Commandants of the Marine Corps

[Vulture6]

LIEUTENANT GENERAL
JOHN A. LEJEUNE
13th Commandant of the Marine Corps (1920 – 1929)

Lieutenant General John Archer Lejeune, 13th Commandant of the Marine Corps, was born at Pointe Coupee, Louisiana, on 10 January 1867. He was educated at Louisiana State University, Baton Rouge, from which he graduated with a B.A. degree. Subsequently, he secured an appointment as a midshipman at the U.S. Naval Academy, from which he was graduated in 1888. At the expiration of a two-year cruise as a cadet midshipman he was commissioned a second lieutenant in the Marine Corps on 1 July 1890.

Second Lieutenant Lejeune reported for duty on 31 August 1890 at the Marine Barracks, New York, serving at that post until he was detached, joining Marine Barracks, Norfolk, Virginia, on 3 November 1890. From 1 October 1891 to 28 July 1893, Lt Lejeune served on board the USS Bennington and was promoted to first lieutenant on 26 February 1892. On 28 August 1893, he reported for duty at the Norfolk Barracks, where he served until 31 July 1897.

On 2 August 1897, 1stLt Lejeune assumed command of the Marine Guard of the USS Cincinnati, on which vessel he served throughout the Spanish-American War. He was detached from the USS Cincinnati 17 February 1899, and on 18 February 1899, joined the USS Massachusetts, to command the Marine Guard. He was promoted to captain on 3 March 1899 and left his position on the Massachusetts on 10 May 1900.

From 3 July 1900 to 12 November 1900, Capt Lejeune performed recruiting duty at Boston, Massachusetts, and on 22 November 1900 reported at the Marine Barracks, Pensacola, Florida, to command the Marines. From 12 January 1903 to 21 January 1903, Capt Lejeune was on duty at the Norfolk Barracks, going to recruiting duty at New York City on 26 January 1903. He was promoted to major on 3 March 1903 and was on duty at Headquarters, Washington, D.C. from 15 May 1903 to 8 August 1903.

On 8 August 1903, Maj Lejeune was ordered to the USS Panther to command the Marine Battalion on board that vessel, joining 16 August 1903. On 23 October 1903, the battalion, with Maj Lejeune in command, was transferred to the USS Dixie. From 16 December 1903 to 21 December 1904, Maj Lejeune was on duty ashore on the Isthmus of Panama in command of this battalion, leaving there on the latter date on board the USS Yankee.

From 27 January 1905 to 20 May 1906, Maj Lejeune served at the Marine Barracks, Washington, D.C. He then returned to Panama in command of a battalion of Marines from 29 May to 6 July 1906, the battalion being transported both ways on board the USS Columbia. This was detached duty, and on 29 March 1907, Maj Lejeune was detached from command of the Washington Barracks and ordered to the Philippines.

Arriving in the Philippines on 2 May 1907, Maj Lejeune assumed command of the Marine Barracks and Naval Prison, Navy Yard, Cavite, on 6 May 1907. He assumed commanded of the First Brigade of Marines on 15 June 1908 and was promoted to lieutenant colonel on 13 May 1909. He was detached on 8 June 1909 and ordered to return to the United States.

Lieutenant Colonel Lejeune embarked on board the USS Ohio on 26 May 1912 with the Second Regiment, First Provisional Brigade Marines for Cuba. He disembarked at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, on 8 June 1912 and was in command of the District of Santiago from 9 June to 14 July 1912. On 15 July 1912, LtCol Lejeune embarked on board the USS Prairie and sailed for Colon, Panama. July 18-29, 1912 was spent at Camp Elliott, Panama.

After returning to the United States, LtCol Lejeune was again called upon for expeditionary duty. He sailed from Philadelphia, 20 February 1913 as second in command of the First Regiment, Second Provisional Brigade Marines and disembarked 27 February 1913, at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. He returned to Philadelphia on board the USS Prairie on 2 May 1913.

