Act Establishing and Organizing the Marine Corps:
Acts of the Fifth Congress, Second Session, Chapter LXXIX (1 Stat. 594-596) published by William Ross, Philadelphia, 1798.
The same year that the Department of the Navy was created, the Marine Corp was established as a distinct military service. The Continental Marines were originally founded in 1775 to conduct ship to ship fighting, provide naval security, and enforce discipline, but were disbanded after the Revolutionary War. During the Quasi-War with France in the late 1790’s President Adams reconstituted a standing Army, created the Department of the Navy and reestablished the Marines.
Pictured below is the Marine Corps War Memorial (the Iwa Jima memorial), which was dedicated in 1954 by President Eisenhower. The base of the statute is engraved with the name of every major battle involving the Marine Corps since 1775.
The initial corp consisted of one major, four captains, sixteen first lieutenants, twelve second lieutenants, forty-eight sergeants, forty-eight corporals, forty-eight drums and fifes, and seven hundred twenty privates.
According to the Act establishing and organizing the Marine Corps, the Marines shall “at any time be liable to do duty in the forts and garrisons of the United States, on the feacoast, or any other duty or fhore, as the Prefident, at his difcretion, fhall direct.”
During the Quasi-War with France, the USS Constitution (Old Ironsides) and its Marines conducted raids against the French and Spanish off the island of Hispaniola and participated in the Battle of Puerto Plata Harbor.
The Act Establishing and Organizing the Marine Corps was adopted as part of a trifecta of laws by the Fifth Congress, which was bracing for war: the Act Establishing the Department of the Navy, the Marine Corps Act, and the Naval Armament Act.
The Act Establishing the Department of the Navy (1 Stat. 553-554) created the Secretary of the Navy as a new cabinet level officer to head the new Department of the Navy. The Secretary was also charged with construction and procurement duties.
The Naval Armament Act (1 Stat. 552) authorized the President to build, purchase or hire up to 12 navel vessels. The ships were to be outfitted with as many as 21 guns. The Act further provided for the President to appoint officers for said vessels to be used in the nation’s defense, as the country was bracing for war with France.
The Marine Corps Act (1 Stat. 594-596) organized the Marines into a separate and distinct military service. The Marine Corps Act remained in place for 149 years, with only minor changes until the National Security Act of 1947 (61 Stat. 495-510) which reorganized the War and Navy Departments under the Secretary of Defense. The 1947 Act provided for separately administered Departments of the Army, Navy and Air Force, under the “general direction, authority and control” of the Secretary of Defense. The 1947 Act also established the Joint Chiefs of Staff as the principle military advisors to the President and Secretary of Defense, along with the National Security Council, Central Intelligence Agency, and the National Security Resources Board.
Background: November 10, 1775, is commonly celebrated as the birthday of the Marine Corps. Nevertheless, the Navy wasn’t officially established as its own branch until 23 years later. On July 11, 1798, President John Adams signed the Act “Establishing and Organizing a Marine Corps” as a separate branch of the military.
After the conclusion of the American Revolution, the Continental Congress dissolved the Marines and Continental Navy after the signing of the Treaty of Paris in 1783.
The Marine Corps Act remained in place for 149 years, with only minor changes until the National Security Act of 1947 (61 Stat. 495-510) which reorganized the War and Navy Departments under the Secretary of Defense. The 1947 Act provided for separately administered Departments of the Army, Navy and Air Force, under the “general direction, authority and control” of the Secretary of Defense. The 1947 Act also established the Joint Chiefs of Staff as the principle military advisors to the President and Secretary of Defense, along with the National Security Council, Central Intelligence Agency, and the National Security Resources Board.
Click here for a link to the 1798 Act Establishing and Organizing the Marine Corps:
Click here for a link to the 1794 Act to Provide a Naval Armament:
