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We start with a look at the Marines raised to serve on the Continental Navy during the American War of Independence. This force performed the traditional role of Marines, serving onboard warships and taking part in many naval actions of the war, including the rain on Whitehaven in 1778. However at the end of the war this force was disbanded, leaving the US without any formal marines for a decade and half.
The US Marine Corps was officially authorised in 1794, there were Marines on USS United States by 1797 and the Marine Corps was formally established in 1798. We follow the infant Marine Corps during its early battles against the French. The next few chapters slightly overlap. One looks at the Marine Corps during the First Barbary War, which lasted until 1821. Next are chapters on the War of 1812, and the two decades after that war. The Second Seminole War and the Mexican-American Wars, both of which saw forces of Marines operating a long way inland, both get chapters. Expanding Empire looks at the increasing US involvement overseas, from interventions in Central America to clashes with China and the forced opening of Japan. We finish with Harpers Ferry, and the use of the Marines againt John Brown and his men.
Four of the chapters combine the history with a look at the uniform, arms and equipment of the Marines in that period, with the sections in the First Barbary War and Second Seminole War chapters also covering the chapters that follow them. As you would expect, these chapters are supported by an excellent mix of contemporary art, Osprey illustrations, and in one case a contemporary photograph which proves that the rather angular (and somewhat unconvincing) shoulders shown in the contemporary art were in fact entirely accurate!
Chapters
1 – The American Revolutionary War – Uniform, arms and equipment 1775-83
2 – The Birth of the US Marine Corps - Uniform, arms and equipment 1797-1804
3 – The First Barbary War – Uniform, arms and equipment 1804-21
4 – The War of 1812
5 – New Challenges 1815-35
6 – The Second Seminole War – Uniform, arms and equipment 1841-59
7 – The Mexican-American War
8 – Expanding Empire
9 – Harpers Ferry
Author: Ron Field
Edition: Paperback
Pages: 64
Publisher: Osprey
Year: 2023