On 27 November 1913, he sailed from New York with the 2d Advanced Base Regiment, his ultimate destination Vera Cruz, Mexico, but returned to the United States to receive his promotion to colonel on 25 February 1914. Col Lejeune and his unit eventually landed in Mexico on 22 April 1914 and participated in the occupation of the city. He returned home in December 1914, this time to report to Marine Corps Headquarters in Washington, D.C., to become assistant to the Major General Commandant of the Marine Corps. He was promoted to brigadier general on 29 August 1916.

With the outbreak of World War I, BGen Lejeune assumed command of the newly constructed Marine Barracks, Quantico, Virginia. His overseas service was, however, inevitable, and in June 1918, he arrived at Brest, France. He was promoted to major general 1 July 1918.

Upon reporting to the commander of the American Expeditionary Forces, he was assigned to command a brigade of the 32nd Division and assumed command of the 4th Brigade of Marines of the 2d Division immediately following the attack of the division in the Soissons offensive.
On 28 July 1918, MajGen Lejeune assumed command of the 2d Division and remained in that capacity until August 1919, when the unit was demobilized. He was the first Marine officer to hold an Army divisional command, and following the Armistice he led his division in the march into Germany.

During that war he was recognized by the French Government as a strategist and leader, as evidenced by the Legion of Honor, and the Croix de Guerre bestowed upon him by that people. From General John J. Pershing he received the Distinguished Service Medal. The Navy Distinguished Service Medal was conferred upon him when he returned to the United States following the occupation of Germany.

In October 1919, he again was appointed Commanding General, Marine Barracks, Quantico, Virginia. He was appointed as Major General Commandant of the Marine Corps on 1 July 1920. Subsequent to that time, he left his headquarters at Washington several times for tours of inspection in Haiti, Santo Domingo, Cuba, Puerto Rico, to the West Coast and elsewhere.
Upon the expiration of his second term as Commandant, MajGen Lejeune indicated his desire not to retire from the Marine Corps, but was relieved as Commandant in March 1929. On 10 November 1929, he retired in order to accept the position of superintendent of the Virginia Military Institute, serving there until poor health necessitated his resignation in October 1937. In February 1942, he was advanced to the rank of lieutenant general on the Marine Corps retired list.

Lieutenant General Lejeune died 20 November 1942 at the Union Memorial Hospital, Baltimore, Maryland, and was interred in the Arlington National Cemetery with full military honors. Today, Camp Lejeune, North Carolina, bears his name and he is often referred to as "the greatest of all Leathernecks," having served more than 40 years with the Marine Corps.

Lieutenant General Lejeune's awards include: Distinguished Service Medal (Navy); Distinguished Service Medal (Army); Sampson Medal (USS Cincinnati); Spanish Campaign Medal; Marine Corps Expeditionary Medal with three Bronze stars for Panama, Cuba, and the Dominican Republic; Mexican Service Medal; Victory Medal with St. Mihiel Champagne, Meuse-Argonne, and Defensive Sector Clasp for World War I; Second Nicaraguan Campaign Medal; French Legion of Honor (Commander); and French Croix de Guerre with Palm.

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MAJOR GENERAL
GEORGE BARNETT
12th Commandant of the Marine Corps (1914-1920)

Major General George Barnett, 12th Commandant of the Marine Corps, was born in Lancaster, Wisconsin, on 9 December 1859. He entered the U.S. Naval Academy in June 1877, graduating in 1881 with the first academy class to provide officers to the Marine Corps. After spending two years at sea as a cadet-midshipman he was transferred to the Marine Corps and was appointed a second lieutenant on 1 July 1883. While serving as a second lieutenant he did duty at the various Marine Barracks in the eastern part of the United States and served on board the USS Pinta for three years. He was again at sea on the USS Iroquois at the time he was promoted to first lieutenant in September 1890.

After completing the second of two two-year tours of sea duty he served one year at the Marine Barracks, Navy Yard, Washington, D.C., and was then attached to a Marine guard at the World’s Columbian Exposition at Chicago, where he remained until it closed. At that time he resumed his regular duties at the Washington, D.C. Navy Yard.

In June 1896, he again went to sea, this time aboard the USS Vermont. He was transferred to the USS San Francisco in December 1897 and to the USS New Orleans during the following April. While serving on that vessel during the Spanish-American War, he participated in several bombardments of the forts at Santiago, Cuba. He was advanced to captain on 11 August 1898, and was transferred to the USS Chicago in November of that year.

