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Uniform Guide Clothing for Five Years
Introduction
To the Reader: Don't forget to check out the Endnotes, that collection of small gems that authors hide behind their work for fear you will be distracted (click on the endnote number for the full citation).
Introduction The circular appears to have been, in part, a response to hoarding and/or pilfering of existing stocks by various Marine Guard commanders, in particular Captain Hall of the New York Guard and possibly Lieutenant Gale of the Philadelphia Guard. Gale was responsible for forwarding clothing and equipment shipments from the U.S. Arsenal at Schuylkill, Pennsylvania to various Marine Guards. Due to his position in New York astride the supply route to the "eastern [coast] stations," Hall was often asked to forward clothing and equipment to the Newport, Boston (Charlestown Navy Yard), and Portsmouth Guards, to the various vessel Guards who were resupplied through these ports, and on occasion to Lieutenant Brooks' Marine detachment on the Great Lakes, as well as to various officers sent inland on recruiting duty.2 It must be stressed that during the War of 1812 all U.S. Marine Corps units, no matter how far afield, received U.S. Marine Corps clothing and U.S. Army equipment, captured British equipment, and specially made USMC belts slightly narrower than the standard U.S. 1808 belts.
Part I: The Marine Guard of 1812 Approximately 3,000 men served as United States Marines during the War of 1812. At its peak strength in 1814, the corps of Marines totaled 750, in all ranks and duties. 3 According to the United States Department of Defense:
In 1812, United States Marine Corps units were officially referred to as a "Marine Guards," e.g.: Frigate Constitution Guard; Charlestown Navy Yard Guard; Baltimore Barracks Guard. The familiar modern term 'detachment' was used in 1812-period Marine Corps correspondence to describe Marines not assigned to a specific station or vessel, or on detached duty. It was also used in 1812 much as we today would use the word 'unit' 4 Thus Lieutenant Brooks' Marines could be considered a "detachment," whereas The Marines aboard Frigate Constellation comprised a "Guard." Internal correspondence within the Marines and the 1812 period U.S. military establishment frequently refers to "your Corps," the Corps of Marines," Marine Corps," and officers often signed their rank and name followed by "M. Corps." U.S. Marine correspondence frequently refers to "the Corps of Marines," the "Marine Corps," & many officers signed their correspondence with their name, rank & "M. Corps." The letters show that civilians often confused the Marines with the Army, and rarely used the word "Corps." U.S. Marine officers, including Commandant Wharton, usually referred to Marine Privates as "soldiers" rather than as "Marines" (which could also mean an Officer or Musician or Armourer). Marines were stationed either in Navy Yard Marine Barracks or aboard a Navy vessel. Individual Marines were drafted from barracks to vessels as needed. It was not intended that Marines operate outside this barracks-vessel system. A typical Marine Guard of 1812 is described in Captain Samuel Nicholson's 1797 newspaper advertisement recruiting the original crew complement for the Frigate Constitution: "...three Sargeants [sic], three Corporals, one Armourer, one Drummer, one Fifer, and fifty privates...." Such a large Guard was typically commanded by a 1st and 2nd Lieutenant, or a 1st Lieutenant and a Captain of Marines. 5 Officers and Men Most Marine officers of 1812 did their duty professionally and without occurrence -- itself remarkable considering wartime shortages of men and materials, the near impossibility of promotion within their tiny corps, the low status of Marines within American civil and military society, and strong public anti-war sentiment in the northeast United States. As in any military hierarchy, some Marine Corps officers placed themselves boldly beyond classification. There were the black sheep of respectable families, like Lieutenant John Brooks, a graduate of Harvard Medical School, who suddenly quit practicing medicine with his father (later Governor of Massachusetts) and got himself a commission in the Marines, where he was accused of cheating at cards and subsequently sent to the Great Lakes with a Marine detachment to redeem himself or die. He did both.6 Others were seeming daredevils, driven into the abyss of combat by personal motivations, then standing their ground to the very last. Witness the duel held within the Battle of Bladensburg between Marine Captain Samuel Miller and a British sniper, or the Frigate Constitution's ,
