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From Boaz's For the Glory of the Marines.
Marine Corps formed by Order in Council on 28th April 1755; 5,000 Marines raised to form 50 non-regimented companies. Three ‘grand divisions’ in Chatham, Portsmouth, and Plymouth.
Each division commanded by senior Navy captain, with honourary rank of colonel or major-general. Commandant, general, and lieutenant-general of the Corps were Navy flag officers.
Corps organised along army lines.
Flank companies in existence by 1772.
Plymouth Divisional orders (13th May 1771) state ‘Grenadiers’ hats should have no lace, but were to be “cocked with white looping, with two white tassels on the right side.” ’
Per Mare Per Terram motto adopted in 1775.
All-volunteer Corps.
Enlistments for life.
Opportunities to see the world - rotation between shore bases, assignment to Navy ships.
‘The pay of Marines was on a par with the army, although there were two different methods of calculating it. When at sea, a man’s pay was reduced slightly because his food was supplied free of cost by the Navy. By contrast, the army deducted a soldier’s food cost from his pay. Ashore, a Marine’s pay rate went up but he was also “stopped” for the cost of food and barracks space. Marines also had some other deductions such as fees to help pay for the surgeon, the Chatham Chest, etc. A Marine’s pay rate increased with his longevity in rank, a fairly modern concept, and despite the various charges and “off-reckonings,” the average Marine tended to have more spendable money than did a soldier in the army, a fact which occasionally led to problems when the Marines operated with the army, such as in Boston in 1775.’
Selected per diem pay rates:
New recruit assigned to a company within the recruiting division.
Chatham Division the ‘First Division’; companies numbered 1, 4, 7, &c. Portsmouth companies 2, 5, 8, &c.
Divisions trained its own Marines and sent men to sea as needed. Men sent piecemeal from their companies.
Infantry drilling received; later emphasis on detachment-sized tactics. In Boston, Marines and the army trained and fought together.
Marine officers did not pay for commissions but needed influence with the First Lord. ‘Good’ families were criteria.
Corps strength was 10,129 men in 1776. In 1782, strength was 25, 291. One officer to sixty-four men. Later one to fifty-five.
Six Marine officers killed at Breed’s Hill.
Marine officers typically lower in rank for careers; pay increasing with longevity in rank. Automatic brevet rank in the army, one rank higher. (Captain of Marines is major in the army.)
One NCO to twenty men in larger ships; one to ten in smaller ships.
Plymouth Divisional orders (25th May 1767) describe Marine uniforms.
? Orders (15th May 1769) regard officers’ coats.
Plymouth Divisional orders (1st July 1779) regard officers’ uniforms.
Marine flank companies similar to army in uniform and composition. Battalion companies likewise.
Order in Boston (4th December 1775) regards ‘round hats’.
Battalion orders in Boston (19th December 1775, 27th January 1776, 8th February 1776) describe Marines’ hats.
Marines in Boston drilled in battalion-sized elements to match the army.
Orders (11th February 1775) regard Marines’ gaiters and equipment.
Captain Edward Squire - letters, diary? (Painting)
Plymouth Divisional orders (8th February 1775) regard Marine officers’ gaiters.
Order (25th May 1767) describe Marine officers’ epaulettes.
First Battalion (Boston) order (17th April 1776) regard Marine officers’ gorgets; white gorget roses.
Plymouth Divisional order (6th January 1780) regard Marine officers’ gorgets; black gorget roses.
Navy surgeons seconded to serve ashore directly with Marines wore ‘scarlet coats faced red, with silver Marine buttons, “Uniform hats”, small swords, and black buckled garters when on duty.’
‘ “No military compliments are to be paid by the Marine Guards or Centinals when on duty to any officer of the Land Forces or Marines, unless such officers are dressed in Scarlet with Swords; nor to any officers of H.M. Fleet unless they are dressed in Blue with Swords.” ‘
Marines in Boston had regular target practise.
‘On 24th October 1760 Messrs. William Nicholson’s submitted a bill for what may have been the first authorised set of Marine Colours. The bill included such items as making one ”Union Sheet of Colours” of silk and embroidering on it the “Arms of the Lords High Admirals (a foul anchor) within a large Ornament of Thistles and Roses.” A second, painted, silk “plain sheet with a small Union” was also included, as well as Colour staves and cases and crimson and gold tassels and cords. The total bill was £23 13 6.’
