U. S. Marines
Officers of the Marine Corps
Taken from the Records of Living Officers of the U. S. Navy and Marine Corps. Compiled from Official Sources by Lewis Randolph Hamersly, Late Lieutenant United States Marine Corps. Revised Edition, Philadelphia: J. B. Lippincott & Co. 1870. Entered according to Act of Congress, in the year 1870, by L. R. Hamersly and F. R. Harbaugh, in the Clerk's Office of the District Court of the United States, in and for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania.
Also taken from the Records of Living Officers of the U. S. Navy and Marine Corps; (2nd Edition) with a history of Naval Operations During the Rebellion of 1861-5. (2nd Edition 1870) And a list of the ships and officers participating in the great battles. Compiled from official sources by Lewis R. Hamersly (Late Lieutenant United States Marine Corps)
Philadelphia: J. B. Lippincott & Co. 1870
Entered according to Act of Congress, in the year 1870, by L. R. Hamerly and F. R. Harbaugh, in the Clerk's Office of the District Court of the United States, in and for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania.
BG Jacob Zeilin |
Major William B. Slack--Quartermaster | Major Augustus S. Nicholson--Inspector |
Major John C. Cash--Paymaster | Captain Wm. T. A. Maddox Asst QM. |
Captain James Wiley--Asst. QM | |
Col. Mathew R. Kintzing | LTC James H. Jones | LTC Charles G. McCawley |
Major Thomas Y. Field | Major George R. Graham | Major John L. Broome |
Major James Lewis | ||
(Note: The officers listed below obtained ranks above Captain. They were from Major to General.
The United States Marine Corps (USMC) was not utilized to full advantage
during the Civil War. Already weakened by the resignations of many of its
best officers, the USMCs morale suffered further as a result of feuding
between staff and line officers and senior officers who regarded themselves
administrators rather than field commanders. Another blow to morale was the
practice of appointing new junior officers by patronage.
In 1861 Congress authorized the United States Marine Corps to be
enlarged to 93 officers and 3,074 enlisted men, and Abraham Lincoln
increased that number by another thousand. However, recruiting was hindered
by a lack of funds for bounties and longer terms of enlistment than for men
in the volunteer army. By 1863 negative feelings toward the USMC resulted in
a congressional resolution that would have transferred the corps to army
control. The resolution was defeated, however, and when Marine
Commandant-Col. Jobn C. Harris died in 1864, Sec. of the Navy Gideon Welles
retired several senior officers to appoint Maj. Jacob Zeilin his successor.
Zeilin, at 59, was a combat veteran of the Mexican War and an officer of
proven ability.
Harris had governed the corps by carefully following all naval
regulations and by staying clear of army operations, and Zeilin continued
this policy. As a consequence, marines did not play a major role in
expeditions and amphibious operations during the war. Both Harris and Zeilin
failed to recognize the possibilities of amphibious assault, regarding such
operations as a responsibility of the army. Some 400 marines did participate
in the navy's unsuccessful landing operation against Fort Fisher, 13-14 Jan.
1865; the army landing finally won the battle there.
During the war marines continued their traditional role as ship
guards, also manning batteries and participating in limited operations
ashore. They did not always perform well, as at First Bull Run, where a
marine battalion of mostly raw recruits was routed. But other marines
distinguished themselves during landing and gunboat attacks and especially
as members of gun crews. 17 marines received the Medal of Honor for
conspicuous bravery; 13 of these were sergeants and corporals serving as gun
captains and gun-division commanders.
Marine recruiting improved by 1864 with changes in the conscription
laws and with bounty money finally available. When the war ended, the corps
was at full strength. A total of 148 marines were killed in action, while
312 more died from other causes.
Source: "Historical Times Encyclopedia of the Civil War"