Semper Fi from the Start: 236 Days Out – The Marine Corps' Revolutionary Birth

November 10, 2025 – Day 236 of Our Countdown to July 4, 2026

From Pearl Harbor's strategic anchor – a Pacific perch that extended the revolutionaries' seafaring defiance into global guardianship – we board the decks of destiny today, Day 236: the birth of the U.S. Marine Corps on November 10, 1775. Authorized by the Second Continental Congress in Philadelphia, the Continental Marines emerged as elite naval infantry to storm enemy shores, secure vessels, and embody the Declaration's unbowed spirit at sea. In our Quarter Millennial's 250-Day Salute to American Greatness, this founding wasn't a mere muster; it was the republic's amphibious answer to tyranny, forging "Semper Fidelis" fidelity in the crucible of coastal raids and cannon fire, ensuring liberty's waves crashed eternal.

Tun Tavern's Call to the Colors: Forging Leathernecks in Liberty's Name

In the smoke-filled halls of Tun Tavern – a Philadelphia watering hole turned cradle of courage – the Congress resolved: "two Battalions of Marines be raised" for service aboard Continental Navy ships. Samuel Nicholas, the first commissioned officer, recruited from the city's stout-hearted, swelling ranks to over 300 by winter's end. No frills, just flintlocks and fortitude: These were the shock troops to repel boarders, seize ports, and plant the Grand Union Flag on hostile ground.

The Marines' revolutionary odyssey unfolded with swift, salty resolve:

• Shipboard Sentinels: From the outset, they manned rails on vessels like the USS Alfred, enforcing discipline and drilling in close-quarters combat. Their role? To turn wooden warships into floating fortresses, echoing the privateers' guerrilla navy that harried British supply lines from Boston to the Bahamas.
• First Assault: New Providence Raid: On March 3, 1776, 234 Marines under Nicholas splashed ashore at Nassau, claiming the island's forts and a cache of gunpowder – the Continental Army's largest haul. Though the governor's stores were depleted, the raid proved amphibious audacity: Storming shores to starve the enemy, a tactic born of necessity and nerve.
• From Revolution to Republic: Disbanded post-1783, reborn as the U.S. Marine Corps in 1798 amid Quasi-War with France, they evolved into expeditionary elites – Tripoli's shores in 1805, Chapultepec in 1847, Iwo Jima in 1945. Yet their 1775 genesis rooted all in 1776's ethos: Not conquerors, but liberators, faithful to the people's sovereignty.

These "soldiers of the sea" – leather-collared against sun and saber – scripted the Marine hymn's verse: "First to fight for right and freedom, and to keep our honor clean." Their birth secured the seafaring sovereignty that let the Declaration sail unchallenged.

Why the Marines' Muster Marshes Us to 250?

At 236 days from July 4, 2026, the Continental Marines' establishment reminds us that the Declaration's liberty demanded defenders who could strike from the surf – versatile guardians of a coastal republic. In an era of hybrid threats, their "Semper Fi" calls us to that same fidelity: Adapt, assault injustice, and anchor freedom's fleet. As we countdown, it salutes the tavern-born tenacity that turned tides, ensuring 1776's shores remain ours to defend.

What Marine legend fires your revolutionary spirit – the Nassau daring, Tun Tavern's toast, or their eternal watch? Share your reflections in the comments or on social.

Tomorrow, on Day 235 (November 11th), we'll honor the Armistice of 1918 – the guns silenced in "the war to end all wars," echoing the Founders' quest for peace that preserves the peaceable kingdom of liberty. The march to liberty endures.

In faithful assault on tyranny's tide,   
The Quarter Millennial Team   

P.S. Rally your remembrances with #250DaysToLiberty – together, we hold the line.