A Brief History of The Marine Corps
- 1775, November 10 The Continental Congress authorizes the creation of two battalions of Continental Marines. The birthday of the Corps.
- 1776, March The Marines take part in their first-ever amphibious landing.
- 1777 Marines fight ashore in the Battle of Princeton alongside the Continental Army.
- 1783, April The Revolutionary War ends with the Treaty of Paris. Both the Marines and Navy are disbanded.
- 1798 Marine Corps is officially reinstated.
- 1805 Lt. O’Bannon is awarded the Mameluke sword by the Pasha of Tripoli.
- 1812 The War of 1812.
- 1820 Archibald Henderson takes the position of CMC.
- 1847, SeptemberThe bloody Battle of Chapultec takes place. The blood stripe on the Blue Dress trousers of NCOs and above is supposed to commemorate this battle.
- 1861 The Civil War prompts many Marine officers to switch to the Confederate Marines.
- 1868, November An emblem which closely resembles the present one is adopted.
- 1898 The Spanish-American War.
- 1900 The Boxer Rebellion. During this year, a yound private named Dan Daly earns his first of two medals of honor.
- 1914 Another Corps hero, Smedly Butler, earns his first medal of honor. Also during this year, Wendell Neville, later to become the 14th CMC, is awarded the medal of honor.
- 1917 World War I.
- 1918, August 13 The first female Marine, Opha Johnson, enlists.
- 1941-45 World War II. The casulaties total 93,996. Approximately 2,000 of these are POWs.
- 1950 The Korean War
- 1954, November 10 The Iwo Jima Memorial, located at Arlington National Cemetary in Virginia, is dedicated.
- 1962 The Vietnam War. Total casualties number more than 100,00 Marines.
- 1979, November Marines are taken hostage in Iran
- 1983 The Genada Operation. There were a total of 18 Marines killed during this operation.
- 1990-91 The Gulf War.
Back to The Marine Corps Resource | Email the Author
This page hosted by
Get your own Free Home Page
© 1997, 1998 D.B.