U.S. Marines Corps Celebrate Its Anniversary
Keeping the United States Safe for 234 Years
On November 10, 2009, the U.S. Marine Corps celebrated its 234th anniversary. Much has happened since that committee of the Continental Congress met at Tun Tavern to draft a resolution that brought two battalions of Marines into being.
The resolution was approved on Nov. 10, 1775, officially forming the Continental Marines. Their first battle took place a few weeks later in 1776. Ironically the number of marines in that first foray fits the number of years just celebrated -- 234.
First US Marine Corps Battle
During the American Revolution, 234 marines headed to Fort Nassau in the Bahamas to acquire the large British store of military supplies and ammunition. According to information on the official U.S. Marines website: “Within minutes of the Marines' arrival, the British troops surrendered. And Capt Nicholas successfully acquired cannons and other military stores.”
The marines were organized to fight on the sea as well as the land and after the Revolutionary War, thoughts turned to commerce and the enemy became pirates who would attack U.S. merchant ships and either kidnap crews and demand ransom or worse.
To the Shores of Tripoli
Most every American has heard the Marine’s Hymn. In the first verse, it refers to an 1805 battle Marines waged against the Barbary Coast pirates and rescued the kidnapped crew of the USS Philadelphia. “Lieutenant Presley O'Bannon and his Marines marched across 600 miles of the Libyan Desert to successfully storm the fortified Tripolitan city of Derna and rescue the kidnapped crew.”
Because the Marines’ victory helped the ruler of Tripoli, Prince Hamet Bey, reclaim his rightful throne, Bey presented his Mameluke sword to Lt. O’Bannon.
This battle is now remembered in the Marine’s Hymn with these words: "From the Halls of Montezuma to the shores of Tripoli, we fight our country’s battles in the air, on land and sea." And the Mameluke sword became part of the officer uniform in 1825, the oldest ceremonial weapon in use by United States forces today.
From the Halls of Montezuma
And to what do the words ‘From the Halls of Montezuma’ refer? During the Mexican-American War, in 1847, the Marines stormed the enemy fortress during the Battle of Chapultepec, gained control of the Palacio Nacional or the castle better known as the ‘Halls of Montezuma.’ This war helped define the boundaries between the United States and Mexico and this battle provided a turning point in the Mexican army’s effectiveness.
Other tidbits of historic interest in the Marine Corps’ illustrious musical history include the man John Phillips Sousa, known as the March King, and the composer who perfected a rousing march. He was apprenticed to the Marine Corps marching band at the age of 13 and became head of the marching band in 1880. He wrote the official march of the Marine Corps: Semper Fidelis.
Devil Dogs and Iwo Jima
Through the years the Marine Corps expanded its abilities to fight, adding the first Marine Aviation in 1912. In 1918, the Marine Corps acquired a nickname from their World War II enemies who were defeated after 20 days of relentless battering by the marine forces that had taken heavy casualties, but fought on. The German soldiers referred to them as ‘Teufelhunden’ or ‘Devil Dogs.’
In the 1940s the Battle of Iwo Jima gave Marines their reputation as indestructible and the famous photo (included with this article) taken by Joe Rosenthal that signified the Marine Corps courage and determination as well as reverence for their country’s flag.
The years bring more highlights and memories and examples of valor. For more information visit the U.S. Marines official website.
Iwo Jima Flag Raising
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