Captain Barnett came ashore for duty at Marine Corps Headquarters in Washington, D.C. in May 1901, and was promoted to major shortly afterwards. During the following year he was given command of a battalion of Marines on the USS Panther and sent for duty on the Isthmus of Panama, where they protected American interests and guarded the railway transit of the Isthmus.

Major Barnett returned to Washington in December 1902, only to be placed in command of another battalion of Marines being transferred less than a month later to join the first Brigade of Marines in the Philippine Islands. Arriving in the Philippines a few months later, he was transferred to duty as Fleet Marine Officers of the Asiatic Fleet and served on several vessels of that fleet until December 1904, when he rejoined the First Brigade Marines.

Major Barnett was transferred from the Philippine Islands to Washington, D.C. in April 1905, and shortly after arriving in the United States received a promotion to lieutenant colonel. He served as Commanding Officer, Marine Barracks, Navy Yard in Washington for a period of one year when he was again placed in command of an expeditionary battalion which sailed on board the USS Minneapolis for Havana, Cuba, where it landed and became part of the Cuban Army of Pacification.

Lieutenant Colonel Barnett’s organization was augmented to a regiment soon after landing in Cuba, while the entire Marine Expeditionary Force was increased to a brigade under the command of Colonel L.W.T. Waller. LtCol Barnett’s regiment was almost immediately transferred to Cianfuegos, where it spread out over a wide area with Barnett controlling a considerable portion of the island. A large army expeditionary force relieved part of the Marines in Cuba and LtCol Barnett returned to Washington early in November 1906.

After commanding the Marine Barracks in Washington for a period of one year, he was transferred to Marine Corps Headquarters and was shortly afterwards ordered to command the Marine Detachment, American Legation, Peking, China. Upon completing his tour of duty in the Far East he returned to the United States during the summer of 1910 and assumed command of the Marine Barracks, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. He was promoted to the rank of colonel on 11 October of that year.

During the next three years he was sent to Cuba, each year in command of the First Regiment of Marines, which was repeatedly sent to that troublesome island on account of serious domestic disturbances, which the United States was obligated to control under provisions of the Platt Amendment. While this serious undertaking was being conducted, the First Advanced Base Brigade of Marines was organized at Philadelphia, under the command of Col Barnett. He went with that organization on extensive maneuvers with the Atlantic Fleet to Puerto Rico from which he returned on 15 February and was appointed Major General Commandant of the Marine Corps on 25 February 1914 for a period of four years. He was the first Commandant to be appointed on a four-year detail in accordance with a law passed the previous year. He was promoted to brigadier general on 29 August 1916.

The first important military event of his administration as Commandant was the sending of a reinforced brigade of Marines to take part in the operations which occurred at Vera Cruz, Mexico, during 1914. A minor intervention in Haiti was made during that year and an expeditionary force of Marines was kept afloat for some time along the west coast of Mexico. Serious trouble began to brew in both Haiti and Santo Domingo and within a year it was necessary for the Marine Corps under BGen Barnett’s guidance to place a brigade of Marines in each of these two countries, where they continued on duty until after the close of his administration.

World War I activities of the Marine Corps were carried out under the general direction of BGen Barnett as well. The Marine Corps expanded to more than three thousand officers and approximately 75,500 enlisted men. In addition to continuing the occupation of Haiti and Santo Domingo and reinforcements of the regular stations of the Marine Corps two brigades of Marines were sent to France, occupied parts of Cuba, while another was held in reserve at Galveston, Texas, and large training centers were maintained at Quantico, Virginia, and Parris Island, South Carolina. BGen Barnett also saw the Marine Corps through the difficult period of demobilization and reorganization at the close of the war. For his outstanding service he was honored by the French Government by being made a commander of the Legion of Honor, and he was awarded the Distinguished Service Medal by the Secretary of the Navy.

He was relieved as Commandant of the Marine Corps on 30 June 1920, by order of the Secretary of the Navy. On 5 March 1921, he was given the regular rank of Major General. He spent the remaining years of his active service as Commanding General of the Department of the Pacific.

