Two hundred and fifty years. The greatest little gun club on earth.
On November 10, 1775, the Continental Congress passed a resolution authorizing the raising of two battalions of Marines (original here).
Resolved, That two Battalions of marines be raised, consisting of one Colonel, two Lieutenant Colonels, two Majors, and other officers as usual in other regiments; and that they consist of an equal number of privates with other battalions; that particular care be taken, that no persons be appointed to office, or enlisted into said Battalions, but such as are good seamen, or so acquainted with maritime affairs as to be able to serve to advantage by sea when required; that they be enlisted and commissioned to serve for and during the present war between Great Britain and the colonies, unless dismissed by order of Congress: that they be distinguished by the names of the first and second battalions of American Marines, and that they be considered as part of the number which the continental Army before Boston is ordered to consist of.
Ordered, That a copy of the above be transmitted to the General.
Born in a tavern, Tun Tavern in Philadelphia, and we’ve never forgotten that part of our heritage. It takes Captain Samuel Nicholas no time at all to raise his two battalions of Marines.
The year is 1775. On Nov. 10, Men of different ages and occupations gathered in a dusty, candle-lit bar to listen as two individuals offered them a chance to be the first of a new breed fighting for independence. A breed that would be known as the United States Marines. As the… pic.twitter.com/MwaRC1CGOH
— Project Appleseed (@AppleseedNation) November 10, 2025
Those two individuals also gave rise to what became a Marine Corps tradition – shaking their ‘old Corps’ heads over the ‘newbies,’ which proudly continues to this day.
…There’s an old story about the first two Marines at Tun Tavern. Captain Samuel Nicholas offered a free beer to the first recruit who signed up for the newly-created Corps. Soon a man signed on the dotted line. Seeing no other recruits, Captain Nicholas offered two beers to the Corps’ second recruit. Soon enough, another man signed up and rightfully took his two beers. The first recruit sneered at him, ”In the old Corps, we only got one beer.”
And we were off, griping, complaining, and wiping the enemies of the United States from the face of the earth as only the Marine Corps can.
— Heitor Lejeune (@HeitorLejeune) November 10, 2025
Everywhere on earth.
The eagle, globe, and anchor (EGA), so tied to and instantly recognizable as belonging to the Marine Corps, has an interesting history.
…According to Owen Conner, the curatorial section chief for the National Museum of the Marine Corps in Triangle, Virginia, the origin of the EGA is complicated, with different versions of the device dating back to the years immediately after the service’s inception on Nov. 10, 1775.
Marines wore a device that displayed a fouled anchor in 1776. Conner said that changes were made over the following years but varied greatly due to officers having the freedom to visit jewelers to have the device made while enlisted Marines were issued whatever was available at the time.
And the devices for officers and enlisted Marines have always been different.
…Marines began wearing the final EGA in 1955, and that’s when today’s design for the EGA was locked in. The fouled anchor, paired with an eagle, over a globe is the hallmark symbol of the modern Marine Corps insignia. But, there is still variety.
Officers and enlisted also have different versions of the EGA, largely based on the materials it’s made of. Conner pointed out that officers’ insignias are made of gold or sterling silver but its globe is less geographically accurate. Meanwhile, an enlisted Marine’s EGA is one solid stamped brass device geographically accurate enough to identify Cuba.
“If you see Cuba on it, it’s an enlisted device,” Conner said. “If there’s no Cuba, then it’s an officer device.”
⚔️ Esprit de Corps 🔥
The evolution of the Marine Corps’ Eagle, Globe, and Anchor just dropped on YouTube—Media Magik Entertainment captured 250 years of Marine pride, tradition, and warfighting spirit.
Well done! Oorah! 🦅🌎⚓️ pic.twitter.com/qjgZxsbmVF
— 𝕃𝕚𝕖𝕦𝕥𝕖𝕟𝕒𝕟𝕥 ℂ𝕠𝕝𝕠𝕟𝕖𝕝 ℙ 🪖 (@TheLtColUSMC) September 2, 2025
But Marines are uniquely, enormously human, too. There are always puppies adopted and kittens to care for wherever they land.
And there are small children who need tender affections.
There is no place safer than in the arms of a Marine.
While Presley O’Bannon of Marine Corps lore was on his way to Derna, and would wave his flag over the city’s walls in an act later immortalized in The Marine Corps Hymn’s line ‘to the shores of Tripoli,’ sailors and Marines from the American brig Philadelphia were suffering through what became a cruel nineteen months of enslavement in captivity.
The bashaw held 307 crew members after the ship ran aground in the harbor of Tripoli and was surrendered to the Barbary pirates by its captain. Officers were afforded separate quarters, still wrteched, but the enlisted Marines and sailors of the crew were immediately forced into enslaved labor and put to work around the fortress in the harbor from 1803-1805.
After the march across the desert with O’Bannon’s small Marine force and the ruler’s rival brother, the Bashaw, Yusaf Karamanali, finally accepted a minimal prisoner exchange and payment to release the crew, and signed a peace treaty with the United States that required no tribute payment at all.
Even with freedom within their grasp, the humanity of the American Marines and sailors rose to the top before they left Tripoli.
…The crew wrote Bainbridge about an unnamed Neopolitan slave who was one of their wardens but had treated them well. They wanted to free the man, whom they called a ‘poor fellow sufferer, ‘ and asked Bainbridge to deduct from their accrued pay $300, a little more than a dollar each, the price the Tripolitans demanded for his ransoming. Spence advanced the money, the enslaved amn was redeemed, and one of the MAerican ships conveyed him to Naples. It was a magnificent, altruistic gesture that demonstrated the arts’ essential decency and humanity, which was not lost on American newspapers when they learned of it.’
~ Prisoners of the Bashaw Frederick C. Leiner
I am so proud to have been a tiny part of this organization, and to have worn that magnificent uniform that so many incredible Americans before me have worn. And which a proud few will wear in the future.
My grandfather.
My Daddy.
My incredible husband. 
We few, we happy few, as King Hal says in Henry V.
And now we’re really unstoppable. Damn near socially acceptable.
🔥JD Vance to Marines Corp: KICK THE ENEMY’S ASS & Come Home Safe
“When we send you off to fight our nation’s battles, we will do it with full confidence. We will give you the knowledge and the tools you need to win and we will make it clear that your job is to kick the enemy’s… https://t.co/dv6hU3URbL pic.twitter.com/g2ao5ECNhO
— Mr Producer (@RichSementa) November 9, 2025
Happy 250th, my brothers and sisters.
Semper Fidelis
At HotAir, we’ve been dealing with real government suppression of free speech for YEARS. Despite the threats and consequences, we refuse to go silent and remain committed to delivering the truth.
But we can’t do it without your support.
Please help Ed, David, John, and me continue fighting back against government censorship by joining our terrific HotAir VIP community today. Use promo code POTUS47 to receive 74% off your membership.
And thank you so much again for being here with us at HotAir.