Marines in Boston had Colours; carried at Breed’s Hill and elsewhere.
A third-rate ship had eighty to one hundred Marines in her detachment. This size detachment would have one or two captains, two or more subalterns, two or more sergeants, three or more corporals, and eighty to ninety privates.
When not in use, regimentals stored in the Marine clothing room on the orlop.
Marines’ sea kit: ‘ “A Jacket, a Pair of Brown Gaiters, a Haversack, Bedding, a Pair of Trowsers, a pair of Stockings, a Pair of Shoes and two Chequed Shirts with Stocks.” It was also recommended that every Marine have “a red cap lined with coarse linen and turned up in front with a small stiff flap of the facing colour, with an occasional falling Cape to cover the neck from the extremities of violent weather.” ’
‘Once underway, the Marine contingent was usually divided into three divisions or watches, like the crew, but under the command of their own officers, and normally 20 to 40 men of the detachment would be on duty at any one time. On those occasions, the Marines would be in full uniform.’
Marines’ duties at sea: ‘Routine duties consisted of standing sentry at the entrances to the captain’s cabin and the powder room; at the “scuttlebutt”, or keg of drinking water (to make sure no water was wasted); at the entrances to the spirit room (to prevent thievery of rum) and various other store-rooms; and at the galley door when food was being cooked. Marines with hatchets were posted at the lifebuoys near the stern of the ship, and at the word “man overboard” they would hack through the lanyards and drop the lifebuoys into the water. The Marines and their officers would also be uniformed and under arms to “witness punishment” (floggings), usually taking up position in ranks behind the poopdeck rail on such occasions.
Marines’ duties ashore: ‘Aboard a ship in port, the Marines were divided into three “guards”, or watches, on duty for a 24-hour period in uniform. The “centinels” were to challenge anyone coming alongside, to prevent liquor from being smuggled aboard, and to forbid anyone to board or leave the ship between sunset and sunrise unless with the permission of the officer of the watch.They were also to make sure there was no unnecessary noise, and that only authorized candles and fires were lit.’
John Pitcairn promoted to major on 19th April 1771.
On 5th December 1774 HMS Asia with 460 Marines arrived in Boston harbour.
Marines put “on the same footing with the rest of the Soldiers as to their Pay and Provisions.” (22nd December 1774.)
Marines arrive in Boston May 1775. Divided into two battalions of eight companies each. Two flank companies for both. Total strength 1,100 men.
‘...but when we came immediately under the work we were checked by the severe fire of the enemy but did not retreat an inch. The head was intense what with the sun and the burning town of Charles Town close to our left Flank. The Knapsacks therefore were left at the foot of the slope, and some of the men even took off their coats. The Marines, with the 47th on their left dashed forward with a cheer and were the first over the parapet.’ - Lieutenant John Waller, adjutant
Twenty-four Marines and five officers killed, eighty-one Marines and six officers wounded at Breed’s Hill.
Major Pitcairn killed.
Major John Tupper assumes command.
Post-Breed’s Hill orders:
‘Upon ringing of Church Bells at Night, the Troops to get under Arms.’
‘Patrolling Sentries are to make prisoner all persons they see pulling down Crown fences.’
‘Commanding Officers of Corps to provide their Serjeants with flintlocks if they have them to spare.’
‘The Troops to have one days Provisions ready dressed to carry with them in case of their being called out on short Notice.’
‘The Soldiers Ammunition is to be daily inspected by an Officer of a Company, the damaged Cartridges to be replaced, and the proper Number of Rounds kept in good repair and the Adjutants to be careful to Examine the Ammunition of the Men on their regimental Parades.’
‘Utmost care must be taken that ye Town is not set on fire by accident or by design. Any person detected in setting fire to ye Town without authority will suffer immediate death.’
Marines (and some Army regiments) left behind in Halifax.
The two battalions merged into one and reduced to six companies of one hundred men each.
1,100 Marines with Howe at Long Island, 1776.
Two Marine grenadier companies in Philadelphia, 1777.
Bordentown, New Jersey, captured by two Marine and some army light infantry companies; commanded by Major John Maitland.
Marines also present at Penobscot Bay, 1779.
Marine Corps formed by Order in Council on 28th April 1755; 5,000 Marines raised to form 50 non-regimented companies. Three ‘grand divisions’ in Chatham, Portsmouth, and Plymouth.