Major General Barnett retired on 9 December 1923, having reached the statutory age limit of sixty-four years. He died on 27 April 1930 in Washington D.C., and was buried in the Arlington National Cemetery, Arlington, Virginia, in a section reserved for the members of the Naval Academy Class of 1881.

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MAJOR GENERAL
WILLIAM P. BIDDLE
11th Commandant of the Marine Corps (1911-1914)

Major General William Phillips Biddle, the 11th Commandant of the Marine Corps and a member of the prominent Philadelphia Biddles, was born in that city 15 December 1853 and was educated in private schools in the vicinity, by touring and in the University of Pennsylvania. He was commissioned a second lieutenant in the Marine Corps 22 June 1875 and after short tours of duty in Washington, New York and Philadelphia, made the first of his many tours of sea duty on which he passed nearly half of his active service. After three years on the Hartford and Powhatan, 2dLt Biddle again went ashore for duty at Philadelphia and New York. He returned to sea duty on the Kearsarge in March 1882, and was promoted to first lieutenant in 1884. With a break of less than three years at the same stations as his previous shore duty, he again went to sea for three years on Swarta. He returned to Philadelphia for duty in February 1891, where he was promoted to captain in 1894. He resumed sea duty on board the Baltimore in June 1895, and was shortly afterwards transferred to the Olympia on which he served during the Spanish-American War and participated in the Battle of Manila Bay.

Soon after the close of the war, Capt Biddle returned to Philadelphia for duty but was soon called to join the Fourth Battalion of Marines organized for duty in the Far East. With that battalion he arrived in China in time to take part in the famous relief expedition to Peking in 1900. After the affairs of the Boxer Rebellion had been somewhat adjusted, Capt Biddle was transferred with his battalion to the First Brigade of Marines, Philippine Islands, where he served a little over two years, and then returned to the United States for duty at Headquarters. He was promoted to lieutenant colonel 23 March 1903. In December of that year he was sent to Panama in command of the battalion of Marines on the Dixie, which arrived in time to participate in affairs when the independence of that country was declared. He returned to the United States soon afterwards and served for short tours of duty in Philadelphia and at Headquarters, Marine Corps.

Lieutenant Colonel Biddle was promoted to colonel in February 1905 and during the following year, returned to the Philippine Islands where he commanded the First Brigade of Marines for about two years. He reported for duty at Headquarters in May 1908, and was soon afterwards detailed in Philadelphia and sent to Panama to reinforce the troops protecting the construction of the Canal, and for potential duty in Nicaragua. He returned to Headquarters in April 1910, where he continued to serve the remainder of his active duty. During the closing months of MajGen Elliott’s commandancy, Col Biddle acted as Commandant most of the time.

Colonel Biddle was chosen as Major General Commandant of the Marine Corps on 3 February 1911. Col Biddle’s tour of duty as Commandant was a comparatively quiet, short and uneventful one. He concerned himself primarily with the routine affairs of the Corps. Several minor expeditions took place, including the first intervention in Nicaragua. Under his administration, the Advance Base Force, forerunner of today's Fleet Marine Force, was also established in December 1913.

After nearly three years in office, MajGen Commandant Biddle applied for retirement on the ground of having completed more than thirty years’ service, and he was retired on 24 February 1914. He was recalled for active duty during the World War and served primarily on court-martial duty at San Diego, California.

Major General Biddle died in Nice, France, on 25 February 1923 and was buried a month later in Arlington National Cemetery with full military honors.

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MAJOR GENERAL
GEORGE F. ELLIOTT
10th Commandant of the Marine Corps (1903-1910)

Major General George Frank Elliott, 10th Commandant of the Marine Corps and the only Commandant to receive his early training at West Point, was born in Utah, Alabama, 30 November 1846. He was appointed to the United States Military Academy in 1868 and was honorably discharged in June 1870 upon the completion of a two-year course there. In October 1870 he was appointed a second lieutenant in the Marine Corps by the President of the United States. Second Lieutenant Elliott served at the Marine Barracks, Washington, D.C., from the time of his appointment to the Marine Corps until 1871, when he was transferred to Portsmouth, New Hampshire. He later served on the Vermont, the Frolic, and the Monogahela, and was on duty at the Marine Barracks at Norfolk, Virginia, in 1877 when a battalion of Marines was ordered to that post from Washington, D.C. during the strike of railway employees. He was in command of the detachment that guarded the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad tunnel and also acted as guard for the paymaster of the railroad. He returned to Norfolk upon detachment from that duty. He was promoted to first lieutenant in 1878.

