{"product_id":"9781410224668","title":"Marines in the Revolution: A History of the Continental Marines in the American Revolution 1775-1783","description":"Note: This is a rare work on the early history of the Marine Corps. Since it originally was published a number of years ago in a much larger format, we had to reduce it to a reasonable 8.5x11 inches. Readers may note some darkening of several page edges from the reduction process. Also several paintings have been reduced in size. All information has been retained and none of these minor appearance changes impact readability. Please enjoy this wealth if information.(SJP) \u003cp\u003eMarines are as old as naval warfare itself. When\u003cbr\u003eThemistocles mobilized Athenian sea power against the invading Persians ¡n 480 B.C., one of his first decrees was to order the enlistment of Marines for the fleet. These men, called Epibatae, or \"heavyarmed sea soldiers,\" fought in the Greek triremes at Salamis which turned back Xerxes and saved Athens. Later, Rome had what Polybius described as milites classiarii (soldiers of the fleet), a category of Roman soldier organized and specially armed for duty on board warships, usually quinqueremes of the line. During the middle ages, ordinary soldiers were frequently embarked on board ship to provide a fighting backbone, but it was not until the naval wars of the 17th century that the distinct and organized role of Marines was almost simultaneously rediscovered by the British and Dutch, who raised the first two modern corps of Marines ¡n\u003cbr\u003e1664 and 1665, respectively.\u003cbr\u003eAmericans of the 17th and 18th centuries were notably a maritime people. The British colonies were close to the sea, but scattered along a coast line of more than a thousand miles, so that, in the absence of good roads, intercommunication was almost completely by water. Ocean trade also,\u003cbr\u003echiefly with England and the West Indies, was extensive.\u003cbr\u003eFishing was one of the most important industries, especially of the northeastern colonies,\u003cbr\u003eand the handling of small vessels on the Newfoundland\u003cbr\u003eBanks during all seasons of the year trained large numbers of men in seamanship. The whale fisheries likewise furnished an unsurpassed school for mariners.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eA considerable number of colonists, therefore,\u003cbr\u003ewere at home upon the sea and, more than this,\u003cbr\u003ethey were to some extent practiced in maritime warfare. England, during the 17th and 18th centuries,\u003cbr\u003ewas at war with various European powers a great part of the time, and almost from the beginning of the colonial period American privateers and letters of marque scoured the ocean in search of\u003cbr\u003eFrench and Spanish prizes. Large fleets were also fitted out and manned by provincials for various expeditions against foreign-held territories. The first of these expeditions to employ Americans in a capacity as Marines was that launched by Admiral\u003cbr\u003eEdward Vernon against the Spaniards in the War of the Austrian Succession.\u003cbr\u003eBritish Marines, after the Peace of Utrecht in 1713,\u003cbr\u003ewere practically disbanded; only four invalid companies remained. However, with the outbreak of hostilities with Spain in 1739, King George Il took measures to re-establish the Marines. On 15 November,\u003cbr\u003ein his address to the House of Commons which opened Parliament, the King stated that the prosecution of the war would require \"a number of soldiers to serve on board the fleet,\" and he \"judged it proper, that a body of Marines should be raised.\"\u003cbr\u003eThe following month, an Order ¡n Council decreed the formation of six regiments of Marines, each with an authorized strength of 1,100. Increases soon followed among them were three regiments organized in the colonies and placed under the command of Colonel Alexander Spotswood of Virginia.'\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"University Press of the Pacific","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":50093998473456,"sku":"9781410224668","price":39.5,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":false}],"url":"https:\/\/shop-qa.barnesandnoble.com\/products\/9781410224668","provider":"Barnes \u0026 Noble (DEV)","version":"1.0","type":"link"}