provided crews for Washington’s navy. Washington’s decision to create his navy came easily with the siege of Boston which started the war along the entire coast of New England and into the strategic Lake Champlain area on the New York border. The Royal Navy concentrated its vessels in the New England open waters, while its smaller warships raided the coastal towns and destroyed rebel military stores for supplies and provisions. In response, several small vessels were commissioned by the governments of Massachusetts and Connecticut by the summer of 1775, authorizing the privateering against British government ships. In August of 1775, Washington’s makeshift naval fleet continued the interdiction of Massachusetts Bay, by the end of the year he was in command of four warships: the USS Franklin, USS Hancock, USS Lee and the USS Warren.

Meanwhile, the New England militia forces of Massachusetts, Connecticut, and Vermont (the Green Mountain Boys), seized the strategic post of Fort Ticonderoga, and temporarily eliminated British control of Lake Champlain. The lake was now controlled by a flotilla of shallow-draft vessels armed with light artillery, under the command of Benedict Arnold. As early as May 1775, the USS Interprise ushered eighteen men as marines on the payroll. Later in May, the Connecticut Committee of Public Safety consigned ₤500 to Benedict Arnold, the shipment of payment was escorted with eight marines, well spirited and equipped, although they were actually seamen. They are often referred to as the Original Eight.

The colonial marines of Washington’s naval fleet, Benedict Arnold’s Lake Champlain flotilla, and privateers, made no distinction of their duties as their activities were no different from English customs. marines were basically soldiers detailed for naval service. Washington’s navy expeditions through out the remaining months of 1775 suggested that his ship crews of mariner-militiamen were not divided distinctly between sailors and marines. However, the Pennsylvania Committee of Public Safety made a dividing line between the sailors and marines when it decided to form a state navy to protect the Delaware River and its nearby areas.

Early October, Congress members, such as John Adams, and colonial governments pushed Congress to create a navy, however small. To examine the possibility of the establishment of a national navy, the Naval Committee was appointed on October 5, 1775. On October 13th, Congress authorized its Naval Committee to form a squadron of four converted Philadelphia merchantmen, with the addition of two smaller vessels. Despite a shortage in funding, the Continental Navy was formed.

The next Continental Congress action was: Be it resolved, that two Battalions of marines be raised, consisting of one Colonel, two Lieutenant Colonels, two Majors, and other officers as needed in the companies inside the battalions. Care shall be taken that no persons be appointed to office, or enlisted into said battalions, unless they are good seamen, or so acquainted with maritime affairs as to be able to serve. They shall be enlisted and commissioned to serve for and during the present war between Great Britain and the colonies, unless dismissed by order of Congress.

Whereas: They shall be distinguished by the names of the first and second battalions of American Marines, they may be considered as part the continental Army before Boston. It is ordered that a copy of the above be transmitted to the General.

The Congress convened on November 9, 1775, and asked the Naval Committee to send an amphibious expedition to Halifax in Nova Scotia. Two land expeditions had been launched toward the St. Lawrence River months earlier. Richard Montgomery’s and Benedict Arnold’s forces were each making their way toward Quebec City in order to join forces for the Battle of Quebec. Congress was convinced that sending marines to fight at sea and engage military operations ashore was paramount in destroying an important British naval base in Halifax. Also, Congress decided the marines will not only be used for the Nova Scotia expedition but for subsequent service thereafter. The two battalions of Continental Marines officially became resolved when Congress issued the first commission to Captain Samuel Nicholas on November 28, 1775. Nicholas’ family were tavern keepers, his prominence came not from his work but from his leadership in two local clubs for fox-hunters and sport fishermen. Historian, Edwin Simmons, surmises that it is most likely Nicholas was using his family tavern, the Conestoga Wagon, as a recruiting post.

In December of 1775, to aid in drafting plans in expanding the Continental Navy and to supervise the construction of vessels and procurement of naval equipment, the Continental Congress established a permanent committee for the Marine Corps. It would supersede the duties of the naval affairs committee. The Marine Committee contained thirteen members, one from each colony. It included important figures, such as Robert Morris, John Hancock and Samuel Chase. The Naval Committee would oversee the Marine Committee on matters concerning naval expeditions and projections. It exercised legislative, judicial and executive powers. However, the lack of an administrative head and of actual authority over the colonies, impeded the Marine Committee as they did Congress. Since the Marine Committee was responsible in drafting plans for the expansion of the Continental Navy, three days later after its establishment, it recommended to Congress to build a force of thirteen frigates, outfitted with 24–36 guns. Congress accepted the program as it would protect colonial merchant trade from the British blockaders; on the recommendation that the construction of warships would be decentralized. Congress was greatly depending on Washington’s Nova Scotia expedition. They were planning to draw men from Washington’s army, but Washington was unenthusiastic about the plan and suggested to Congress the recruitment of unemployed seamen. The proposed marine battalions came from New York and Philadelphia. Ten additional Marine officers were appointed by Captain Nicholas, the majority of officers and enlistees were Philadelphian small merchants and businessmen, skilled tradesmen and workers, and unskilled laborers. The primary duties of the officers were recruiting and persuading men to enlist. Most officers were commissioned because their most important qualification was knowledge of working the local taverns and other hot-spots of the working class. The officers would sweep through the city for potential recruits, accompanied by drummers borrowed from the Philadelphia Association, a city militia. Nicholas and his officers might have had some maritime experience, but it is unlikely that they were skilled mariners. Five companies of about 300 Marines were raised. While armed, they were not equipped with standardized uniforms.