Each division commanded by senior Navy captain, with honourary rank of colonel or major-general. Commandant, general, and lieutenant-general of the Corps were Navy flag officers.
Corps organised along army lines.
Flank companies in existence by 1772.
Plymouth Divisional orders (13th May 1771) state ‘Grenadiers’ hats should have no lace, but were to be “cocked with white looping, with two white tassels on the right side.” ’
Per Mare Per Terram motto adopted in 1775.
All-volunteer Corps.
Enlistments for life.
Opportunities to see the world - rotation between shore bases, assignment to Navy ships.
‘The pay of Marines was on a par with the army, although there were two different methods of calculating it. When at sea, a man’s pay was reduced slightly because his food was supplied free of cost by the Navy. By contrast, the army deducted a soldier’s food cost from his pay. Ashore, a Marine’s pay rate went up but he was also “stopped” for the cost of food and barracks space. Marines also had some other deductions such as fees to help pay for the surgeon, the Chatham Chest, etc. A Marine’s pay rate increased with his longevity in rank, a fairly modern concept, and despite the various charges and “off-reckonings,” the average Marine tended to have more spendable money than did a soldier in the army, a fact which occasionally led to problems when the Marines operated with the army, such as in Boston in 1775.’
Selected per diem pay rates:
Pay Subsistence Total Rank £. s. d. £. s. d. £. s. d. Colonel 1 4 0 0 18 0 2 2 0 Captain 0 10 0 0 7 6 0 17 0 2nd Lieut. 0 3 8 0 3 0 0 6 0 Surgeon 0 4 0 0 3 0 0 7 0 Serjeant 0 1 0 0 1 0 0 2 0 Private 0 0 8 0 0 6 0 1 2
New recruit assigned to a company within the recruiting division.
Chatham Division the ‘First Division’; companies numbered 1, 4, 7, &c. Portsmouth companies 2, 5, 8, &c.
Divisions trained its own Marines and sent men to sea as needed. Men sent piecemeal from their companies.
Infantry drilling received; later emphasis on detachment-sized tactics. In Boston, Marines and the army trained and fought together.
Marine officers did not pay for commissions but needed influence with the First Lord. ‘Good’ families were criteria.
Corps strength was 10,129 men in 1776. In 1782, strength was 25, 291. One officer to sixty-four men. Later one to fifty-five.
Six Marine officers killed at Breed’s Hill.
Marine officers typically lower in rank for careers; pay increasing with longevity in rank. Automatic brevet rank in the army, one rank higher. (Captain of Marines is major in the army.)
One NCO to twenty men in larger ships; one to ten in smaller ships.
Plymouth Divisional orders (25th May 1767) describe Marine uniforms.
? Orders (15th May 1769) regard officers’ coats.
Plymouth Divisional orders (1st July 1779) regard officers’ uniforms.
Marine flank companies similar to army in uniform and composition. Battalion companies likewise.
Order in Boston (4th December 1775) regards ‘round hats’.
Battalion orders in Boston (19th December 1775, 27th January 1776, 8th February 1776) describe Marines’ hats.
Marines in Boston drilled in battalion-sized elements to match the army.
Orders (11th February 1775) regard Marines’ gaiters and equipment.
Captain Edward Squire - letters, diary? (Painting)
Plymouth Divisional orders (8th February 1775) regard Marine officers’ gaiters.
Order (25th May 1767) describe Marine officers’ epaulettes.
First Battalion (Boston) order (17th April 1776) regard Marine officers’ gorgets; white gorget roses.
Plymouth Divisional order (6th January 1780) regard Marine officers’ gorgets; black gorget roses.
Navy surgeons seconded to serve ashore directly with Marines wore ‘scarlet coats faced red, with silver Marine buttons, “Uniform hats”, small swords, and black buckled garters when on duty.’
‘ “No military compliments are to be paid by the Marine Guards or Centinals when on duty to any officer of the Land Forces or Marines, unless such officers are dressed in Scarlet with Swords; nor to any officers of H.M. Fleet unless they are dressed in Blue with Swords.” ‘
Marines in Boston had regular target practise.
‘On 24th October 1760 Messrs. William Nicholson’s submitted a bill for what may have been the first authorised set of Marine Colours. The bill included such items as making one ”Union Sheet of Colours” of silk and embroidering on it the “Arms of the Lords High Admirals (a foul anchor) within a large Ornament of Thistles and Roses.” A second, painted, silk “plain sheet with a small Union” was also included, as well as Colour staves and cases and crimson and gold tassels and cords. The total bill was £23 13 6.’
