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| | | commandant = General Eric Smith (acting) | | | commandant = General Eric Smith (acting) |
| | | smusmc = Sergeant Major Carlos A. Ruiz | | | smusmc = Sergeant Major Carlos A. Ruiz |
| − | }}The '''United States Marine Corps''' (USMC) is a branch of the [[United States]] armed forces. Resolutions of the [[Continental Congress]] established the United States Marine Corps on November 10, 1775. The official mission of the U.S. Marine Corps was established in the National Security Act of 1947, amended in 1952.<ref>{{cite web |title=United States Marine Corps (USMC) Mission and Organization Fundamentals |url=http://www.lejeune.usmc.mil/2dfssg/med/files/103.htm |publisher=Camp Lejeune |author=USMC |date= |accessdate= }}</ref><ref>Unclassified National Security Act of 1947. [http://intelligence.senate.gov/nsaact1947.pdf (PDF)],</ref> Marines are trained, organized and equipped for offensive amphibious employment and as a "force in readiness." The Marine Corps motto is ''[[Semper Fidelis]] ("always faithful")''.<ref>{{cite web |title=Marine Corps Motto |url=http://www.usmcpress.com/heritage/marine_corps_motto.htm |publisher=USMC Heritage |author=USMC Press |date= |accessdate= }}</ref> The U.S. Marine Corps operates under the United States [[Department of the Navy]], alongside the [[U.S. Navy]]. | + | }}The '''United States Marine Corps''' (USMC) is an elite branch of the [[United States]] armed forces. Resolutions of the [[Continental Congress]] established the United States Marine Corps on November 10, 1775. The official mission of the U.S. Marine Corps was established in the National Security Act of 1947, amended in 1952.<ref>{{cite web |title=United States Marine Corps (USMC) Mission and Organization Fundamentals |url=http://www.lejeune.usmc.mil/2dfssg/med/files/103.htm |publisher=Camp Lejeune |author=USMC |date= |accessdate= }}</ref><ref>Unclassified National Security Act of 1947. [http://intelligence.senate.gov/nsaact1947.pdf (PDF)],</ref> Marines are trained, organized and equipped for offensive amphibious employment and as a "force in readiness." The Marine Corps motto is ''[[Semper Fidelis]] ("always [[faith]]ful", abbreviated as "Semper Fi")''.<ref>{{cite web |title=Marine Corps Motto |url=http://www.usmcpress.com/heritage/marine_corps_motto.htm |publisher=USMC Heritage |author=USMC Press |date= |accessdate= }}</ref> The U.S. Marine Corps operates under the United States [[Department of the Navy]], alongside the [[U.S. Navy]]. |
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| − | Concerned almost exclusively with shipboard security service and amphibious warfare in its formative years, the U.S. Marine Corps has evolved with war-tested, enhanced military strategies and [[American foreign policy]]; the Marines fill a unique, multi-purpose role within the modern United States [[military]]. By the early 20th century, the United States Marine Corps had become one of the most elite military forces in the world used for amphibious warfare. Its ability to rapidly respond to regional crises continues to make it an important body in the implementation and execution of [[American]] [[foreign policy]]. | + | Concerned almost exclusively with shipboard security service and amphibious warfare in its formative years, the U.S. Marine Corps has evolved with war-tested, enhanced military strategies and [[American foreign policy]]; the Marines fill a unique, multi-purpose role within the modern United States [[military]]. By the early 20th century, the United States Marine Corps had become one of the most elite military forces in the world, used for amphibious warfare. Its ability to rapidly respond to regional crises continues to make it an important body in the implementation and execution of [[American]] [[foreign policy]]. |
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| | Each year, the Marine Corps marks November 10 with a [[celebration]] of the brave spirit which compelled these men and thousands since to defend the [[country]] as United States Marines. | | Each year, the Marine Corps marks November 10 with a [[celebration]] of the brave spirit which compelled these men and thousands since to defend the [[country]] as United States Marines. |
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| | Congress decided that [[General Washington]] needed those arms more than [[General Howe]]. A plan was hatched to capture the British cargo ships. They authorized the creation of a Continental Navy, starting with four ships. The frigate that carried the information from England, the Black Prince, was one of the four. It was purchased, converted to a man-of-war, and renamed to Alfred. To accompany the Navy on their first mission, Congress also authorized the mustering of five companies of Marines. The Alfred and its sailors and marines went on to achieve some of the most notable victories of the [[American Revolution]]. | | Congress decided that [[General Washington]] needed those arms more than [[General Howe]]. A plan was hatched to capture the British cargo ships. They authorized the creation of a Continental Navy, starting with four ships. The frigate that carried the information from England, the Black Prince, was one of the four. It was purchased, converted to a man-of-war, and renamed to Alfred. To accompany the Navy on their first mission, Congress also authorized the mustering of five companies of Marines. The Alfred and its sailors and marines went on to achieve some of the most notable victories of the [[American Revolution]]. |
