United States Marine Corps birthday

The United States Marine Corps Birthday is celebrated every year on 10 November with a traditional ball and cake-cutting ceremony. On that day in 1775, the Continental Marines were established.

2008 Birthday celebration at Camp Lejeune

Historical birthday
Tun Tavern, "birth place" of the Marine Corps.

The official birthday of the United States Marine Corps is on 10 November 1775. That was the day when the Second Continental Congress established the Continental Marines with the following decree:[1]

That two battalions of Marines be raised consisting of one Colonel, two lieutenant-colonels, two majors and other officers, as usual in other regiments; that they consist of an equal number of privates as with other battalions, that particular care be taken that no persons be appointed to offices, or enlisted into said battalions, but such as are good seamen, or so acquainted with maritime affairs as to be able to serve for and during the present war with Great Britain and the Colonies; unless dismissed by Congress; that they be distinguished by the names of the First and Second Battalions of Marines.

Tun Tavern, in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, is regarded as the birthplace of the Corps as the location of the first Marines to enlist under Commandant Samuel Nicholas,[2][3][4] though it is disputed if a recruiting drive may have occurred earlier at Nicholas's family tavern, the Conestoga Waggon [sic].[5] When the Revolutionary War ended in 1783, the Continental Navy was disestablished, and with it, the Continental Marines. The Corps was re-established on 11 July 1798, when the act for establishing and organizing a Marine Corps was signed by President John Adams.[6]

Celebration
John A. Lejeune, author of Marine Corps Order 47.

Prior to 1921, Marines celebrated the recreation of the Corps on 11 July with little pomp or pageantry.[7] On 21 October 1921, Major Edwin North McClellan, in charge of the Corps's fledgling historical section, sent a memorandum to Commandant John A. Lejeune, suggesting the Marines’ original birthday of 10 November be declared a Marine Corps holiday to be celebrated throughout the Corps. Lejeune so ordered in Marine Corps Order 47:[8][9]

MARINE CORPS ORDERS
No. 47 (Series 1921)
HEADQUARTERS U.S. MARINE CORPS
Washington, November 1, 1921

759. The following will be read to the command on the 10th of November, 1921, and hereafter on the 10th of November of every year. Should the order not be received by the 10th of November, 1921, it will be read upon receipt.

  1. On November 10, 1775, a Corps of Marines was created by a resolution of Continental Congress. Since that date many thousand men have borne the name "Marine". In memory of them it is fitting that we who are Marines should commemorate the birthday of our corps by calling to mind the glories of its long and illustrious history.
  2. The record of our corps is one which will bear comparison with that of the most famous military organizations in the world's history. During 90 of the 146 years of its existence the Marine Corps has been in action against the Nation's foes. From the Battle of Trenton to the Argonne, Marines have won foremost honors in war, and in the long eras of tranquility at home, generation after generation of Marines have grown gray in war in both hemispheres and in every corner of the seven seas, that our country and its citizens might enjoy peace and security.
  3. In every battle and skirmish since the birth of our corps, Marines have acquitted themselves with the greatest distinction, winning new honors on each occasion until the term "Marine" has come to signify all that is highest in military efficiency and soldierly virtue.
  4. This high name of distinction and soldierly repute we who are Marines today have received from those who preceded us in the corps. With it we have also received from them the eternal spirit which has animated our corps from generation to generation and has been the distinguishing mark of the Marines in every age. So long as that spirit continues to flourish Marines will be found equal to every emergency in the future as they have been in the past, and the men of our Nation will regard us as worthy successors to the long line of illustrious men who have served as "Soldiers of the Sea" since the founding of the Corps.

JOHN A. LEJEUNE,
Major General Commandant

75705—21[8]

Col Lewis B. "Chesty" Puller cuts the Marine Corps birthday cake in 1950, during a brief reprieve in battle during the Korean War.