By February 17th, the Continental Marines embarked onto six vessels for their maiden expedition. It was the first amphibious expedition for the Continental Navy-Marine Corps. They were given the task to patrol the southern American coastline. They were to intercept and clear any presence of British troops, then return north to New England and perform similar services. They were instructed to attack the British fleet under John Murray, 4th Earl of Dunmore, in Chesapeake Bay. They found the Earl’s fleet in the Bahamas on March 1, 1776. His squadron began raiding small British forces guarding the small islands around New Providence Island.

While Hopkins and Nicholas were sailing the Atlantic and Caribbean, Congress authorized the Marine Committee to purchase two more brigantines for the Continental Navy. The Marine Committee purchased brigantine Wild Duck, from the Maryland Committee of Safety and renamed her USS Lexington, commemorating the battle in Lexington of Middlesex County. Lexington then was turned over to Wharton and Humphrey’s Shipyard in Philadelphia for fitting for Continental service. John Barry was commissioned as a Captain in the Continental Navy, dated March 14, 1776. Along with this commission went command of the brig Lexington, his first warship. The Marine Committee of the Continental Congress purchased merchantman Molly on March 28, 1776. They renamed her USS Reprisal and placed her under the command of Captain Lambert Wickes. These two vessels were to be used to supplement the efforts of the Pennsylvania Navy in clearing the lower approaches of the Delaware River. They also appointed a ship captain and four new additional Marine officers for each vessel by March, 1776. The Continental Marines made their first amphibious landing in American history when they attempted an amphibious assault during the Battle of Nassau. However, they failed to achieve a surprise attack as Hopkins directed his captains to make an opposed landing of his 234 of Marines. Fifty seamen were landed on the island of New Providence, to assault the British Fort Montagu hoping to seize supplies and provisions. The next day, they marched to Fort Nassau to seize more shots, shells, and cannons. However, the failure of surprise the day before had warned the defenders and allowed the British governor to send off their stock of gunpowder in the night.

The war ended and the army and navy were disbanded. It was not until 1794 that the USMC was reformed. Congress created the United States Navy and the Marine Corps by the Act to provide a Naval Armament of March 27, 1794. They authorized the building of frigates for the navy and specified the numbers of Marines to be recruited for each frigate. Marines were enlisted by the War Department as early as August, 1797 for service in these frigates. Daniel Carmick and Lemuel Clerk were re-commissioned as Lieutenants of Marines on May 5, 1798. At this time the Marine Corps was to consist of a battalion of 500 privates, led by a major and a complement of officers and NCO’s. The next day, William Burrows was appointed a major. In the Quasi-War with Spain, Marines aboard the USS Constitution and other ships conducted raids in the waters off Hispaniola against the French and Spanish, making the first of many landings in Haiti and participating in the Battle of Puerto Plata Harbor.

Among the equipment Burrows inherited, was a stock of leftover blue uniforms with red trim, the basis for the modern Blue Dress uniform. When the capital moved to Washington City, in June 1800, Burrows was appointed Lieutenant Colonel Commandant of the Marine Corps; the first de jure Commandant, though Samuel Nicholas is traditionally accorded as the first de facto Commandant for his role as the most senior officer of the Continental Marines. In 1801, President Thomas Jefferson and Burrows rode horses about the new capital to find a place suitable for a Marine barracks near the Washington Navy Yard. They chose the land between 8th and 9th, and G and I streets and hired architect, George Hadfield, to design the barracks and Commandant’s House, in use today as Marine Barracks, Washington City. Burrows also founded the United States Marine Band from an act of Congress passed on July 11, 1798, which debuted at the President’s House on January 1, 1801 and has played for every presidential inauguration since.

The Marines’ most famous action of this period occurred in the First Barbary War (1801–1805) against the Barbary pirates, when William Eaton and First Lieutenant Presley O’Bannon led a group of eight Marines and 300 Arab and European mercenaries in an attempt to capture Tripoli. Though they only made it as far as Derne, Tripoli has been immortalized in the Marines’ Hymn. The Ottoman viceroy, Prince Hamet Karamanli, was so impressed with the Marines that on December 8, 1804, he presented a Mameluke sword to O’Bannon inscribed in memory of the Battle of Tripoli Harbor, a tradition continued today by the swords worn by Marine officers.