Why did these educated men from middle and upper class families join a service of low status where there was virtually no possibility of meaningful promotion and, in wartime, a good possibility of death or disfigurement? To suggest that they were motivated solely by patriotic zeal simplifies their lives and insults their memories. No doubt the then-living memories and legends of the Revolutionary War -- our first "good war"--were strong motivations for some of the generation who came of age at the turn of the century, eager to prove themselves against a demonized British foe. Yet the War of 1812 was vastly unpopular in New England, giving rise to a strong anti-war (to the point of secession) movement supported by members of all social classes from both the farms and ports who saw the war as a shameful land grab against a Britain weakened by fighting the despotic Bonaparte and (perhaps more practically) as a hindrance to booming international trade and war-profiteering. The jingo "Free Trade and Sailor's Rights" fooled few New Englanders: Anyone from a seacoast town knew that no one, least of all the government or merchants, cared about the rights of sailors--and the merchants of New England were staunchly opposed to the war as an impediment to international trade. Were the educated upper and middle class men who formed the officer corps of the Marines oblivious to political and economic realities? Were they blindly patriotic, powered by a thirst for military glory and vengeance against Britain -- or were their perceptions simply different from others of their social station? Clearly career and rank were not among their primary motivations. Perhaps each man had his own unique reasons for joining a service that demanded so much and returned so little. We may never really know the U.S. Marine officers of 1812, but in their motivations lies a fascinating story, yet to be told. The motivations of individual Enlisted Men were, of course, equally as complex as their officers. Simple patriotism and stories of the Revolution must have played a role--as did the private's base pay of approximately $7.00 per month added to the initial $10.00 enlistment bounty and the $10.00 muster bounty, and the potential for a share in prize money from enemy ships and goods sold at auction through government agents -- all of which no doubt appealed to underemployed unskilled young men seeking a steady income.8 United States recruiting speeches of the period emphasize (1). Military glory, (2). Pay and bounties, and (3). A free suit of cloth (wool-rather than the farm boy's homespun linen) issued free "not once but every year" of the five-year enlistment. Little to nothing is said of politics or war: There has always been much truth to the old British saying that "Jack Frost is the best Recruiting Sergeant." And after all, what farm boy could resist a gallant and worldly Lieutenant of Marines, with his Fifer and Drummer beating out martial airs bedecked with streaming recruiting ribbons, accompanied by his Marine Sergeant, whom Herman Melville, himself a Seaman in one of Constitution's sister frigates, described as "....generally tall fellows with unyielding spines and stiff upper lips, and very exclusive in their tastes and predilections."9 Yet through research several deeper patterns seem to develop. It was very difficult, at least in New England, to recruit Marine Enlisted Men from seaports. This was in part because of strong anti-war sentiment and a traditional American distain for professional soldiery, but primarily because young men inclined to enlist found that the Navy offered better pay, higher status, and the opportunity to learn or practice a valuable trade. The Revolution was only thirty years past, a time when, as General Arnold complained bitterly to General Gates, "The marines ['volunteered' for service on Lake Champlain are] the refuse of every regiment."10 1815 regulations even go as far as to specifically forbid Marines serving aboard any vessel of war from being discharged from the Marines and then entering the Navy as seamen. Despite official pronouncements that put Marines "in all respects, upon the same footing as seamen," in truth Marines never had the status of sailors, ashore or afloat.11 An Ordinary Seaman received $10.00 a month to the Private Marine's $8.00; a Navy Bosu'n was paid $20.00 a month, a Marine Sergeant $18.00.12 Marine Lieutenants were forced to scour the countryside far inland to lure farm-boys into the service.13 Charlestown (Boston) Navy Yard was even forced to hire un-uniformed civilians to supplement their under-manned Marine Guard. By 1812 the original five foot, six inch height requirement had been lowered to five feet, four inches to take advantage of the large pool of immigrant Irish applicants. British deserters and prisoners who eagerly joined the United States Marines were disappointed to find that, unlike the brutally low condition of sailors in the Royal Navy, in republic-minded America sailors held far higher social status than Marines. U.S. Marine Drummers did not even carry the ubiquitous cat-of-nine-tails whip, as all flogging was meted out to both Navy and Marine defaulters by Navy Boatswains. Tensions occasionally flared when Naval officers asserted control over their Marine Guards. Naval orders enjoined Navy Captains that Marine officers were to be treated "with respect, decency, and regard due to the commissions they bear," and that "they are to possess the cabins or births (cabins) erected for them." The regulation that Marine N.C.O.s are not "to be struck on any account, by any of the officers, petty officers, or seamen" speaks volumes.14 It was in this environment and under the constraints of blockade and the tensions of imminent combat that American sailors and American Marines put to sea together against the powerful Royal Navy. Battle Aboard ship, Marines were also responsible for a number of what today would be called "special weapons," including blunderbusses, rifles, and the Chambers Gun of 1814, a large multi-shot flintlock mounted on the capstan, manned by Marines, and firing center-bored lead sabots like a roman-candle. Recent experiments aboard U.S.S. Constitution with a Chambers Gun mock-up indicate that the gun was capable clearing enemy decks in a series of fullauto minigun-like sweeping blasts-if you didn't mind chopping through your own rigging in the process! More likely it was intended as a weapon last-resort for use against an enemy boarding party already swarming over the gunnels and advancing across the deck. In this scenario the Chambers Gun must have been a terrifying and awesome weapon.17 A few Marine sharpshooters armed with muskets and/or rifles might be stationed in the "tops," platforms where sailors gathered before spreading out on the yards to handle sail (period naval documents do not use the term "fighting tops"). One common strategy was for the handful of Marines in each top to load rifles-a time consuming process-- which were then passed forward to the best marksman among them as needed. Marines aloft were to target enemy officers and the adolescent boys-the "powder monkeys"-- used to carry powder to the great guns. However, casualty figures indicate that U.S. Marines often ignored the carnage below to engage the enemy tops in bitter protracted firefights.18 Aftermath
Official records state that during the war of 1812 more than 46 men and boys serving in the United States Marines were killed or mortally wounded, 33 were wounded in action, and approximately 100 were taken prisoner. However, original after-battle returns indicate that these official casualty figures may be far too low. In either case, the ratio of dead to wounded tells much about the after-action medical care given to Marines.
Non-issue Clothing The Watch Coat Mess Items During 1799 and 1800 the United States imported 9,400 British Muskets. In 1805, Marine Adjutant Fenwick recommended to Commandant Wharton that these be selected for use by Marines. Consequently, that same year approximately 500 "Short British Muskets" of the 1794-97 India Pattern were delivered to Marine Corps Commandant Wharton from Samuel Annin, military storekeeper at the Harpers Ferry Armory. By the War of 1812, however, these British muskets were not commonly in use by United States Marines due to their condition, scarcity, and the fact that they used ammunition different from that in general U.S. service. During the War the Marine Guard at the Charlestown (Boston) Navy Yard was once issued muskets of two different calibers. The larger caliber weapons, presumably "Tower" ship's muskets, were returned.22 The only issue of these "Tower" muskets to United States Marines during the war found by the author is documented on the 12 November 1813 list of re-supplies sent to the late Lieutenant Brooks' Marines after the Lakes Battle, which included the following entry: "25 Stand of (Tower) Arms/ 25 Stand of Arms (Tower)"23 Although scarce, the Tower muskets were popular. In 1813, Lieutenant Thomas Legge, commanding the Marine Guard of the U.S.S. Macedonian, wrote to Commandant Wharton from the New London, Connecticut Barracks asking that Marines be issued with Tower muskets:
Lieutenant Legge's words are important because he is telling us that he preferred even the worn Tower muskets being used by the Navy as Ship's Muskets to the new "Springfield" and "American muskets" commonly issued to Marines. In August 1809, Lieutenant Miller, Adjutant of Marines, received delivery from the Harpers Ferry Arsenal of "100 Short Rifles [Model 1803; 33" barrel], molds and chargers." The 1811 general inventory of naval ordinance does not differentiate between Marine and Navy arms, and it is important to bear in mind that each Navy vessel had its own store of arms, separate from those issued to Marines. The 1811 inventory does, however, specifically list the arms found at the Marine Barracks, Washington: 262 muskets, 201 bayonets, 22 rifles, and 40 blunderbusses. Although appealing and romantic to modern minds, the rifle and blunderbuss were contingency weapons only, and the "Tower" muskets, though perhaps preferred by Marines, were in poor condition and in limited supply as ship's stores-the primary weapon found in the hands of the War of 1812 U.S. Marine was the standard issue American manufactured musket.25 Equipment Musics Until the mid 19th century Military Musics were the radiomen of their units. The Navy equivalent was the Bosun's pipe. United States military musicians -- no more than 1 fifer and 1 drummer per 40-man company -- played duty signals and ceremonial tunes from the official United States Government issue music book by Charles Ashworth, coincidentally a former Marine Corps Drummer. By regulation and on command of an officer ("By the quick step! Forward, March!"), Musics in all United States services played one of three marching speeds: "slow step" (50 beats/steps per. minute), "common step" (75 beats/steps per minute), and "quick step" (90 beats/steps per minute).31 In battle the Drummer was to relay signals by "beating low behind his company." Since the Revolutionary War, Company Musics did not play music on route marches or in actual combat (how could signals be transmitted if they did?).32 For the same reason, music was never massed except for daily morning and evening parades, and the rare ceremony or town parade -- the "parade" as we know it today.33 Fifers and Drummers were forbidden to practice near camp or barracks for fear of "mixed signals" or "false alarms." It is worth noting that drum muffles -- a piece of cloth stretched and tacked under the top batter head of a drum--were invented for the "Ancient Fife and Drum" clubs of the 1890s and are still used today by all reenactment/fife-and-drum clubs. Prior to the 1890s, drums were not permanently muffled and military fifes were more commonly tuned to C instead of today's B flat.34 Standardized modern tunings allowed military musicians to play with the brass bands that came into vogue in the mid-1800s. No doubt the ringing rattle of the true military snare drum and the shrill scream of the military fife offended some Victorian sensibilities! As a result -- and because very few if any modern 're-created' fifers and drummers are interested in actually recreating historical music -- the true sound of 18th and early 19th century military music is now apparently extinct in the United States.35 Marine Corps Musics were issued either a regulation fife with case, or one standard regulation United States Drum, "complete." Regardless of branch of service, all U.S. drums were issued with vermilion hoops and an eagle painted on a blue ground with thirteen stars and thirteen stripes. After 9 April 1814, Commandant Wharton ordered 24 new Marine Corps drums with a smaller eagle bearing a scroll reading "United States Marines."36 All U.S. drums were issued with an "osnabrig" (osnaburg: a coarse linen) case, a one-size "white worsted web" sling without stick holders "finished with leather and button"37 and "Drum Sticks 18 in. long [approximately 3 ½ inch diameter] of heavy west India wood" to be cut to size to fit the drummer. The original 1812 U.S.M. sticks in the collection of the U.S.M.C. Museum were cut to fit the drummer and balanced at the large end with brass sleeves. Marine Fifers were given standard U.S. issue fifes of "finest East Indian Rosewood" 15 inches long with 1 inch brass ferrules, the leading edges of which were scored with a pattern of 2,1, and 1 groves.38 Marine Fifers were issued a 17 ¼ x 2 ¾ inch fife case of tinned iron, having a hinged cover with a 1 inch lip, unpainted, with a sling of cloth rope cord.39 Both Fifers and Drummers were issued standard enlisted coats in reversed colors and "music swords," though it would seem that the quality of these was sometimes lacking.40 Economy Measures
On October 13, 1813, Quartermaster Bacon wrote to Lieutenant Gale in Philadelphia asking:
"Congress have not, as yet, deigned to turn an eye upon us" wrote Quartermaster Lieutenant Samuel Bacon on January 26, 1814, "and I fear we shall as usual pass without notice."43 Conspicuously Absent Colours Months of research in USMC Record Group 127 at the National Archives show that no Marine Corps units contracted for, bought, or were issued flags, flag poles, flag cases, battle streamers, flag carriers (not yet invented), flag eagles or pike heads, or any other object or item pertaining to flags. The United States Marines first carried the Stars and Stripes in the Battle of Mexico City in 1847. In "The Stars and Stripes, the Story of our Flag" Historian Irving Werstein writes:
Prior to the vague flag law of 1794, there was no set pattern for the United States flag. The first standardization of the national colors was Wendover-Reid flag law, passed by Congress on July 4, 1818. Even as late as 1847, the Dutch government asked the American government for "the exact pattern of the U.S. national colors so we may pay it proper respect." All historical sources, researchers, and serious living history groups agree: With the documented exceptions of Bennington (1777) and Cowpens (1781), no United States National marching colors were ever carried by or even issued to any United States military units before the 1840s. Instead, one or two regimental flags were carried. During the War of 1812, United States Marines were thought of as a single unit under the command of the Commandant, and his Washington, D.C. office Head Quarters was made the permanent location of the U.S. Marine colors. The United States Marine Corps historical Center confirms this. The use of either unit or national flags by Marines in 1812 would be a moot point in any case, since it was expected that Marines would always be posted to either a vessel or Navy Yard under whose national colors the Marine Guard would do their duty. Historically, it was in fact a large U.S. Naval Pennant that Lieutenant O'Bannon raised over Tripoli in 1804. One reason marines did not have "regimental" colors was that it was never anticipated that the day would come when Marines would or could be used as infantry. Prior to 1812, such a dire national emergency was unthinkable-and unplanned for. And when the time came, a lack of flags was the least of their problems.46 It was in large part because the U.S. Marines had proved themselves in the War of 1812-with out flags, haversacks, surgeons, that in 1847 Watson's Marine Battalion at the Battle of Mexico City became the first United States Marine unit to carry the Stars and Stripes. As a member of the U.S.S. Constitution Marines, and as a person who cares about history, I recognize that what we do in front of public has a great and lasting impact. We must start somewhere to disppel the historic myths
Conclusions Yet the War of 1812 completely changed the way Americans perceived their
Marines: Sent into desperate land engagements as infantry or light artillery,
without a flag to rally around, or even the comfort of a canteen, a haversack,
or a regimental surgeon, the Marines of 1812 often held the line when
better-supplied and fully-supported units failed against the greatest
military force the world had yet known. Under such conditions these boys
and men, of low social status and under-equipped for combat on land even
by the standards of their day, earned a reputation for loyalty, determination,
aggressiveness, and victory in the face of privation, blood, and horror--though
at what cost only those who are now dust or coral can say for sure.
Sir, I have been directed by the Lt. Col. Commanding to state to you the quantity of clothing which in future will be allowed to each marine during his five years' enlistment. The Deduction, which is made in some articles, of which neither the comfort nor appearance of the soldier requires one in each year, is made up to him in his fatigue suit, which adds to his comfort & enables him to preserve his uniform. This, I am informed, is not a new regulation, but an old one much neglected.
I have the honour to be respectfully your obt. servt
3 Nofi, Albert A. The Marine Corps
Book of Lists (Combined, Conshohocken: 1999). 4 Letters Sent. September, 1813 - August,
1814, Records of the United States Marine Corps, National Archives,
Washington, D.C., Rules, Regulations and Instructions for the Naval
Service of the United States, 1815, (Krafft, Washington City, 1818), 5 Nicholson, Samuel, Capt., U.S.N., Frigate
Constitution. To all able-bodied and patriotic Seamen, (Boston, Massachusetts,
May 12, 1798), U.S.S. Constitution Museum. 6 Altoff, Gerard, Oliver Hazzard Perry & the battle of Lake Erie, (Put-in-Bay, Perry Group: 1999), p. 14-15. 7 Contee, John, Lt. Marines to Commandant
Wharton, Frigate Constitution, Boston, 31 August 1812 8 Nofi, Albert A. The Marine Corps
Book of Lists (Combined, Conshohocken: 1999). 9 Melville, Herman, White Jacket, or
The World in a Man-of-War (Signet, New York: 1979 [1850]), p. 26.
Melville served on the Frigate United States, 1843-44 returning to the
U.S. after a Pacific Cruise. The semi-autobiographical novel has enough
intimate and historic detail to near fully recreate a frigate of the period.
