Continental Congress Establishes Marine Corps

Context

By the fall of 1775, the American colonies were engaged in open conflict with Britain following the battles of Lexington and Concord earlier that year. The Second Continental Congress, meeting in Philadelphia, had begun organizing a unified military response, including the authorization of a Continental Navy in October to challenge British maritime dominance and protect colonial shipping. Delegates recognized that naval vessels alone would not suffice for operations requiring troops to seize enemy ports, conduct raids, or secure beachheads, creating a need for infantry trained to operate effectively both at sea and ashore.

What Happened

On November 10, the Congress adopted a resolution calling for the raising of two battalions of Marines, specifying that recruits be good seamen or familiar with maritime affairs so they could serve to advantage by sea when required. The measure, drafted by Massachusetts delegate John Adams, directed that the battalions consist of a colonel, two lieutenant colonels, two majors, and the usual complement of other officers and enlisted men, with enlistments to last for the duration of the war unless Congress ordered otherwise. The new force was designated the first and second battalions of American Marines and placed under the broader structure of the Continental Army.

Aftermath

Recruitment commenced almost immediately under Captain Samuel Nicholas, who established a base at Tun Tavern in Philadelphia and assembled the initial companies from local volunteers. In March 1776, a Marine detachment under Nicholas joined a naval expedition that captured British supplies at New Providence in the Bahamas, marking the first amphibious landing by the new force on hostile shores. After American independence in 1783, the Continental Navy and its Marines were disbanded as part of postwar demobilization.

Legacy

The 1775 resolution established a permanent institutional model for American naval infantry that was revived when Congress created the United States Marine Corps in 1798 under President John Adams. Since then, Marines have executed hundreds of landings across U.S. conflicts, shaping modern doctrines of amphibious and expeditionary warfare while serving as a distinct branch under the Department of the Navy. Historians view the founding as the origin of a force whose versatility and rapid-deployment ethos remain central to U.S. military strategy.