In 1880, 1stLt Elliott was ordered to duty on board the Alliance and served at the Marine Barracks, Boston, Massachusetts, from 1882 to 1884, when he returned to Norfolk. He was with the Marine battalion sent to the Isthmus of Panama in 1885. He was promoted to captain in 1892.

In 1894, he was attached to the Baltimore as Fleet Marine Officer when that ship was sent to China to guard American interests during the war between Japan and China. He and his men made a forced march to Seoul, a distance of 31 miles, part of which was through submerged rice fields, in eleven hours.

In June 1895, Capt Elliott was sent to the Marine Barracks, Brooklyn, New York, and from 22 April to 22 September 1898, he was on duty with the Marine Battalion of the North Atlantic Fleet. The Fleet was sent to hold its position at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba.

On 14 July 1898, he was in command of Companies C and D, composed of 150 Marines and 50 Cubans, which were ordered to destroy the well at Cuzco, about six miles from Guantanamo, and the only water supply of the Spaniards within twelve miles. Two and a half miles from Cuzco, half of the Cubans and the first platoon of Company C passed over a mountain to the left, hoping to cut off the Spanish pickets. In this they failed, and the main force was discovered by the Spanish outpost, which retreated immediately and gave the alarm to the main body, whose headquarters were in a house at Cuzco. A high mountain separated the two forces at this point and each attempted to gain its crest as a point of vantage. The Marines were successful, but were fired on heavily by the enemy from the valley. Following a straggling retreat by the Spaniards, the Marines began the return march, the well having been destroyed. For his eminent and conspicous conduct in this engagement, Capt Elliott was advanced three numbers in his grade.

In October 1898, he was detached from Brooklyn’s rolls and ordered to the Marine Barracks, Navy Yard, Washington, D.C. He was promoted to major in March 1899.
In August 1899, Maj Elliott was ordered to command the Second Battalion of Marines for duty in the Philippines and was promoted to lieutenant colonel in September of that year. From October 1899 to January 1900, LtCol Elliott commanded the First Brigade of Marines in the Philippines. During this period he engaged in the battle of Novaleta.

On his return to the United States he was on duty at Norfolk until 1903, when he was given command of the Marine Barracks, Washington, D.C., and promoted to colonel in March 1903.

On 3 October 1903, he was appointed Brigadier General Commandant of the Marine Corps, relieving Major General Charles Heywood. In December 1903, he was ordered to command a Provisional Brigade of Marines organized for service in Panama. He departed on 27 December with the Brigade on board the Dixie, arriving at Colon on 3 January 1904, and went into camp at Haute Obispo, Panama. He relinquished command of the Brigade on 15 February 1904, and resumed his duties at Headquarters Marine Corps on the 25th of the same month.

On 21 May 1908, he was appointed Major General Commandant of the Marine Corps. One of the most difficult endeavors of MajGen Elliott's career was his successful resistance to attempts to remove sea-going Marines from capital ships and to merge the Corps into the Army. Also during his tenure the home post of the Corps, Marine Barracks, 8th and I Streets, Washington, underwent major changes. In 1903, the old barracks were condemned and pulled down and by 1910 had been rebuilt essentially in their present form. He was placed on the retired list on 30 November 1910 upon reaching the statutory retirement age.

Major General Elliott died at his home in Washington, D.C., shortly after noon 4 November 1931 after a brief illness. His remains were interred in the Arlington National Cemetery. A Navy transcript ship was named in his honor but later was lost off Guadalcanal in 1942.

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MAJOR GENERAL
CHARLES HEYWOOD
9th Commandant of the Marine Corps (1891-1903)

Major General Charles Heywood, ninth Commandant of the Marine Corps, was born in Waterville, Maine, on 3 October 1839. He was appointed a second lieutenant in the Marine Corps from New York, on 5 April 1858. During that year he was stationed at the Marine Barracks, Washington, D.C., and at Brooklyn, New York.