Suffice to say, Melville's experiences in the Navy were not entirely positive. 10 Wolkimmer, Richard, "A Valiant
Stand for Freedom", Smithsonian, July, 1998, p. 59. It
seems possible that at this early date, it was still remembered that the
Marines who served with John Paul Jones aboard Bonhomme Richard
were not Americans, but Irish "Wild Geese" in French service
wearing French Marine issue red faced with white Uniforms. 11 Rules, Regulations and Instructions
for the Naval Service of the United States, 1815, (Krafft, Washington
City, 1818), p. 114. 12 Pay Roll of U.S.S. Constitution, 1815, The Journal of Acting Chaplain Assheton Humphreys, U.S. Navy, Tyrone G. Martin, Ed., (Nautical & Aviation, Mount Pleasant: 2001), appendix. 13 Letters Sent contains numerous
references to inland recruiting expeditions. 14 Rules, Regulations and Instructions
for the Naval Service of the United States, 1815, (Krafft, Washington
City, 1818), pp. 114-115. 15 Ashworth, Charles, RULES to be observer by Young Drummers (District of Columbia, January 1812), pp. 9, 31. Of note: " The [Marine] Drums are to have Firelocks likewise, no Drums being allowed to beat." MacIntire, John, Lieutenant of (British) Marines, Military treatise on the Discipline of Marine Forces (Davies, Londoon: 1768),, p. 112. 16 MacIntire, John, Lieutenant of (British)
Marines, Military treatise on the Discipline of Marine Forces (Davies,
Londoon: 1768),, p. 118. 17 As preformed by rigger and historian
David Mullen. 18 Martin, Tyrone, Undefeated: Old
Ironsides in the War of 1812 (Troyn, Chapel Hill: 1996), pp. 61-62.
19 The Journal of Acting Chaplain
Assheton Humphreys, U.S. Navy, Tyrone G. Martin, Ed., (Nautical &
Aviation, Mount Pleasant: 2001), p. 62. 20 Rules, Regulations and Instructions
for the Naval Service of the United States, 1815 [1813], (Krafft,
Washington City, 1818), pp. 103-104. The Navy regulations match the following
1804 description: "The Purser requested me to get up some slops and
serve out which I did, consisting of blue jackets, blue trousers, flannel
shirts, woolen stockings, shoes, etc.", Loomis, Hezekiah, Journal
of Hezekiah Loomis, Steward on U.S. Brig "Vixen", in War With
Tripoli, 1804, (Essex Institute, Salem: 1928), pp. 12,17, etc. 21 Letters Sent, 19/20 September
1813 refers specifically to baize for watch coats. A similar order of
April 3, 1809 for "baize any colour" may or may not refer to
watch coats. 22 Letters Sent, Cited in Bearss,
Edwin C., Historic Resource Study, Charlestown Navy Yard, Boston National
Historic Park, (Department of the Interior), vol. I., 23 Letters Sent , 12 November,
1813. 24 Quoted in American Military Shoulder
Arms, vol. II, p. 112. 25 Much of the information on Marine
shoulder arms comes from American Military Shoulder Arms, vol.
II, which in turn cites as it source U.S. Archives RG E225, 45, &
92, Consolidated Correspondence File. 26 The Author has examined an original Marine officer's swordbelt plate in the Don Troiani collection.
28 Secretary of the Navy to House Naval
Committee, 25 March 1814, Congress Letter Book, No.2, pp. 260,
265. Annual estimates for hair powder for Enlisted Men typically listed
under "Contingent Expenses." Cited in McClellan, p. 55. 29 Documented originals on display at
U.S.M.C. Museum, and at U.S.Navy Museum, Washington, D.C. 30 Letters Sent, several references.
Also cited in McClellan, p. 51. 31 Ashworth, Charles, RULES to be
observer by Young Drummers (District of Columbia, January 1812), pp.