In May 1811, 2 officers and 47 Marines established an advanced base on Cumberland Island, Georgia, to be used for actions against pirates in Spanish Florida, and captured Fernandina on March 18, 1812 for occupation until May, 1813. This was the first peacetime overseas base of the United States. The War of 1812, saw the establishment of an advanced base at Sackets Harbor, New York, by 63 Marines. This gave the Navy a base on the shores of Lake Ontario, and later, headquartered their operations in the Great Lakes. Marines helped to repel two British attacks at the first and second Battle of Sackets Harbor). The Marines also established another base at Erie, Pennsylvania. Marine ship detachments took part in the great frigate duels of the war, the first American victories of the war. By the end of the war, Marines acquired a reputation as marksmen, especially in ship-to-ship actions. On April 27, 1813, Marines participated in US Army Colonel Winfield Scott’s landing at Toronto. Under Commodore Joshua Barney and Captain Samuel Miller, they acted to delay the British forces marching toward Washington at the Battle of Bladensburg. During the battle, they held the line after the Army and militia retreated, though they were eventually overrun. Tradition holds that the British respected their fighting enough to spare the Marine Barracks and Commandant’s house when they burned Washington. Though they may have intended to use it as a headquarter, a related legend cites that two NCOs buried treasure at the site, to prevent its capture, it is yet unfound. At the Battle of New Orleans, the Marines held the center of General Andrew Jackson’s defensive line. A total of 46 Marines would die and 66 were wounded in the war.

It was not until 1817, that the USMC, together with sailors and Army troops, were ordered to capture Amelia Island in Spanish Florida. On December 13, 1817, the marines served on foreign soil in Florida. The other most important thing to happen to the marines in 1817, was the birth of Christopher Merryweather in Port Royal, South Carolina.

1

I was born in the summer of 1817 in Port Royal, South Carolina. Our little town was founded by a French Huguenot expedition, led by Jean Ribault in 1562. It was the first European group to attempt to colonize what is now the State of South Carolina. Earlier Spanish expeditions had sighted the area, and named it Punta de Santa Elena, which now remains one of the oldest continuously used European place names in the United States. The French expedition built an outpost named Charlesfort, and Ribault left a small garrison as he returned to France for colonists and supplies. After a long absence, due to Ribault’s delay from wars in Europe, Charlesfort was abandoned after the garrison mutinied, built a ship on the island, and sailed back to France in April, 1563. In 1566, the Spanish, led by Pedro Menéndez de Avilés founded a settlement named Santa Elena which became the capital of La Florida for the next decade. Spain finally abandoned Santa Elena in 1587. England took control of the region by the 17th century, and land masses surrounding Port Royal Sound became home to British plantations after being purchased by Colonel Alexander Parris, treasurer of the South Carolina colony in 1715. From the 1720s, the land areas next to the sound were divided into a number of plantations initially growing indigo, then later cotton.

My father, Randal J. Merryweather, was a local merchant and owner of two shrimp boats that worked the waters off the coast of Beaufort County, South Carolina. My earliest memories are of the shops and the docks along the waterfront of Port Royal, South Carolina. The streets of our small village were hard packed sand, unless it was raining - and it rained often in Port Royal. When I was old enough to accompany my father from our house on Pilot’s Cove Street and walk with him to one of his shops, I thought I was really something. On one of these trips I met Jason Caldwell. His father, Robert Caldwell, owned Caldwell Shipping and Trading in Port Royal and he was a wealthy southern planter who owned a plantation across Port Royal Sound. He was also the South Carolina State Chairman of the Democratic Party. Jason’s father had helped convince John C. Calhoun to accept the nomination for Vice President in 1825, as running mate to President John Q. Adams and again in 1829, as running mate to Andrew Jackson. They lived in a large white house on Bay Street, Beaufort, South Carolina, that overlooked the inter-coastal waterway. They had the normal house servants, and a carriage house with horses and a couple of men who lived above the carriage house. They drove there family wherever they needed to go in the county.

By contrast, my father seemed to me to be a struggling merchant and he said Colonel Caldwell was a member of the southern aristocracy, while he was an up and coming young business man. We did not live in a large house with servants. We lived close to the docks in Port Royal. My parents had five children by 1829 and we did all the household tasks ourselves. My mother cooked, cleaned and ran the house. My father kept his own horses, drove his own wagon to work and town. Naturally, Jason and I became best friends.

Before I met Jason, my best friend was the Port Royal banker’s son, Henry Hudson. My father approved of Henry and he tolerated Jason. Years later, when I begged my father to join Jason on the clipper ships of Caldwell Shipping for one summer, my father said, You boys are not old enough for that kind of experience. If you and Jason want to spend time on ships, I will hire the two of you to work on one of the shrimp boats. They stay close to shore and you will both be safe.

Jason’s father thought that this was the perfect way to teach his son how to earn money on his own and to see what the working class did for a living. Jason’s father also thought one summer on a shrimp boat would be enough to make Jason appreciate his life of luxury and to further appreciate a college education. It did not work out as Jason’s father planned for him, he loved working on my father’s boats and he asked to work the next summer and the next. Finally, my father relented and let us both work on the Caldwell ships headed to Florida and Bermuda our last summer before college started.

Jason’s father was a college graduate, mine was not. We had spent our first summer together aboard my father’s shrimp boats and we watched the Caldwell ships, the Westwind, a schooner, the Oracle, a cutter, and the Spritewell, a galley, pass by us on their way to Amelia Island, Florida. All three Caldwell merchant ships were just large enough to make us yearn for a life at sea. That first summer working on the shrimp boats ended and we returned to school. During the school year, I did not see Jason much because he attended the Beaufort Academy preparatory school for entrance into South Carolina College, while Henry Hudson and I attended Port Royal elementary and secondary school. The year before I finished our last school year, Henry Hudson applied to South Carolina College in Columbia. Henry was a year older than me and his father wanted him to get a degree in financial management so that he could inherit the Port Royal Bank. Henry looked at me and said, I suppose you do not want to go to college, Christopher.

