1829 Andrew Jackson - "Marine Corps be merged in the artillery"

Honestly, a lot of people don't know that the Marine Corps is part of the Department of the Navy, so when they read that Andrew Jackson proposed to merge the Marines into the army, they may not understand the significance of it.  (To be corrected:  The Marines were not part of the Navy, but a separate entity created under he same Congressional act.  This will be corrected later). The Marine Corps is its own branch of the U.S. military, but it falls under the administration of the Department of the Navy.   This has been true throughout the history of our nation including in 1829 when these words of President Andrew Jackson must have been like scratches on a chalk board to many former Navy men in Congress.  Jackson had his reasons for writing them and in this post, I attempt to explain what Jackson may have been thinking.

In January of 1815, General Andrew Jackson led a patchwork of army regulars, state militia men, free Blacks and Choctaw warriors against an experienced regiment of British Regulars.  Jackson's force of 4,500 men were outnumbered by the 8,000 British Regulars, but when the British tried to assault Jackson's fortification it costed them 2,000 casualties to Jackson's 100 in a span of 30 minutes.  Although, they fought after the Treaty of Ghent was signed, the Battle of New Orleans to many Americans was the mark of victory of the War of 1812, and General Andrew Jackson was hailed a hero.  Often overlooked in the Battle of New Orleans is the role the U.S. Marines played in the battle.   Not only were Marines fighting alongside the army regulars and state militia, but about 35 marines and 1,000 Navy sailors fought in chaotic late-night battles on Lakes Pontchartrain and Lake Borne in the days leading up to the British assault.  Three marines were killed, and two others were wounded while delaying the British and allowing General Jackson to pull his army together.   In late December, when the British reached New Orleans, they formed battle lines in two columns and were met by another 58 Marines from the New Orleans Navy yard led by Major Daniel Carmick.  The marines mowed down the British with musket-sized balls forcing the British were forced to retreat, but not until after Major Carmick was wounded by a rocket fragment during the battle.  Carmick died two years later.  About 10 days later, the British marched their full army against General Andrew Jackson's line of defense under dense fogs.   By time the British neared the American line of defense the fog lifted, and they were exposed to a withering attack of artillery fire. 

General Jackson commended the marines for their bravery and valor and on February 13, 1815 Congress passed a resolution to recognize "the high sense of the valor and good conduct of Major Daniel Carmick, of the officers, non-commissioned officers, and marines under his command" in defense of the city of New Orleans.   There is no doubt that Andrew Jackson an army General, remembered the role the Marines played in helping defend New Orleans and defeat the British regulars, but since that time the Marine Corps had fallen into disarray and there were questions about its leadership and its mission and role within the U.S. Navy.  The Marines were officially part of the U.S. Navy since 1798 but had served at sea since even before the Revolutionary War.  Prior to 1775, the Marines were infantry soldiers trained to serve at sea but were given no specific mission other than that they should be able to "to serve to advantage by sea."  It wasn't until 1775, when two battalions of Marines were raised for operations such as those to seize or destroy British stores and fortifications in Nova Scotia that Marines were given a specific mission to serve at sea.    Also, in 1776, three additional battalions were assigned to assist General Washington in the Trenton-Princeton campaign as infantry, a practice that remains to this day.   After the war, with the signing of a peace treaty with Great Britain the Marines along with the Navy were disbanded until the outbreak of the French Revolution.  Then, in 1798, the United States Navy was created by a Congressional act that included a distinct organization known as the Marine Corps.  The law authorized the President of the United Sates to appoint "officers of the marine corps, to act on board the frigates, and any of the armed vessels of the United States".  The law however did not provide a structured set of roles and missions for the Marine Corps and they grew out of necessity.  It was after the war of 1812, that the Marine Corps fell into a depressed state when Franklin Wharton, the third Commandant died in office. Under the acting command of Major Archibald Henderson, a battle for a permanent replacement led to attempts to impeach Major Anthony Gale, who was eventually court-martialed and convicted for conduct unbecoming of an officer.   By 1820, Major Henderson was appointed the fifth commandment of the Corps and breathed new life into the organization.

It was in this context that General Jackson recommended that "the Marine Corps be merged in the artillery or infantry".  Jackson made this recommendation as the best way to cure the "many defects" in the Marine Corps' organization.  Jackson had a lot of respect for the infantry and artillery men of the Marine Corps, but complained that under the commandant of General Archibald Henderson, there were "five brevet lieutenant-colonels" who received the full pay and benefits for their appointed rank but who were not providing proportionate service".   Jackson suggested this as part of overall recommendations to improve the Navy in his 1829 State of the Union Address.

"I would also recommend that the Marine Corps be merged in the artillery or infantry, as the best mode of curing the many defects in its organization. But little exceeding in number any of the regiments of infantry, that corps has, besides its lieutenant-colonel commandant, five brevet lieutenant-colonels, who receive the full pay and emoluments of their brevet rank, without rendering proportionate service. Details for marine service could as well be made from the artillery or infantry, there being no peculiar training requisite for it.
With these improvements, and such others as zealous watchfulness and mature consideration may suggest, there can be little doubt that under an energetic administration of its affairs the Navy may soon be made every thing that the nation wishes it to be. Its efficiency in the suppression of piracy in the West India seas, and wherever its squadrons have been employed in securing the interests of the country, will appear from the report of the Secretary, to which I refer you for other interesting details."

Fortunately, Congress did not act on Jackson's recommendation, and over the next few years, Henderson was able to thwart any attempt by Jackson to combine the Marine Corps with the Army.  Instead, Congress passed the Act for the Better Organization of the United States Marine Corps in 1834, which dictated that the Marine Corps were to stay within the Department of the Navy as a sister service to the United States Navy where they remain to this day.

References

Presidency.ucsb.edu. (2018). First Annual Message | The American Presidency Project. [online] Available at: https://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/documents/first-annual-message-3 [Accessed 26 Nov. 2018].

Archive.org. (2018). Full text of "A History Of Marine Corps Roles And Missions 1775-1962". [online] Available at: https://archive.org/stream/AHistoryOfMarineCorpsRolesAndMissions1775-1962/AHistoryOfMarineCorpsRolesAndMissions1775-1962_djvu.txt [Accessed 1 Dec. 2018].

En.wikipedia.org. (2018). Battle of New Orleans. [online] Available at: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_New_Orleans [Accessed 1 Dec. 2018].

En.wikipedia.org. (2018). History of the United States Marine Corps. [online] Available at: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_the_United_States_Marine_Corps [Accessed 1 Dec. 2018].

HISTORY. (2018). Battle of New Orleans. [online] Available at: https://www.history.com/topics/war-of-1812/battle-of-new-orleans [Accessed 1 Dec. 2018].