Block, SkipCaptcha, Automoderated users, edit
2,206
edits
Changes
Jump to navigation
Jump to search
Line 21:
Line 21: − + + + + + + + + + + + + + + +
→Founding of the Marine Corps: Gadsden Flag history and the Marine Corps
== History ==
== History ==
=== Founding of the Marine Corps ===
=== Founding of the Marine Corps ===
During the [[American Revolution]], some of the most important political discussions took place in the inns and taverns of [[Philadelphia]]. To support the 13 colonies in the struggle for [[independence]], a committee of the [[Continental Congress]] met at [[Tun Tavern]] to draft a resolution calling for two battalions of Marines able to fight for independence at sea and on shore. The resolution was approved on November 10, 1775, officially forming the Continental Marines.<ref>http://www.usmcpress.com/heritage/usmc_heritage.htm</ref>
During the [[American Revolution]], some of the most important political discussions took place in the inns and taverns of [[Philadelphia]]. To support the 13 colonies in the struggle for [[independence]], a committee of the [[Continental Congress]] met at [[Tun Tavern]] to draft a resolution calling for two battalions of Marines able to fight for independence at sea and on shore. The resolution was approved on November 10, 1775, officially forming the Continental Marines.<ref>http://www.usmcpress.com/heritage/usmc_heritage.htm</ref>
Samuel Nicholas became Commandant of the newly formed Marines, and Tun Tavern’s owner and popular [[patriot]], Robert Mullan, became his first captain and recruiter. They began recruiting to gather support and were ready for action by early 1776. Since then, the Marine Corps has been winning battles and defending the [[United States of America]].
Samuel Nicholas became Commandant of the newly formed Marines, and Tun Tavern’s owner and popular [[patriot]], Robert Mullan, became his first captain and recruiter. They began recruiting to gather support and were ready for action by early 1776. Since then, the Marine Corps has been winning battles and defending the [[United States of America]].
[[File:Gadsden flag.png|right|125px]]
==== The Gadsden Flag ====
By 1775, at the birth of the [[U.S. Navy]] and the U.S. Marine Corps in Philadelphia, the first Marines recruited may have been the first [[American]] citizens to combine the rattlesnake symbol, seen on the [[Gadsden Flag]], with a defiant "Don't Tread on Me" slogan.<ref name=marinehistoryII>Chris Whitten. [http://www.foundingfathers.info/stories/gadsden.html Don't Tread on Me], ''The history of the Gadsden flag and how the rattlesnake became a symbol of American independence;'' The birth of the U.S. Navy and the U.S. Marine Corps, July 05, 2001.</ref><ref>http://www.worldwar2history.info/Marines/</ref>
In the fall of 1775, the British were occupying Boston and the young Continental Army was holed up in Cambridge, extremely short on arms and ammunition. At the [[Battle of Bunker Hill]], Washington's troops had been so low on gunpowder that they were ordered "not to fire until you see the whites of their eyes." In October, a merchant ship called The Black Prince returned to Philadelphia from a voyage to [[England]]. On board were private letters to the Second [[Continental Congress]] that informed them that the British government was sending two ships to America loaded with arms and gunpowder for the [[British]] troops.
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 the 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]]. What's most patriotic about this story is of symbols some of the Marines were seen with during these crucial battles: the Gadsden Flag. The symbol of this flag serves as a warning and sign, first seen against an overbearing - and increasingly hostile - Federal government.
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 name=marinehistoryII/>
=== Famous Battles ===
=== Famous Battles ===