The Marine Corps Birthday is observed on November 10. It was created on November 10, 1921 by the U.S. Government to show appreciation for the United States Marines. Having taken part in nearly every U.S. conflict, the Marine Corps has defended our country since America’s inception. The Corps, with over 186,000 active duty members and 38,500 reserves as of 2017, continues its proud tradition as protectors of the U.S. and its people.
HISTORY OF MARINE CORPS BIRTHDAY
On November 10, 1775, just eight months shy of the Declaration of Independence, a new corps was formed following the introduction of the Continental Marine Act. At the time, an official plan was developed by the Continental Congress to oversee a mission intercepting ammunition cargo from Britain, using Marines. As suggested by the title, the group was known as the Continental Marines. While this group held several different duties, their core purpose was to provide additional security and support for the recently formed Continental Navy. First led by Commandant Samuel Nicholas, this branch of the burgeoning U.S. armed forces would culminate at just over 2,100 servicemen. In contrast, the number of active troops in the Continental Army at one time would reach a peak of approximately 80,000. This, along with a resolution made in November to create a stand-in official Marine Corps force, was essential to the formation and modernization of the now U.S Marine Corps. The reason for this resolution – the planning of an attack on Nova Scotia to annex it, never took place. However, the Marines remained.
After participating in a host of actions and battles throughout the Revolutionary War, the Continental Marines would be disbanded upon the end of the conflict. Eventually, due to the overall neglect of the whole Naval Service and lack of necessary and proper legislation, the department temporarily altogether went out of existence and ceased to exist. This remained so until 1794 when the first legislation was issued by the Congress, addressing the requirement for Marine and Navy Corps since the Revolutionary War.
In the late 1700s, the need for naval warfare to exude the military presence of the United States was looked at from another angle; to deal with piracy. The Marines were still running under the Navy at this time, with the latter itself operating under the Secretary of War. In 1798, the legislation to separate the U.S Navy to make its own department was passed; with further legislation to form the U.S Marines as a separate branch of service later in the same year. The Marine Corps would be established on July 11, 1798, and throughout the 19th century (and a portion of the next), this would be the date upon which marines would celebrate the founding of the Corps as an official entity.
The birthday was officially recognized in 1921. Major Edwin North McClellan of the Marine Corps History Division submitted a proposition to the ranking commandant which advocated for the anniversary to instead be designated on November 10. A series of standardizations as to how celebrations of the Marine Corps Birthday would be executed would follow in the 1950s. Since then, Marines have been encouraged to treat the anniversary with greater importance.
Timeline of Marine Corps
1775: The Continental Marines-a precursor to the U.S. Marine Corps. This division played a distinct role in the Revolutionary War
1798: A split from the Navy-The Marines officially established as a landing force for the Navy. Congress would soon make the Marine Corps a separate service.
1812: Marines fought at sea-During the War of 1812, Marine detachments on Navy ships take part in some of the great frigate duels that characterized the war, which were the first and last engagements of conflict.
1867: The Marine Hymn-French composer Jacques Offenbach revises his opera Geneviève de Brabant to include a new piece of music that would become the basis for the official USMC hymn. The hymn is considered to be the oldest official song in the U.S. Armed Forces.
1918: The first female marine-Opha May Johnson becomes the first woman to officially enlist as a Marine in the history of the military branch.
1953: Oorah! - The now-famous exclamation is first introduced into the vernacular of recruits and established members of the Corps alike.
MARINE CORPS BIRTHDAY BY NUMBERS
0.8%- The percentage of living Americans who have served in the Marines
8% – The percentage of the U.S Marine force that are women
38,000 – The number of new recruits accepted annually
19,598 – The number of Humvees in the Marines Transportation inventory
1,600 – The number of tanks in the Marines Transportation inventory
120,000 – The number of hours flown by the Marine Aviation in 2006 in the Middle East
3 – The number of uniforms for Marines; dress, field, and service.
9 – The number of officer titles commissioned from Second Lieutenant to General.
5 – The number of Warrant Officer titles that exist.