When the sun rose on January 3, 1777, the Marines arrived on the outskirts of Princeton. Cadwalader’s Brigade was then attached to Greene’s Division. Still attached to Cadwalader’s Brigade, they marched from Crosswicks, New Jersey, and joined Washington outside Princeton on the night of January 2, 1777. The Marines would not have to wait long, however, for their first taste of land combat. The ice-choked river and deteriorating weather, however, prevented Cadwalader from landing more than a few men on the New Jersey riverbank, and prevented the Marines from participating in Washington’s stunning victory over the Hessians at Trenton. Washington, recognizing the need for sailors for his planned crossing of the Delaware, assigned the Marines to General John Cadwalader’s Brigade crossing at Burlington. Nicholas and the Marines were ordered to attach themselves to Washington’s army.īy December 25, 1776, the Marines found themselves not at sea, but on a river. By December of 1776, Washington was retreating through New Jersey and in desperate need of veteran soldiers. The land war, however, was beginning to turn against Washington and his Continental Army with the defeats at Long Island, White Plains, Fort Washington, and Fort Lee. Throughout the fall of 1776, Nicholas and his Marines were recruiting in Philadelphia and waiting for their next assignment. Upon his return, Nicholas was promoted to Major on June 6. During the cruise, the Marines suffered their first combat losses: seven killed and four wounded. HMS Glasgow, a heavily armed sixth-rate frigate, managed to escape despite heavy damage. On the return voyage, the small fleet captured a number of merchant vessels and encountered HMS Glasgow, resulting in the first naval engagement between the Royal and Continental Navies. At Nassau the Marines splashed ashore unopposed and quickly occupied Fort Montagu, taking the town of Nassau the next day without firing a shot. During this time, the Corps participated in its first amphibious landing: the First Battle of Nassau, in the Bahamas. The Marines spent the early part of 1776 at sea, raiding British shipping and territory in the Caribbean. By December, Nicholas had raised one battalion, 300 men among them were the Corps’ first African Americans enlistees: Isaac Walker and a man known only as “Orange.” In early January, the Marines went to sea under Commodore Esek Hopkins. Legend holds that he used Tun Tavern as his recruiting office, although some historians name the Nicholas’ family's own tavern, Conestoga Waggon, as the recruitment site. Nicholas set to work in his native Philadelphia, a town with a rich naval tradition and plenty of available sailors. On November 28, 1775, Congress commissioned Samuel Nicholas as Captain of Marines, and tasked him with raising two battalions. Major Samuel Nicholas, first Commandant of the Marine Corps and commander of the Marines at Princeton Marines allowed the fledgling Colonial Navy to raid targets of opportunity and capture British merchant shipping.Ī sketch of the Tun Tavern during the Revolutionary War. Their primary duty was to serve as the Navy’s infantry arm, providing security, making amphibious assaults, repelling boarders, and sweeping enemy decks with musket fire. The Colonial Marines, predecessor to the United States Marine Corps, was founded on Novemunder the Continental Marine Act of 1775. The Marines were in the thick of the fighting, participating in Washington's decisive counter attack. Saved Land Browse Interactive Map View active campaignsĪt the Battle of Princeton, the United States Marine Corps met the enemy on land for the first time.
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