3-4. Ashworth, himself a Marine Drummer, wrote this, the first regulation
music book of the United States Armed Forces. 32 Washington, George, General of the
Army, Orderly Books 33 Smyth, Colonel Alexander, Regulations
for the Infantry of the United States...by order of the Secretary of War,
(Finley, Philadelphia:1812). 34 The 19th century term "muffled drums" usually refers to the draping of the drum with black crepe for funerals, though research on this topic is on-going. The tuning of military fifes is a complex subject and beyond the scope of this paper. Today fifes are usually tuned to modern B "concert" pitch, which equals a modern D "folk" pitch. These must be compared to 1812 period tunings from original fifes. Generally, early fifes are sharper than modern fifes. This would have allow them to be heard long distances and over the un-muffled drums then in use. 35 Interview with researchers at Cooperman
Fife and Drum Company: Examination of scores of original drums and fifes
by the author (Ft. Ticonderoga, N.Y., Ancient & Honorable Artillery
Co. Museum, Boston both have accessible collections of original drums
and fifes). 36 Letters Sent, 9 April 1814,
cited in McClellan, p. 55. 37 Coxe, Tench, Purveyor, U.S., 4 February
1812, "Description of a Drum &c as furnished For the use of The
United States", National Archives, Washington, D. C. Courtesy Michael
Buck, Fort McHenry National Shrine. 38 Dimensions from an original 1812 Callendar
Irvine U.S.Contract fife in the collection of Peter Emerick. 39 Description of an original U.S. Marine
fife case in the collection of William H. Guthman, trustee of Old Sturbridge
Village. 40 Letters Sent, 11 November,
1813 41 Commandant Wharton to Lt. Henderson,
commanding the Boston Marines, September 21, 1813, Letters Sent. 42 13 October 1813, Letters Sent. 43 Letters Sent, 26 January 1814. 44 Commandant Wharton via Q.M. Bacon
to Lt. Gale in Philadelphia, Letters Sent, 13 October, 1813: 45 Ship-board Marine Armourers recruited in, Nicholson, Samuel, Capt., U.S.N., Frigate Constitution. To all able-bodied and patriotic Seamen, (Boston, Massachusetts, May 12, 1798), U.S.S. Constitution Museum. 46 Scott Sheads, Ranger/Chief Historian,
Fort McHenry National Historic Shrine; Memoir of Drummer Jarvis Hanks,
11th U.S. Infantry, 1813-1815, Soldiers of 1814, D. Greaves, ed.,
(Old Fort Niagara, N.Y.: 1915) p. 36.; Letters Sent. 47 Scott Sheads, Ranger, Fort McHenry
National Historic Shrine; Memoir of Drummer Jarvis Hanks, 11th U.S. Infantry,
1813-1815, Soldiers of 1814, D. Greaves, ed., (Old Fort Niagara, N.Y.:
1915) p. 36.; Letters Sent.
Among the mass of information uncovered on the early Corps are the original Marine uniform coat regulations we've been waiting for, which have been photographed, transcribed, and delivered, with the original 1815 color painting, to our designated tailor, who will make our "sealed pattern" coat, & precut coat kits. Also found and transcribed were letters from Commandant Wharton stating U.S. Marine Corps standing orders from 1804 to1815. Eventually, all the research will be compiled and made available to our members. Much of it will be published in various historical journals. In the meantime, just ask Mark if you have any specific or general questions. Here are some interesting tid-bit to whet your interest:
Pay Furlough upon Request Commissions All Marines Drill Together All Types of Charlevilles & Clones Used Overalls of Sensibly Heavy Material Still No Canteens Underage Marine Musics Indentured Not Enlisted Recruiting Very Difficult; Many Marines Fifty to Sixty Years Old
[Lt. Bush to] Lieut. Saml. Miller Sir, Sir,
With regard to the Caps, from the information I have gained thus far, they can be made for $1.12 or $1.16, but, I find from the Haterment of a good workmen, that the leather requires peculiar dressing to render it stiff; I presume, one dollar would be the extent of their amount, I learn from Capt. Freeman that the Light artillery Caps, which resemble those you mention, were made in or near Philadelphia & where he thinks they will come cheaper, I however shall continue my enquiries & state to you the result.... Lt. Kinsey at Philadelphia to Comdt. Wharton,Feb 14 1811] "...the first intimation of putting the letters on with Copper
leaf which must be fastened with rivets, and improper for the purpose
intended....the letters I will endevour to put on in such a way as will
be a credit to myself and likewise meet with your ideas--one dollar each
cap." my Colonel The frequent use of fifer having proved of Late very detrimental to my health & conscious I cannot continue it any longer without incurring the danger to make it worse & find myself at Last unfit for any Service, I take the Liberty to ask you the favor of being put in the ranks, where I can do my duty-without injuring my constitution allready much debilitated. my best acknowiligiments From--- your most Respectful & N.B. as we have enlisted a man whom I am teaching the duty of fifer
& who is able to replace me, I hope, my colonel, will be So kind as
to grant me my request. [Lt. Hall to Commandant Wharton] Sir, Respectfully,
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