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| − | What's most patriotic about this story is of the symbols some of the Marines were seen with before and during these crucial battles: the [[Gadsden Flag]].<ref>Cpl. Scott Schmidt. [http://marinesmagazine.dodlive.mil/2010/06/28/the-gadsden-flag-’don’t-tread-on-me’/ The Gadsden Flag: ’Don’t Tread on Me’], ''Marines Magazine'', June 28, 2010, (Accessed January 25, 2012).</ref> The symbol of this flag serves as a warning and sign, first seen against an overbearing - and increasingly hostile - Federal government. By 1775, the snake symbol wasn't just being printed in newspapers. It was appearing all over the colonies; it appeared on uniform buttons, on paper money, and of course, on banners and flags. At the birth of the [[U.S. Navy]] and the U.S. Marine Corps, what's particularly interesting for American history, is that some of the Marines that enlisted the very first month in Philadelphia were carrying drums painted yellow, emblazoned with a fierce rattlesnake, coiled and ready to strike, with thirteen rattles, and sporting the motto "Don't Tread on Me."<ref>Chris Whitten. [http://www.foundingfathers.info/stories/gadsden.html#birth The birth of the U.S. Navy and the U.S. Marine Corps], FoundingFathers.info, July 05, 2001, updated September 2002.</ref><ref>http://www.worldwar2history.info/Marines/</ref><ref>[http://www.gadsden.info/history.html Gadsden Flag History]</ref> | + | What's most patriotic about this story is of the symbols some of the Marines were seen with before and during these crucial battles: the [[Gadsden Flag]].<ref>Cpl. Scott Schmidt. [http://marinesmagazine.dodlive.mil/2010/06/28/the-gadsden-flag-’don’t-tread-on-me’/ The Gadsden Flag: ’Don’t Tread on Me’], ''Marines Magazine'', June 28, 2010, (Accessed January 25, 2012).</ref> The symbol of this flag serves as a warning and sign, first seen against an overbearing - and increasingly hostile - federal government. By 1775, the snake symbol was no longer merely being printed in newspapers. It was appearing all over the colonies; it appeared on uniform buttons, on paper money, and of course, on banners and flags. At the birth of the [[U.S. Navy]] and the U.S. Marine Corps, what's particularly interesting for American history, is that some of the Marines that enlisted the very first month in Philadelphia were carrying drums painted yellow, emblazoned with a fierce rattlesnake, coiled and ready to strike, with thirteen rattles, and sporting the motto "Don't Tread on Me."<ref>Chris Whitten. [http://www.foundingfathers.info/stories/gadsden.html#birth The birth of the U.S. Navy and the U.S. Marine Corps], FoundingFathers.info, July 05, 2001, updated September 2002.</ref><ref>http://www.worldwar2history.info/Marines/</ref><ref>[http://www.gadsden.info/history.html Gadsden Flag History]</ref> |
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| | === Famous Battles === | | === Famous Battles === |
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| | ==== To The Shores of Tripoli ==== | | ==== To The Shores of Tripoli ==== |
| − | In 1805, the United States government refused to meet the monetary demands of Barbary Coast [[pirates]] - a threat made by the pirates to refrain from raiding American merchant ships. Negotiations for a treaty failed. Thus, President [[Thomas Jefferson]] assembled an expeditionary force of Marines to respond. Lieutenant Presley O'Bannon led his Marines across 600 miles of the Libyan Desert and successfully stormed the fortified Tripolitan city of Derna. Notably recalled in the first verse of the Marines Hymn, "From the Halls of Montezuma to the shores of Tripoli; we fight our country’s battles in the air, on land and sea,"<ref>{{cite web |title=The Marines Hymn |url=http://www.tricitymarines.com/hymn.htm }}</ref> the Battle of Derna was the Marines first battle on foreign soil and is a legendary expedition. | + | In 1805, the United States government refused to meet the monetary demands of the Barbary Coast [[pirates]] - a threat made by the pirates to refrain from raiding American merchant ships. Negotiations for a treaty failed. Thus, President [[Thomas Jefferson]] assembled an expeditionary force of Marines to respond. Lieutenant Presley O'Bannon led his Marines across 600 miles of the Libyan Desert and successfully stormed the fortified Tripolitan city of Derna. Notably recalled in the first verse of the Marines Hymn, "From the Halls of Montezuma to the shores of Tripoli; we fight our country’s battles in the air, on land and sea,"<ref>{{cite web |title=The Marines Hymn |url=http://www.tricitymarines.com/hymn.htm }}</ref> the Battle of Derna was the Marines first battle on foreign soil and is a legendary expedition. |
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| | ==== The Halls of Montezuma ==== | | ==== The Halls of Montezuma ==== |