He was surprised to hear me say, I want very much to make application to West Point, but I do not know how that is done.

You have to contact your United States Senator in Washington City and have him write you a letter of introduction.

Jason Caldwell knows the new US Senator, J. C. Calhoun, from Charleston. I will talk to Jason or Colonel Caldwell about contacting him.

When I met both Jason and his father on the docks at Port Royal the next day, I mentioned it to both of them.

Leave it to me, Christopher. I should also include Jason in my letter of inquiry to Senator Calhoun. He does not seem interested in going to Columbia next year. He wants a career in the US Navy.

Jason and I have talked about going together, either to West Point or the USMA prep school in Bamberg, South Carolina, Colonel.

Governor Richardson has asked the State legislature to form a Military College of South Carolina. It would be located at the Citadel building on Marion Square in downtown Charleston. The Citadel would be army, Christopher, you and Jason could not qualify for sea duty from there.

Chris needs a way to enter the United States Marine Corps, and I need a way to enter the United States Navy as an officer, Father. Jason rarely talked directly to his father and his comments surprised me.

During the next few months we waited to see what, if any, influence Jason’s father might have with Senator John C. Calhoun. In the spring, Jason was rejected by both the Carlisle Military Academy in Bamberg and the newly formed Military College of South Carolina. A week later he was accepted by the United States Military Academy. I was accepted at Carlisle for one year and then on to West Point if my grades and deportment warranted it. Jason’s father said, Now, boys, we have to visit West Point so you can see what you have chosen and what type of institution has granted you acceptance. What do you know about West Point, Christopher?

I know what I have studied in school. It is the site of the United States Military Academy, as well as a military post. The entire post comprises 2300 acres of property, 2100 acres were purchased in 1790 and the remainder in 1826. I know it was an important military position during the American Revolution (1775-80). It is 1500 hundred feet above the Hudson and this was fortified at a total cost of 3,000,000 dollars by the Polish patriot, Kosciuszko, who was an army engineer. The fort at West Point defenses comprise a curious and massive iron chain, stretched across the channel from the Point to Constitution Island. At the disbandment of the army at the close of the war, West Point was designated as the depot for the storage of military property. In 1794, it was garrisoned by the Corps of Engineers. In 1802, it became a military academy to train army engineers and in 1826 two hundred acres were set aside for the training of general officers to serve in our military.

You are absolutely correct, Christopher. You know that Carlisle will prepare you for West Point and that transfer there will depend upon openings available at that time.

Yes, Sir.

Good, I have arranged for you and Jason to visit the 200 acres that you described as the campus. We will see the cadet barracks, academic buildings, library, superintendent’s office, mess hall, hospital and riding hall. We have an appointment to meet with the Superintendent, a Captain Sylvanus Thayer. I must warn you boys that my letters from Senator Calhoun do not sound hopeful. It seems that President Jackson is not pleased with the progress made by Superintendent Thayer to integrate other branches of the service into the academic curriculum or military training. He has ignored the Navy requests, for instance. He may be replaced before you get there, Jason, and he will surely be gone when you report a year later, Christopher. You boys understand?

Yes, Sir. We both said.

Jason’s father arranged with his headmaster at Beaufort and my father requested my teachers in Port Royal for us to be gone from school to visit West Point. They drove to Port Royal, picked me up, and we boarded the Westwind. We spent several days at sea, mostly close to shore as we hugged the North Carolina outer banks, Virginia’s and Maryland’s eastern shores. We sailed across Delaware Bay and passed Atlantic City and Newark, New Jersey. We entered New York Harbor and were within 50 miles of West Point. We kept to the right bank of the Hudson River and saw the Point in all its picturesqueness. The Hudson River was breaking through the highlands in a winding gap. The buildings were grouped upon a plateau of 200 acres at an elevation of 175 feet above the water.

We got permission to dock at the Point and asked for directions to the Superintendent’s office. We waited a few minutes before being asked to enter his office and he began his remarks. I want you to understand what you are about to see. Many young men, some famous, come to West Point and leave after just a short time. The most famous I can think of, is Edgar Allan Poe, who lasted only a few months. Last year, ‘31, saw 35 cadets leave the Point. A graduation class is less than 55 per year. So far this year, 24 cadets have called it quits.

My father asked us, " Do you two boys remember J. J. McMahan’s boy from Sumter, South Carolina? He quit, it may not be for you, boys. Write to me each month and let me know if I need to bring the Westwind up for you."

Your son’s letter of acceptance is based on the fact that he will leave here as a second lieutenant in the United States Corps of Engineers. After his graduation he may apply for acceptance into the United States Navy. This acceptance into the Navy will be based on how well he does in the summer cruises. He will still have a civil engineering degree and a position in the United States Army Corps of Engineers, no matter what the Navy decides.

He understands that. Jason’s father replied.

If I pass the first summer cruise, Father, I will travel with my class from Annapolis to West Point and you will not have to bring the schooner up for me.

Christopher, do you understand that your acceptance here at West Point is dependent upon how well you perform at Carlisle?

Yes, Sir.

