A Short History of the US Military: The Marines

“From the Halls of Montezuma to the shores of Tripoli” is how the US Marine Corps song starts. The Marines have historically been deployed over beaches in amphibious landings. According to the official History of the Marine Corps, in 1776, “Five companies of Marines [carried] out the Corps’ first amphibious landing on foreign soil, successfully seizing stockpiles of British gunpowder and munitions” in the Bahamas.

The Song of the Marines

Though the lyrics may be familiar, the missions the words reference may not be. In the late 1700s and early 1800s, the rulers of the independent states located in North Africa, Algeria, Tunis, Tripoli (now Libya), and Morocco, also known as the Barbary States, had a habit of attacking merchant vessels and holding them for ransom. Initially, the United States paid tribute as a young nation that needed revenue from trade opportunities with Mediterranean countries.

However, President Thomas Jefferson was tired of this extorsion on the high seas and sent a small US Navy flotilla to blockade the Tripoli harbor. Unfortunately, the frigate USS Philadelphia ran aground during the blockade of Tripoli, and Tripolitan forces kidnapped the crew. On April 27, 1805, a force of 400 went ashore at Derna, Tripoli (Hence “The Shores of Tripoli”), including eight US Marines under the command of Lieutenant Presley O’Bannon, and rescued the Philadelphia crew. It was the first time the US flag was raised on foreign soil.

What Are the Halls of Montezuma?

This brings us to the significance of the “Halls of Montezuma.” US Marines fought in the Mexican-American War. One of the battles took place between September 12 and 14, 1847, at the well-defended and fortified castle of Chapultepec outside of Mexico City. The campaign included 400 US Marines and 7,000 US Army soldiers. The fighting was fierce and deadly. “Gen. John A. Quitman’s division, which consisted of the Marines…[carried out the] assault on the castle walls with his soldiers and Marines carrying scaling ladders. The Marines and Army units fought their way up in bloody combat against the walls’ defenders,” according to the US Marine Corps Museum account.

Marines climbed the castle parapet and were the first to raise the American flag over the captured fortification. Marines gave the phrase “Halls of Montezuma” to the castle, referring to the Aztec emperor Montezuma II, and the episode has been memorialized in the Marine Corps song ever since. The History of the Marine Corps explains its earliest formation taking place in 1775 as “Captain Samuel Nicholas [set] up the first Marine Corps recruiting headquarters at Tun Tavern in Philadelphia, PA, looking for ‘a few good men.’” Since that inauspicious beginning, the Marine Corps has been an American fighting force of which the United States can be justifiably proud.

1. The Marine Corps was founded in 1775. Captain Samuel Nicholas opened the first recruiting station at Tun Tavern in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
2. Historically, Marines often did amphibious landings on beaches. The first was in 1776, and the Marines successfully seized British stockpiles of gun powder.
3. The historic missions in Tripoli (modern day Libya) and in Mexico were preserved in song in the opening lyric to the Marine Corps song: “From the Halls of Montezuma to the shores of Tripoli.”

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