by Peggy Barnett

Created on: February 11, 2008   Last Updated: September 09, 2008

Originally recruited as a team of sharpshooters fighting from the tops of men-of-war during the Revolutionary War, the United States Marine Corps still remains a separate part of the Department of the Navy. It is under the command of a Corps Commandant, a four-star general who is appointed by the President of the United States for a four year term.

The Marine hymn "From the Halls of Montezuma to the Shores of Tripoli" refers to the first international use of the Corps by the newly established United States. In response to the threats of Barbary pirates, the Marines were dispatched by Thomas Jefferson. Between 1795 and 1801, the United States had sent large amounts of money to the rulers of the Barbary States (Morocco, Algeria, Tunisia and Libya), in an attempt to protect American ships, passengers and cargo in the Mediterranean. When the Barbary rulers kept the money and continued to protect the pirates in their midst, pirates who continued to steal the cargo of American ships and sell all captured aboard as slaves, the United States responded by sending Marines to engage in war with Tripoli, a town on the coast of Libya. The Marine forces eventually convinced the Barbary rulers to stop piracy of American ships.

"The Halls of Montezuma" refers to Marine involvement in the Mexican War of 1846-1848, when the capitol of Mexico (the halls of Montezuma) was captured by the United States in response to repeated attacks on American citizens (remember the Alamo?). It also resolved border disputes between the two countries and acquired 525,000 square miles of territory for the U.S., for which the United States had offered Mexico $25,000,000.

The insignia of the Marine Corps is a globe through which an anchor extends. On top of the globe is an eagle, from whose mouth the words "Semper Fidelis (Always Faithful)" eschew. This image has come to represent the Marine role as protector on land, at sea and in the air.

Marines have served as protector of those in need of assistance. They were members of the George Rogers Clark (brother of William Clark of Lewis and Clark fame) expedition, which extended the boundary of the United States westward to the Mississippi River and north to the Great Lakes during the late 1700s. Between 1885 and 1903, Americans, involved in the building of the Panama Canal, relied on Marines to protect their assets. Marines were also sent to protect Americans living in China during the Boxer Rebellion of 1900 and they served in Shanghai from 1927 until war broke out with Japan.

Marines acquired the nickname "Leathernecks" during the Revolutionary War because they wore high leather bands around their throats, to protect their necks from injury. The nickname "Devil Dogs" occurred during World War I and was a moniker bestowed by opposing German troops, who feared encounters with Marines. As a result, in 1918, France named an area known as Belleau Wood, "The Wood of the Marine Brigade", in their honor.

According to tradition, the Marine Corps still provides detachments for service on armed naval vessels and provides security detachments for the protection of naval property at stations and bases. The Marines, in conjunction with the Army and the Air Force, develop tactics, technique and equipment for amphibious forces, working together with other military divisions for a combined purpose. The Marines also perform other duties as directed by the President of the United States.

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