Good, I have assigned your tour to a member of my staff, I hope to see both of you here at the Point in two years.

2

The Carlisle Military Academy located in Bamberg, South Carolina, is a two day ride by horse and buggy from Port Royal. My mother, father and I stayed all night in the Hampton Hotel. Hampton, South Carolina, was nearly half-way between our starting point and ending point. The first day of the journey, my father decided to give me a quick military history lesson.

You know, Christopher, in the earliest days of naval warfare, there was little distinction between sailors and soldiers, called marines, on a warship. The oarsmen of Ancient Greek and Roman ships had to be capable of fighting the rowers of opposing ships hand-to-hand.

My history teacher at Port Royal said hoplites began appearing on Greek ships specifically for the boarding of enemy ships. I wanted to show my father that I was not totally ignorant of ancient naval warfare.

What is a hoplite? My mother asked.

"A hoplite was a heavily armed foot solider of ancient Greece, Karen. And, Christopher, your teacher used the incorrect plural of hoplite. The Greek language does not have es, the correct plural for hoplite is hopla. The Greek for foot is hoplon and the hoplite is a solider on foot." My mother smiled at my father and put her arm through his and moved a little closer to him on the front seat of the buggy. I never let my father get ahead of me when it came to history and I plunged ahead with what I had learned in history that year.

The Roman Navy’s two legions, Adiutrix and Adiutrix II, were among the first distinct naval infantry units. After the decline of the Roman Empire, the origin of seafaring soldiers was lost throughout the archaic history of the world, being revived when the cannon became practical for use on naval vessels.

Tell your mother what ADIUTRIX means, Christopher.

I have no idea what it means, father, our teacher never told us.

Did you go and look it up in the dictionary? My father loved words and he always was sitting after dinner beside a kerosene lamp and reading page after page.

I think I remember reading that these were a tribe of people of Belgic, Gaul, dwelling in Julius Caesar’s time near the River Sambre and they were conquered by him in 57 B.C. The Adiutrix were decended from survivors of the Cimbri and Teutones after their defeat by Marius Caesar in 102-101 B.C.

Thank you. I doubt I will have to know that in order to become a United States Marine officer, Father. He laughed and asked me if I knew when the first organized corps of Marines was formed. I was ready for him.

"The first organized corps of Marines was created when Charles V first assigned the naval infantry of the Compañías Viejas del Mar de Nápoles (Naples Sea Old Companies) to the Escuadras de Galeras del Mediterráneo (Mediterranean Galley Squadrons) in 1537, progenitors of the current Infantería de Marina corps."

What about now, times that we live in. What have the US Marines done lately? My mother asked.

The history of the United States Marine Corps began with the founding of the Continental Marines, in 1775, to conduct ship-to-ship fighting. They provided shipboard security and discipline enforcement, and assisted in landing forces. Its mission evolved with changing military doctrine and foreign policy of the United States. Owing to the availability of Marine forces at sea, the United States Marine Corps has served in nearly every conflict in United States history.

Starting with the last conflict in 1817, the corps captured Amelia Island and Fernandina in Spanish Florida, December 23, 1817. Fernandina was occupied until Spain ceded Florida to the United States in 1821. In 1823, Marines also established an advanced base on Thompson’s Island, now called Key West, for Commodore David Porter to use against pirates around the island of Cuba. They garrisoned Pensacola, Florida in 1825 to use it as a base against pirates in the West Indies.

Working backward, the next conflict was the War of 1812. The Marine Corps’ first land action of the War of 1812 was the establishment of an advanced base at Sackets Harbor, New York, by 63 Marines. This gave the Navy a base on the shores of Lake Ontario, and later, headquartered their operations in the Great Lakes; Marines helped to repel two British attacks (the First and Second Battle of Sacket’s Harbor). The Marines also established another base at Erie, Pennsylvania. Marine ship detachments took part in the great frigate duels of the war, the first American victories of the war. By the end of the war Marines acquired a reputation as marksmen, especially in ship-to-ship actions. On April 27, 1813, Marines participated in United States Army Colonel Winfield Scott’s landing at York (now Toronto). Under Commodore Joshua Barney and Captain Samuel Miller, they acted to delay the British forces marching toward Washington at the Battle of Bladensburg. During the battle, they held the line after the Army and militia retreated, though were eventually overrun. Tradition holds that the British respected their fighting enough to spare the Marine Barracks and Commandant’s house when they burned Washington, though they may have intended to use it as a headquarters; a related legend cites that two NCOs buried treasure at the site (to prevent its capture) that is yet unfound. At the Battle of New Orleans, the Marines held the center of Gen Andrew Jackson’s defensive line. A total of 46 Marines would die and 66 were wounded in the war.

What about before the War of 1812? My father asked, he seemed interested in my command of the USMC history.

In May 1811, 2 officers and 47 Marines established an advanced base on Cumberland Island, Georgia, to be used for actions against pirates in Spanish Florida. They captured Fernandina the first time on March 18, 1812, for occupation until May 1813. This was the first peacetime foreign base of the United States.

What about before 1811? My mother was getting into the act.

