In 1845 Mexico declared war against the United States and (to 1848) the marines were active in all sections, making a brilliant record. They were on the Pacific Coast under Commo dores Sloat, Shubrick, Stockton; on the East Coast they fought under Commodores Connor and Perry; on shore under Generals Scott, Taylor and Worth. At the capture of Monte rey, San Francisco and Mazatlan they were present, and their action at Los Angeles, San Diego, San Jose, San Gabriel and Guaymas called forth the complimentary recommendation of Commodore Shubrick that the government should double the force of marines on his sta tion, even if thereby they had to reduce the force of ordinary seamen and landsmen. The captures of Matamoras, Tampico, Frontera, Tabasco, Vera Cruz were aided by marines, and the marines were the first division to enter the Grand Plaza, City of Mexico. Hence the inscription that since is read on the banners of the corps: the Shores of Tripoli to the Halls of the Montezumas? But the greatest glory of the marines in this Mexican campaign happened when (13 Sept. 1847) Majors Twiggs and Reynolds, of this corps, were selected to lead a body of men picked from all the differ ent corps to storm the castle of Chapultepec. The brave Twiggs fell early in the advance, but in a hand to hand fierce fight, bayonets crossed, rifles clubbed, the bold assailants gained their objective.
In 1852 and 1853 Commodore Perry had these same heroes, as a part of his expedition to Japan, marching to the same music)) through the streets of Yeddo, when he opened the doors of the Mikado's realm to civilization and commerce. It was the marines who, 100 strong, were dispatched (1859) to Harper's Ferry to capture John Brown and suppress the rebels. They carried out the commission to the satisfaction of the Secretaries of War and Navy. First work of the marines on the out break of the Civil War (1861) was in re inforcing the troops at Fort Sumter, at Fort Washington, on the Potomac River, Fort Pick ens, Florida, and in destroying the navy yard, ships, etc., at Norfolk, Va. They did their share of fighting at the first battle of Bull Run, in the capture of Hatteras Inlet and in the Dupont expedition as well as in the battle of Port Royal and the expeditions along the coast and rivers of South Carolina, Georgia and Florida. They had an active part in the battle between the Merrimac and the Minnesota, Cumberland, Roanoke and Saint Lawrence. The marines were active in the operations at Roanoke Island, North Carolina Sound, James and Potomac rivers and on the lower Missis sippi. They were the first Federals to re occupy (1862) the Norfolk navy yard, and par ticipated in the night attack on Fort Sumter (1863). as well as in the fight between the Alabama and Kearsarge. In that same year they were besieging the Simonoseki forts at Japan, and taking a part in the battle of Mobile Bay. The marines were in the attack on Fort Fisher. Lieutenant French, of the marines, and two sergeants were commissioned to arrest and deliver Captain Semmes of the Confederate cruiser Alabama and succeeded. In 1867 and 1870 the marines were part of the Formosa expedition against savages, and in 1871 led the advance against the forts in Korea. They were
useful during Boston's great fire in 1872 and in the labor riots of 1877. A detachment of marines, in 1882, landed at Alexandria, Egypt, preventing pillage. After numerous minor ac tivities on this continent protecting Americans and property on Nevassa Island (1891), Val paraiso and at Honolulu (1893), Korea and China, etc., we come to the Spanish War when (1898) Guantanamo, Cuba, was occupied by a detachment of marines and, assisted by the ships, successfully defended the place against 6,000 Spanish soldiers, creating a base for the navy. The marines, at the secondary batteries, are credited with doing more damage to the Spanish cruisers than the other gunners at the battle (3 July 1898) of Santiago, and it was the marines that Dewey in May of that year landed and turned over the occupation of Cavite as fort and naval station after the battle of Manila Bay. In 1900 marines from Manila (later reinforced by marines from the United States) landed in China and did their share in the fighting at Tien Tsin, and on the march to the relief of the besieged American legation at Peking in the Boxer Rebellion. Spectacular was the expedition commanded by Captain Thorpe, in 1903, when, accompanied by a company of marines mounted on camels, they crossed the African deserts into the heart of Abyssinia, as escort of an American repre sentative, and brought about a conference with King Menelik in his capital. In the same year marines were protecting the American lega tion at Seoul, Korea, where insurrection ex isted. Four battalions of marines were sent to Cuba in 1906 and, later in conjunction with the army, became the ((Army of Cuban Pacifica tion," successfully pacifying the incipient Cuban revolution, with a two-year occupational serv ice. In 1908 the marines were policing at the election polls at Panama, and the next year were protecting American citizens and property against Nicaraguan revolutionists at Corinto, and (1909) in Bluefields, Nicaragua. Back to the same place came the marines in 1912 during another Nicaraguan intense revolutionary spasm; a battalion, under Major Butler, to Corinto, a regiment, under Colonel Pendleton, followed. The regiment fought several en gagements but pacified the country, with a loss of four lives and several wounded. A regi ment of marines under Colonel Moses, on the Prairie, was dispatched to Port au Prince to protect Americans employed as customs col lectors, border fighting having taken place be tween the negro republics Santo Domingo and Haiti. In 1914, under the present major-gen eral commandant, George Barnett, marines landed, 22 April, in Vera Cruz, Mexico, and did their active share in the military occupa tion of that place. That day and the next they lost five lives and a number were wounded, facing a desperate resistance. They occupied the town till November. Intermittently the marines were doing duty in Santo Domingo or Haiti in the disturbances of the island repub lics up to 1917.