Origins of the Marine Corps

The origins of the United States Marine Corps, Marine Corps Reserve and Marine Corps Detachments of the Naval Militia can be traced back to the colonial battalions of Marines raised in America during the Revolutionary War and modeled on their British counterparts.  But the use of the Marine as a fighting force both on land and at sea is solely an American innovation and can be traced back to Admiral John Paul Jones.  With the surrender at Yorktown on October 19, 1781, and the signing of the Treaty of Versailles on November 30, 1783, peace forced the disbandment of the American Navy --along with it, the disbandment of the U.S. Marines. 

California's rich naval history proudly boasts two detachments of U.S. Marines as part of its Naval Militia. Likewise, these units were the forerunners of today's U.S. Marine Corps Reserves.

Following the Revolutionary War, a number of states maintained small warships, but the newly formed Republic had not a single armed vessel.  It was not until March 1794 that Congress took steps to reactivate the Navy, authorizing the construction of six frigates, each of which was to have a detachment of Marines. However, it would be another three years, under a Congressional Act of 1 July 1979, before the Marines would serve on these ships.  Even though the U.S. Marines were considered to be a part of the U.S. Navy, the Corps was initially placed under the direct orders of the President, to be attached either to the Army or the Navy, "according to the nature of the service in which they shall be employed." In June 1834, under an Act "For the Better Organization of the Marine Corps", the Marines were officially attached to the Navy unless the President ordered part of it to come temporarily under the control of the Army...." 

As the Marines tell it, after the war, all that remained was a corps of mules and two battalions of Marines. The army and the navy tossed a coin to determine who would take the mules and who, the Marines. The army, according to the story, won the toss --and took the mules. And, the Marines have been a part of the U.S. Navy ever since.

How the Marines Became a Part of the Navy

The Real Story