That would be the Marines’ most famous action of this period. It occurred in the First Barbary War (1801–1805) against the Barbary pirates, when William Eaton and First Lieutenant Presley O’Bannon led a group of eight Marines and 300 Arab and European mercenaries in an attempt to capture Tripoli. Though they only made it as far as Derne, Tripoli has been immortalized in the Marines’ Hymn. The Ottoman viceroy, Prince Hamet Karamanli, was so impressed with the Marines that on December 8, 1804, he presented a Mameluke sword to O’Bannon inscribed in memory of the Battle of Tripoli Harbor, a tradition continued today by the swords worn by Marine officers.

What about before 1800? My father was pushing me now, I knew nothing of the history of the Marines during the American Revolution.

That would be in 1794 when it looked like the United States would go to war with France. In preparation for the possible conflict with France, Congress reformed the Continental Marine Corps into the USMC. The Act to provide a Naval Armament of 27 March 1794 authorized it. Marines were enlisted by the War Department as early as August 1797 for service in the United States Navy. Daniel Carmick and Lemuel Clerk were commissioned as Lieutenants of Marines on May 5, 1798. Under the Act for establishing and organizing a Marine Corps", signed on July 11, 1798, by President John Adams, the Marine Corps was to consist of a battalion of 500 privates, lead by a major and a complement of officers and NCO’s. The next day, William Ward Burrows I was appointed a major. In the Quasi-War, Marines aboard the USS Constitution and other ships conducted raids in the waters off Hispaniola against the French and Spanish, making the first of many landings in Haiti and participating in the Battle of Puerto Plata Harbor."

Did they accomplish their goals?

"Yes, among the equipment Burrows inherited was a stock of leftover blue uniforms with red trim, the basis for the modern USMC Blue Dress uniform. When the capital moved to Washington City in June 1800, Burrows was appointed Lieutenant Colonel Commandant of the Marine Corps; the first de jure Commandant, though Samuel Nicholas is traditionally accorded as the first de facto Commandant for his role as the most senior officer of the Continental Marines. In 1801, President Thomas Jefferson and Burrows rode horses about the new capital to find a place suitable for a Marine barracks near the Washington Navy Yard. They chose the land between 8th and 9th, and G and I streets and hired architect George Hadfield to design the barracks and the Commandant’s House, in use today as Marine Barracks, Washington. Burrows also founded the United States Marine Band from an act of Congress passed on July 11, 1798, which debuted at the President’s House on 1 January 1801 and has played for every presidential inauguration since."

Christopher, I think you are ready to begin your study here at Carlisle Military Academy. Let us hope that they ask you a lot of questions about the Marine Corps. All three of us began laughing.

I did not sleep very well in the Hampton Hotel that night. Several reasons, I suppose; I had never been in a hotel before and I had never laid eyes on Carlisle Military Academy. I had visited West Point with Colonel Caldwell and Jason, so I had a good idea of what waited for me in one year’s time. I had a bad dream about walking into the commandant’s office and there sat Captain Sylvanus Thayer.

Hello, Christopher. Do you remember me from your visit to the Point last spring?

Yes, Sir. Are you here visiting Carlisle?

No, Plebe. President Jackson dismissed me before the fall term began and the folks here at Carlisle had the good sense to hire me. He got out of his chair and began pacing back and forth. I am really concerned that the students here become quality military engineers. Now that the Point will not devote its entire energy to the production of the Corps of Engineers - I will need to supply them from Carlisle.

But, Sir, Carlisle is a military high school with one year preparation after the 12th grade for admission to West Point. How can you train engineers in only one year?

Who told you that, Chris? I can call you, Chris, now that you are enrolled in your first year of engineering. You are really going to be tested in your four years here, Chris. How much science and mathematics did you get at the Beaufort Academy, Chris?

I did not go to the Beaufort Academy, Sir. I lived in Port Royal.

Ah, yes, my mistake. Port Royal Sound home of Fort Walker and Fort Beauregard. I did some engineering work at Beauregard, did you know that, Chris? I visited your father at his plantation when I worked there. The Colonel was a credit to his company during the last war.

Sir, I think you have me confused with Jason Caldwell. We both visited you in your office at West Point. Colonel Caldwell brought us to see the campus.

Ah, yes, my mistake. The Hudson River is so pretty this time of year. What did you think of it when you arrived yesterday? No matter, Chris, we need to get going or you will be late for your enrollment.

Chris, wake-up, we need to get going or you will be late for your enrollment. My eyes flew open and it was my father shaking me awake. It was September 3, 1833, and we were on our way to Bamberg, South Carolina, so that I could attend a preparatory year before entrance into the USMA, West Point.

Jason and I were each other’s built-in support for surviving that last summer. We wrote letters back and forth. He was on his summer cruise and would leave Annapolis with other survivors to help create the 1833 Plebe Class at West Point. He had sent me three letters during his cruise.

Dear Chris,

I hope you get this letter whenever you are in port. I should have stayed in Port Royal and worked with you on my father’s three cargo ships before you reported to Bamberg and Carlisle. Father and I left Port Royal and arrived safely in Baltimore, Maryland. He bought me a ticket on a new mode of transportation, called a railroad, which consisted of two parallel tracks and a Baltimore and Ohio steam engine that pulled a series of box like cars into Annapolis, Maryland. As you remember, I was accepted at West Point only if I pass my summer cruise duties. My entire belongings were stuffed in a sea bag that I had used on our summer jobs. I thought I looked very seaworthy. The train pulled into the Baltimore station, my father shook my hand and said, Jason, write to your mother as often as you can.