The first formal ball was celebrated in 1925, though no records exist that indicate the proceedings of that event.[10][11] Birthday celebrations would take varied forms, most included dances, though some accounts include mock battles, musical performances, pageants, and sporting events.[12]

The celebrations were formalized and standardized by Commandant Lemuel C. Shepherd, Jr. in 1952, outlining the cake cutting ceremony, which would enter the Marine Drill Manual in 1956. By tradition, the first slice of cake is given to the oldest Marine present, who in turn hands it off to the youngest Marine present, symbolizing the old and experienced Marines passing their knowledge to the new generation of Marines. The celebration also includes a reading of Marine Corps Order 47, republished every year, as well as a message from the current Commandant, and often includes a banquet and dancing if possible. In many cases, the birthday celebration will also include a pageant of current and historical Marine Corps uniforms, as a reminder of the history of the Corps.[13] Another modern tradition includes a unit run on the 10th.[14] Marines are reputed to celebrate the birthday, regardless of where they may be in the world, even in austere environments or combat.[15]

In a more somber tradition, Samuel Nicholas's grave in the Arch Street Friends Meeting graveyard in Philadelphia is marked with a wreath at dawn by a group of Marines annually on 10 November to celebrate his role in the founding of the Corps.[16]

See also

References
  1. Continental Congress (10 November 1775). "Resolution Establishing the Continental Marines". Journal of the Continental Congress. United States Marine Corps History Division. Archived from the original on 7 October 2010. Retrieved 2 February 2010.
  2. "Tun Tavern History". tuntavern.com. Retrieved 14 April 2007.
  3. Simmons, Edwin Howard (2003). The United States Marines: A History, 4th Edition. Annapolis, Maryland: Naval Institute Press. ISBN 1-59114-790-5.
  4. Chenoweth, Col H. Avery; Nihart, Col Brooke (2005). Semper Fi: The Definitive Illustrated History of the U.S. Marines. New York: Main Street. ISBN 1-4027-3099-3.
  5. Hoffman, Jon T. (2002). USMC: A Complete History. New York City, New York: Universe Publishing.
  6. United States Congress (11 July 1798). "An Act for Establishing and Organizing a Marine Corps". Marine Corps Historical Division. Archived from the original on 7 October 2010. Retrieved 7 October 2010.
  7. "History, Traditions behind the Marine Corps Ball" (PDF). The Windsock. MCAS Cherry Point, United States Marine Corps. 66 (45): A3. 6 November 2008. Retrieved 8 November 2008.
  8. Lejeune, Major General John Archer (1 November 1921). "Marine Corps Order No. 47 (Series 1921)". Marine Corps History Division. Archived from the original on 6 October 2010. Retrieved 2 February 2010.
  9. "Marine Corps Birthday Celebration". Customs and Traditions. Reference Branch, History Division, United States Marine Corps. Archived from the original on 19 February 2007. Retrieved 11 October 2008.
  10. "Commandant's Marine Corps Birthday Ball, 2008". Archived from the original on 4 November 2006. Retrieved 8 November 2008.
  11. Sturkey, Marion F. (2001). "Marine Corps Birthday". Warrior Culture of the U.S. Marines. Heritage Press International.
  12. "Marine Corps Birthday Celebration". United States Marine Corps History Division. Archived from the original on 13 November 2010. Retrieved 11 June 2010.
  13. LaVine, Cpl Nicole A. (5 November 2008). "Combat Center honors past warriors, battles in pageant". The Observation Post. United States Marine Corps. Archived from the original on 12 November 2008. Retrieved 9 November 2008.
  14. Harris, Lance Cpl. Benjamin (12 November 2009). "Marines double-time for birthday bash, celebrate 234 years". Headquarters Marine Corps. Arlington, Virginia: United States Marine Corps. Archived from the original on 15 November 2009. Retrieved 14 November 2009.
  15. Mucha, Peter (11 November 2008). "Ceremony honors Marine Corps founder". Philadelphia Inquirer.
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