History
When war begin in 1812 the Marine Corps was only fifteen
years old. Marines had served during the American Revolution , but the
units raised during that conflict had been disbanded in 1783. During the
troubled 1790s it had become necessary to organize a small frigate navy with a
tiny marine corps to protect the growing merchant fleet of the United States.
These "soldiers of the sea" were under the Secretary of the Navy. When
serving as part of land forces, however, they came under the authority of the
superior army officers. Marines, then as now, considered themselves
the elite of American fighting men and sometimes had to be reminded that they
should obey army and not navy officers in these circumstances.
As with the rest of the regular forces, the authorized
establishment of the marine corps far exceeded the actual numbers in service.
Fortunately, the figures for "active duty strength" are known for the War of
1812.
June 30, 1812 Ten officers, 484 enlisted men.
June 30, 1813 Twelve officers 579 enlisted men
June 30, 1814 Eleven officers 579 enlisted men
June 30, 1815 Eight officers 680 enlisted men
Marines services was highly varied and as a rule, the corps
was scattered in small detachments aboard naval vessels. Other
detachments, however were stationed in Louisiana, Washington, Philadelphia, and
on the Great Lakes. Small detachments participated in many minor actions.
In the north, there were three officers and 121 marines on
Lake Ontario, and detachments from this force participated in the capture of
York, Upper Canada and Ft. George and the defense of Sackets Harbor. A
detachment was attached to Scott's brigade on the Niagara in 1814. The
Washington detachment, totaling a little over 100 men, fought gallantly at
Bladensburg August 24, 1814. A small marine detachment was present at the
defense of Ft. McHenry on September 11-13,1814. In New Orleans, another
detachment of marines under Major Daniel Carmick participated in the night
action December 23, 1814 during the defense of that city against the British.
In all the land actions in which they participated during the
War of 1812, the Marine Corps fought hard and, at Bladensburg and New Orleans,
with distinction. Because of its small size, the Marine Corps did not play
a major role in the war on land, but the regular army must have appreciated the
existence of this reliable regular force.
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