I was trying to get my sea bag into the seat beside me when I met other cadets going to Annapolis. Their names are John Campbell, Alexander Bowman and Benjamin Hagood. Ben is from Savannah. We struck up a conversation.

What does you father do?

He owns a small shipping business, just three ships. I think he started it was because it was difficult to get goods to and from our plantation.

My, lord. Your family owns a plantation? You must be filthy rich!

No, my friend, Robert Whitehall, is filthy rich. My father gave me a hundred dollars before I got on the train and said it had to last me until next term.

At least your father gave you money, mine gave me advice!

The conversation lasted just long enough for the train to enter a platform like structure with a sign over it which read, Naval Training Depot. We got off the train with our bags and stood on the train platform in Annapolis. We were two wide eyed southern boys nominated by our home US senators to serve our country as Naval Cadets, US Military Academy. We were standing around waiting for someone to meet us and take us to the US Naval Depot. A sergeant of some kind and an officer came striding up to us. The officer was stern looking and yelled at the top of his voice, All you men that have arrived as first year cadets will come to attention! None of us had ever been in the service of our country before, so we stopped talking and paid attention to him.

What the hell is this? The sergeant yelled. I am Master Chief Gunnerman! When a United States Naval Officer commands you to come to attention, you will place whatever is in your hands two inches from your right ankle, you will suck in that flabby excuse for a gut, square your shoulders and stare two inches above his head. You will then cause your right arm to extend upward, bent at the elbow and give your best imitation of a boy scout salute.

Master Chief Gunnerman scared the shit out us. We jumped into a straight line and attempted to come to attention. Ben screamed, Yeas, Sir. in his best southern drawl.

You do not, ‘Yeas, Sir me,’ you dumb ass. I am not an officer. The proper response is aye, aye.

Aye, aye, Sir! We all yelled at the top of our voices.

Master Chief Gunnerman turned to his officer and said, Sir, they are hopeless, I will throw their ass’s back on the train and send them back to where they came from.

And that Chris sums up how things are going on my wonderful summer cruise.

More later,

Jason C.

I wrote letters back to him during the long sails between ports and I rushed to the Port Royal Post Office whenever I was home to see if another letter was waiting for me. I told Jason to write in care of me at general delivery so that his letters would not be delivered to my parent’s house. His second letter was a continuation of the first.

Dear Chris,

Where did I leave off? Was it Master Chief Gunnerman’s speech to the troops? I think so, here goes. The Master Chief smiled and said, The pleasantries are over, you bunch of maggots. Hoist you gear and fall in a straight line.

We fumbled around for our belongings, clutched them to our chests and tried to form a line. What the hell is this? Hoist your gear, means throw it on your shoulder, I am not going to show you babies how to do things. I am NOT your mother! Form a line of three abreast. He shouted. We marched, sort of, off the train platform and down a brick covered street. I had never seen bricks on a street before. There were cobble stones on the streets of Savannah, but Beaufort had hard packed, red clay streets that became very slippery when it rained. We marched down side streets until we came to a rough collection of wooden buildings at the water’s edge. We took our gear into a building that looked like it was a hundred years old. It was. It was built in 1730. The floors were dirty, windows broken out in places and completely bare of any furnishings.

Drop your bags, maggots!

We piled them into a corner and stood waiting for instructions. You need to follow me to the supply warehouse. Line up single file. Step forward as I call your name. The master chief had produced from somewhere, a hand full of paper name tags and he began calling the names of the 1833 cadets assigned to the summer cruise.

A summer cruise sounds like you might be headed for a nice sail down the Chesapeake and into the Atlantic Ocean. This summer cruise was boot camp. We each had a name tag and followed Master Chief Gunnerman to the supply warehouse. He turned us over to the Navy personnel for processing. First we stripped off every bit of clothing that was on our bodies. The thirty-three boys and men stood around trying not to be self-conscious, until we were called to pickup our Navy underwear. It was an odd shade of gray and had the following stamped on the back of each piece. US Navy Depot, 1812.

Jason, these things are older than we are. Ben whispered.

Only by five years. I replied straight faced. We pulled them over our heads and up over our legs and waited.

Step forward, go behind the curtain so the doctor can examine you.

We each passed the doctor’s probe and were issued sailcloth shirts, pants and a real sailor’s white cap. We were will still barefooted. We were issued 1812 socks and white canvas shoes that were stiff as boards. We were now fully dressed and we filed through another line to pick up a second issue of everything we had on our bodies. By this time, Master Chief Gunnerman was back with a smile on his face. You will take your second set of Navy issues back to your barracks and place them inside your bags. The empty warehouse with the broken windows was the barracks. When we had done this the Master Chief said we should clean out the barracks so that our cots could be brought over from supply. He handed us each a bucket, a bar of soap and a stiff brush. Now the object of this exercise is make the ceiling, walls and floor so clean you can eat off them. Walk down to the water, dip your bucket and get your water. Return here and begin scrubbing.

