Marine Corps Identity from the Historical Perspective
Mark Folse
May 13, 2019
During his retreat into Pennsylvania in late 1776, after getting mauled by British expeditionary forces in New York, George Washington wrote Col. John Cadwalader asking if his marines in Philadelphia were “resolved to act upon Land or meant to confine their services to the Water only.†By disembarking from two frigates and joining Washington’s forces during his famous raid on Trenton, the Marines began a tradition that has continued to this day: They make themselves ready to fight on land and at sea. The flexibility required to perform in both domains has guided and shaped Marine service culture for generations. Marine Corps identity has often been obscure to most people. “Who†or “What†the Marines are is a question older than America’s time as a great power, and it could be argued, older than the United States itself. The fact that they are soldiers (not sailors) who serve at sea has been a significant part of the confusion.
https://warontherocks.com/2019/05/marine-corps-identity-from-the-historical-perspective/