While on duty in Brooklyn he served in the Quarantine riots at Staten Island, New York. He performed special duty on the Niagara and later on board the St. Louis, of the Home Squadron, the ship seeking filibusters in Central America. He was invalided from Aspinwall (Colon), in January 1860, and later was ordered to the sloop of war Cumberland, flagship of the Squadron of Observation at Vera Cruz, Mexico. In March 1861, he returned to duty on board the Cumberland and with that vessel took part in the destruction of the Norfolk Navy Yard during the Civil War.

In May 1861, 2dLt Heywood was promoted to first lieutenant, and as such landed with the Marines at Hatteras Inlet, where he was present at the capture of Forts Clark and Hatteras. He was advanced to captain in November of that year, and during the winter of 1861-62 participated actively in a number of boat expeditions in the James River.

In the fight between the Cumberland and the Merrimac, in March 1862, his conduct was particularly noteworthy while commanding the after gun deck division, firing the last gun in the fight and saving himself by jumping overboard as the Cumberland went down with her flag flying. He was most favorably mentioned for his gallant conduct and received the brevet rank of major for his services during the engagement.

For some time afterwards he was actively employed, both on shore and at sea in search for the notorious raider Alabama, until he applied for duty on board the flagship Hartford. He was ordered to that vessel as Fleet Marine Officer of the West Gulf Squadron.

Major Heywood served on shore at Pensacola and was on board the Hartford in the battle of Mobile Bay, where he received the brevet rank of lieutenant colonel for gallant and meritorious services. During that engagement he had charge of two nine-inch guns. His services during the Civil War thus secured for him two brevet ranks for distinguished gallantry in the presence of the enemy.

From 1865 to 1867 he performed duty on board various ships, serving as Admiral Farragut's Fleet Marine Officer on the European Station and later in the same capacity in the North Atlantic Squadron. During this period he also served for a time at Washington, Norfolk and Brooklyn. In November 1876, he attained regular rank of major to which he had been brevetted more than ten years before, and was ordered to command the Marine Barracks, Washington, D.C.

During the serious labor riots of the summer of 1877, Maj Heywood commanded a battalion of Marines at Baltimore, Philadelphia, and Reading, Pennsylvania. He was honorably mentioned by General Hancock, U.S. Army, who was in general command, and received thanks from the Navy Department for his services. His next years of duty carried him to widely separated posts--Mare Island, California, and Brooklyn, New York.

In April 1885, he organized, within twenty-four hours from the time of the order, a battalion of 250 Marines for duty on the Isthmus of Panama to open the transit. Subsequently under his command on the Isthmus were 800 Marines in addition to a strong detachment of U.S. Navy and the artillery. For his arduous services the admiral commanding asked Maj Heywood to "receive his grateful acknowledgements."

Major Heywood was promoted to lietuenant colonel on 9 March 1888, and on 30 January 1891 was appointed Colonel Commandant of the Marine Corps. By special acts of Congress he was promoted to brigadier general in March 1899 and to major general in July 1902. He was the first Marine to hold the rank of major general.

The energy, experience and training which he had shown and obtained in his early days in the Marine Corps were fully brought into play from the moment he assumed command of the Corps. At that time the Marine Corps consisted of 75 officers and 2,100 enlisted men, which gradually rose during his tenure of office until at the time of his retirement in 1903, it had reached the total of 278 officers and 7,532 enlisted personnel, the highest strength up to that point.

He kept in mind the problem of more closely associating the Corps with the Navy so that the work of the two could be in the closet harmony. He was the first to establish a regular system of examinations for officers for promotion and set up the system of officers' schools, which has continued with slight interruption since then.

By increasing the efficiency of the Corps he tried to demonstrate to the Navy how absolutely essential it was as an auxiliary to the naval service. Under his administration the number of Marine Corps posts were increased from twelve to twenty-one. There was scarcely a regular post at which MajGen Heywood was not able to provide new barracks or officers' quarters.

He caused the regular system of target practice to be established and adopted good conduct medals for the betterment of the discipline in the Marine Corps. The declaration of war with Spain found the Marine Corps prepared.

