The US Marine Corps 1775–1859

Featuring specially commissioned artwork and archive illustrations, this engrossing study describes the US Marine Corps’ early operations and illustrates its evolving uniforms and personal equipment.

The US Marine Corps 1775–1859 details the Corps' uniforms, personal equipment, insignia, and weaponry, all beautifully illustrated and described. It also complements this with a succinct history of the Marines’ military record from their beginnings to the eve of the American Civil War. By this time, the US Marine Corps had established itself as a small but vitally important part of the United States’ armed forces.

Organised in 1775, the first American Marines distinguished themselves throughout the American Revolutionary War, even raiding mainland Britain before being disbanded in 1783. Reestablished in 1798, the US Marine Corps fought bravely in the Barbary Wars and the War of 1812, engaging both at sea and on land.

The years after 1815 saw the Corps involved in a wide variety of conflicts, such as the Seminole Wars and the Mexican–American War. Marines even extended their reach to China and Japan. As civil war began to threaten the United States, a small battalion of Marines was responsible for the capture of abolitionist John Brown at Harper’s Ferry on October 18, 1859.

The diverse operations and evolving appearance of the Marines are captured in this absorbing study from an acknowledged authority on US military costume.