We did. The rest of that day, that night and part of the next day. None of us had slept. We were getting punchy and light headed. We needed food and water. Master Chief Gunnerman, finally appeared for inspection and said. You maggots are going to make some women very happy in later life. This is the cleanest barracks I have ever seen. Fall out for showers, take your second set of utilities and get ready to go over to mess. We are short two members, maggots. Where are they?

Over on the pile of bags in the corner, Chief.

You thirty-one awake ones head for the showers and get into clean utilities, you stink!

I had never tasted anything so good in my life. What is this we are eating? Asked Ben.

Mystery meat cut up in gravy over some sort of dried bread. I replied. The Chief showed up minus the two sleepers and we never saw them again. Supply showed up with folding cots so we could arrange them along the outside walls and get some much needed sleep. A cot had never felt so good, I slept soundly until 5 am the next morning when the Chief returned banging a metal garbage can and screaming something none of us could understand. When he finally calmed down he explained that we should be up every morning at 5 am ready for inspection. What he was going to inspect, we did not know until he showed us. Where we had taken our showers was a mess. We spent most of the day cleaning the latrines and shower heads, removing mold and mildew. We passed through mess again, ate the same stuff, whatever it was. Everyone was afraid to ask until someone dubbed it, shit on a shingle.

I hope things get better,

Jason C.

My letters were not as interesting as Jason’s. He was a good writer, in fact he would rather write a letter than have a conversation. This was particularly true with his father. I would always talk first and write second. Jason’s final letter could have been part of an adventure novel.

Dear Chris,

The next afternoon we were taken on a march around the Naval Depot, we ran down the docks and back as fast as we could. We saw six ships that looked like they had been moth balled since the American Revolution. We were not far off. They were decomissioned in 1813. A decomissioned ship is removed from the list of ships available to the Secretary of the Navy and placed on ready reserve. Ready reserve can mean everything from men stationed aboard to keep the ship fit or what we saw at the ends of the docks at the naval training depot in the summer of 1833. Congress had decided, after the American Revolution, that the United States did not need an Army or a Navy. Army equipment, of all types, was stored at West Point and Navy ships were stored at naval depots all along the eastern seaboard. The War of 1812, with England, pointed out the errors of our ways and we kept the Army and let the Navy sit on ready reserve. Thirty-one hands came aboard the USS Spitfire, built in 1797 as a brig and used heavily during the War of 1812. Since 1812, she had seen little attention.

You will report every day to Commander Jensen until the Spitfire is made sea worthy, maggots. The Chief turned and left us with the oldest looking man we had ever seen.

Hello, how many of you have served on a merchant marine ship of this class? He waited and all of us raised our hands. What would be the first thing you would do to make this ship sea worthy? He asked Ben Hagood.

I would ask for volunteers to swim under the hull and check for sea worm damage and breaks in the planking, Sir!

Very good, seaman. He walked over and read Ben’s name tag. Cadet Hagood, pick two volunteers to go with you and go under this excuse for a war ship.

Sir?

Strip down to your birthday suits and get in the water. He motioned for me and John Campbell to volunteer with Ben. We did.

Take breathing hoses with you, cadets, the water is not clear enough to see everything, use your fingers and hands to find weak spots.

We spent the next hour or two inspecting the hull of the Spitfire. Unknown to us, the rest of the cadets were under the hulls of the rest of the ships at Annapolis, USS New Haven, USS Trumbull, USS Providence, USS Nelson and USS Somerset. Not a single ship had a solid hull, yet they floated on the water like they were in ready reserve.

You thirty-one volunteers are going to learn how to pack off worm holes, mend broken planks from the inside of the holds, and make each of these vessels ready to sail. The first man here on my right is a ship’s carpenter, on his right is a naval architect, on his right is a ship’s wright. You will get detailed instructions on how to fill worm holes, boil pitch, saw timbers and make metal fittings of all types.

We all slept soundly that night and at 5 am we were up out of our cots, dressed and ready for inspection. Good morning, maggots. Today, I am to bring you thirty-one down to the docks for your lesson on ship careening. Get over to mess and down to the docks by 0600. Master Chief left us standing at attention. We finished mess and walked down to where the USS New Haven was docked. Commander Jensen was waiting for us.

Good morning, cadets. The New Haven is the smallest of the Annapolis fleet and in the worst shape. If we can get her sea worthy, the others will follow. Who were the swimmers who went under her yesterday?

We were, sir. Answered Alex Bowman and Tom Gibson.

Did you notice the temporary repairs to the hull?

We noticed that pieces of canvas were lowered under the hull and tied with ropes. The canvas appeared to be smeared with tar.

That is correct, Cadet Gibson, the process is called ‘fothering’ and it is a poor excuse for proper repair. We need to make repairs to the hull by careening this vessel. I need a volunteer to climb the main mast with this rope and pulley set.

Several cadets stepped forward and Commander Jensen sent one up the mast to attach one end of the pulley system to a metal hook. He stood below bellowing orders on how to attach the pulley so that he could carry the other end of the block and tackle to a hook inset into the surface of the repair dock. Once this was done, he grabbed the middle rope of the pulley and walked over to a capstan and fastened the rope in place. I need four large volunteers or eight small fry to turn this capstan.

Four of us got on each of the capstan bars and began to push. Slowly the two pulleys began to come toward each other and the New Haven began