Major General Heywood closed a most distinguished career of over forty-five years as a commissioned officer in the Marine Corps, when on 3 October 1903, in accordance with law, having attained the age of 64 years, he was placed on the retired list.

His death occurred in Washington, D.C., on 26 February 1915, and his remains were interred in Arlington National Cemetery.

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COLONEL
CHARLES G. McCAWLEY
8th Commandant of the Marine Corps (1876-1891)

Colonel Charles Grymes McCawley, eighth Commandant of the Marine Corps, was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, on 29 January 1827. The son of a Marine captain (James McCawley, 1820-1836), he was commissioned a second lieutenant on 3 March 1847. Within a few weeks he saw action at Chapultepec, Mexico, a bitter struggle that today is commemorated in the famous Marines' Hymn -- "From the Halls of Montezuma..." For gallant and meritorious conduct in that action, 2dLt McCawley was promoted to brevet rank of first lieutenant.

For a period of 13 years, beginning in 1848, 1stLt McCawley performed duty at sea and at shore installations along the Atlantic coast.

After the beginning of the Civil War, he joined the battalion of Marines at Bay Point, South Carolina, returning with the unit to Washington in April 1862. During the following month he was sent in command of 200 Marines to reoccupy the Norfolk Navy Yard. That important establishment had been captured by the Confederates earlier in the war and they had evacuated it upon the approach of Federal forces under General Wool. General Wool's troops occupied the yard and turned it over to McCawley's detachment who again raised the Union flag over the station.

In July 1863, he joined the battalion of Marines ordered for service in the South Atlantic Squadron and served with that organization on Morris Island, South Carolina, during the bombardment and destruction of Fort Sumter. He participated in the bombardment and occupation of Forts Sumter and Gregg.

Captain McCawley commanded a detachment of nearly 125 Marines which acted as one of five naval divisions in a boat attack against Fort Sumter on the night of 8 September 1863. The attack, supported by heavy fire from the supporting vessels, resulted in considerable confusion and only a small part of the attacking force effected a landing and subsequently forced to surrender. The boats under Captain McCawley's immediate control turned back with the remainder of the attacking force that did not make the landing. He was brevetted major for the part he took in this operation. He also served in operations on Folly Island and towards the close of the year returned with the battalion to Philadelphia.

He was promoted to major on 10 June 1864 and served at Philadelphia until March 1865, when he was ordered to command the Marine Barracks at Boston. He was promoted to lieutenant colonel on 5 December 1867 and remained in command at Boston until June 1871, when he was ordered to assume command of the Marine Barracks, Washington, D.C., and to superintend recruiting. He had a short tour of duty in New York, attending to the organization of the recruiting service there, and returned to Washington in November 1872.

He was appointed Colonel Commandant of the Marine Corps on 1 November 1876. During his tenure of office the Marines participated actively in the quelling of the labor riots which had paralyzed business in nine states and which led to wholesale arson and murder; in the protection of life and property in Panama in 1885 when the country was in the throes of a revolt against Colombia; and performed similar service in Valparaiso, Chile. Marines also distinguished themselves by suppressing seal poaching in the Bering Sea.

In 1880, he assigned one of the Corps' most famous officers--John Philip Sousa--to serve as leader of the Marine Corps Band. Also his tenure as Commandant was distinguished by improved administrative practices, higher enlistment standards, better training, obtaining a quota of Marine officers from the Naval Academy, better officer selection and instruction, enforcement of uniform regulations, standard tables of organization, and regularization of staff and command procedures. It was under Colonel Commandant McCawley that both the typewriter and the telephone were introduced into the Corps.

Colonel McCawley retired from active service at the age of 64 on 29 January 1891. In ill health at the time of his retirement, he returned to his home in Rosemont, Pennsylvania. He died there in October 1891, and was buried in the Presbyterian Church Cemetery, Abington, Pennsylvania.

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BRIGADIER GENERAL
JACOB ZEILIN
7th Commandant of the Marine Corps (1864-1876)

Brigadier General Jacob Zeilin, seventh Commandant of the Marine Corps, was born 16 July 1806 at Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. He was appointed a second lieutenant in the Marine Corps on 1 October 1831. After completing the preliminary training of a Marine officer in Washington, D.C., his first tours of duty were ashore at the Marine Barracks, Philadelphia, and at Gosport (Portsmouth), Virginia.

