Marine Band Established
1798
On July 11, 1798, President John Adams signed an Act of Congress reestablishing the Marine Corps, which had its origins in the Continental Marines. In addition to a Corps of marines, the Act authorized “… a drum major, a fife major, and 32 drums and fifes.” President Adams had no way of knowing that, in addition to creating a fighting force, he also was providing for what would become an extraordinary musical organization: the United States Marine Band. The Marine Band is the nation’s oldest continuously active professional musical organization and the oldest continuously active unit in the United States Marine Corps.
Little is known about the first musicians who joined the Marine Corps. It is known that there was great difficulty finding them and enlisting them. Marine Corps Commandant Lieutenant Colonel William Ward Burrows wrote to Lieutenant James Weaver in September 1798, “You are to procure as many drummers and fifers as you can. If they are really capital, and cannot be had without a bounty, you must give it. The officers here have agreed to advance 10 dollars each to enable the regiment to procure music and I hope it will be agreeable to the officers under Lieutenant Lilley to advance the sum.”
On Oct. 10, Commandant Burrows wrote to the Secretary of the Navy, “It appears impossible to procure music without a bounty. I wish you would give me the liberty to expend such a sum, as I think fit for the Corps. We at present, have agreed to raise 300 dollars amongst ourselves, until your pleasure is known. Other troops give a bounty and volunteer corps expend large sums in this way, which makes it difficult to procure musick of any kind. I enlisted a fifer yesterday, and gave him 10 dollars out of my own pocket and the villain went off in a few hours afterwards.”
In spite of difficulties, the Commandant was successful in enlisting the first musicians. In 1799, the Marine Corps was enlarged by about 20 percent and 18 more musicians were added. Some of them were deployed on war ships, some were sent on recruiting duty, and some were retained in Philadelphia, then the nation’s capital, to provide music for the leaders of the government.
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