Marines in Boston had Colours; carried at Breed’s Hill and elsewhere.
A third-rate ship had eighty to one hundred Marines in her detachment. This size detachment would have one or two captains, two or more subalterns, two or more sergeants, three or more corporals, and eighty to ninety privates.
When not in use, regimentals stored in the Marine clothing room on the orlop.
Marines’ sea kit: ‘ “A Jacket, a Pair of Brown Gaiters, a Haversack, Bedding, a Pair of Trowsers, a pair of Stockings, a Pair of Shoes and two Chequed Shirts with Stocks.” It was also recommended that every Marine have “a red cap lined with coarse linen and turned up in front with a small stiff flap of the facing colour, with an occasional falling Cape to cover the neck from the extremities of violent weather.” ’
‘Once underway, the Marine contingent was usually divided into three divisions or watches, like the crew, but under the command of their own officers, and normally 20 to 40 men of the detachment would be on duty at any one time. On those occasions, the Marines would be in full uniform.’
Marines’ duties at sea: ‘Routine duties consisted of standing sentry at the entrances to the captain’s cabin and the powder room; at the “scuttlebutt”, or keg of drinking water (to make sure no water was wasted); at the entrances to the spirit room (to prevent thievery of rum) and various other store-rooms; and at the galley door when food was being cooked. Marines with hatchets were posted at the lifebuoys near the stern of the ship, and at the word “man overboard” they would hack through the lanyards and drop the lifebuoys into the water. The Marines and their officers would also be uniformed and under arms to “witness punishment” (floggings), usually taking up position in ranks behind the poopdeck rail on such occasions.
Marines’ duties ashore: ‘Aboard a ship in port, the Marines were divided into three “guards”, or watches, on duty for a 24-hour period in uniform. The “centinels” were to challenge anyone coming alongside, to prevent liquor from being smuggled aboard, and to forbid anyone to board or leave the ship between sunset and sunrise unless with the permission of the officer of the watch.They were also to make sure there was no unnecessary noise, and that only authorized candles and fires were lit.’
John Pitcairn promoted to major on 19th April 1771.
On 5th December 1774 HMS Asia with 460 Marines arrived in Boston harbour.
Marines put “on the same footing with the rest of the Soldiers as to their Pay and Provisions.” (22nd December 1774.)
Marines arrive in Boston May 1775. Divided into two battalions of eight companies each. Two flank companies for both. Total strength 1,100 men.
‘...but when we came immediately under the work we were checked by the severe fire of the enemy but did not retreat an inch. The head was intense what with the sun and the burning town of Charles Town close to our left Flank. The Knapsacks therefore were left at the foot of the slope, and some of the men even took off their coats. The Marines, with the 47th on their left dashed forward with a cheer and were the first over the parapet.’ - Lieutenant John Waller, adjutant
Twenty-four Marines and five officers killed, eighty-one Marines and six officers wounded at Breed’s Hill.
Major Pitcairn killed.
Major John Tupper assumes command.
Post-Breed’s Hill orders:
‘Upon ringing of Church Bells at Night, the Troops to get under Arms.’
‘Patrolling Sentries are to make prisoner all persons they see pulling down Crown fences.’
‘Commanding Officers of Corps to provide their Serjeants with flintlocks if they have them to spare.’
‘The Troops to have one days Provisions ready dressed to carry with them in case of their being called out on short Notice.’
‘The Soldiers Ammunition is to be daily inspected by an Officer of a Company, the damaged Cartridges to be replaced, and the proper Number of Rounds kept in good repair and the Adjutants to be careful to Examine the Ammunition of the Men on their regimental Parades.’
‘Utmost care must be taken that ye Town is not set on fire by accident or by design. Any person detected in setting fire to ye Town without authority will suffer immediate death.’
Marines (and some Army regiments) left behind in Halifax.
The two battalions merged into one and reduced to six companies of one hundred men each.
1,100 Marines with Howe at Long Island, 1776.
Two Marine grenadier companies in Philadelphia, 1777.
Bordentown, New Jersey, captured by two Marine and some army light infantry companies; commanded by Major John Maitland.
Marines also present at Penobscot Bay, 1779.