He first went to sea on board the sloop of war Erie in March 1832, which was followed by a tour of duty at Charlestown (Boston), Massachusetts. In August 1834, he again joined the sloop Erie on a long and eventful voyage which lasted for more then three years. He was promoted to first lieutenant 12 September 1836.

From September 1837 to April 1841, 1stLt Zeilin served at Charlestown, Massachusetts, and New York. In February 1842, he returned to sea duty, on board the Columbus, and during the cruise that followed spent several months on the Brazil station. Upon the conclusion of this tour of sea duty, and after again serving at important Marine Corps stations on the east coast of the United States from 1842 to 1845, he was transferred to duty aboard the frigate Congress of the U.S. Pacific Squadron.

During the conquest of California, 1846-1847, 1stLt Zeilin took part in the capture and occupation of Santa Barbara and San Pedro, early in August 1846, and soon afterwards assisted in the first capture of Los Angeles. A few days later, with the Marines of the Squadron, he recaptured San Pedro, which had been lost to the insurgent Californians.

In December 1846, when General Kearney's army was beleaguered at San Bernardo Ranch, California, 1stLt Zeilin took a prominent part in its relief and rescue.

In January 1847, he served as adjutant of Commodore Stockton's mixed column of sailors, Marines, and volunteers that marched from San Diego and defeated the Californians in the battle of San Gabriel and the affair at La Mesa. For his services he was brevetted major, two grades above his regular rank at that time.

On 28 January 1847, he was appointed Military Commandant of San Diego and served in that capacity until the completion of the conquest of California.

He was promoted to the regular rank of captain 14 September 1847. During the following few months, Capt Zeilin, with the Marines of the Pacific Squadron, participated in the capture of important ports in lower California and the west coast of Mexico, and served as Fleet Marine Officer of the Pacific Squadron.

After the close of the war with Mexico, he proceeded to Norfolk, Virginia, where he served for a time, thence to New York. He remained at New York until June 1852, when selected to accompany Commodore Perry as Fleet Marine Officer in the famous expedition to Japan. With elaborate ceremonies, the Marines under command of Capt Zeilin took a prominent part. He was the second person to set foot on shore at the formal landing of the naval forces at Yokohama, Japan, on 14 July 1853, and was one of those later accorded special honor for his part in the expedition that opened the doors of Japan to the outside world.

Upon his return from Japan, he was again stationed at Norfolk. This duty was followed by his being placed in command of the Marine Barracks, Navy Yard, Washington, D.C. After remaining for a time at Washington he again went to sea, this time aboard the frigate Wabash, on the European Station, until the year 1859.

During the early part of the Civil War, he was on garrison duty in command of Marine Barracks, first at Philadelphia and later at Washington, D.C. In July 1861 he was on detached duty with the Marine battalion at the Battle of Bull Run in which he was wounded. Five days later he was appointed to the regular rank of major.

In 1863, Maj Zeilin was given command of the battalion of Marines sent to support the naval force whose mission was the capture of Charleston, South Carolina, but, because of illness, he returned after a few weeks of this duty to garrison duty at Marine Barracks, Portsmouth, New Hampshire.

While serving at Portsmouth he was appointed Colonel Commandant of the Marine Corps, 10 June 1864. His faithful and efficient performance of the duties of Commandant of the Corps during the trying period of the last year of the war and those years immediately following the close of the war is evidenced by the fact that he was promoted to the rank of brigadier general on 2 March 1867.

After the war, BGen Zeilin successfully defended the Marine Corps against its critics. In 1868, he approved the design of the "Eagle, Globe, and Anchor'' Marine Corps emblem.

Brigadier General Zeilin retired on 1 November 1876 after having served over forty-five years as an officer of the Marine Corps. He died in Washington, D.C., on 18 November 1880 and was buried in Laurel Hill Cemetery, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

In the year 1920, Destroyer No. 313, Zeilin was named in his memory, and then in 1941 the Navy transport Zeilin was also named in his honor.