SW0106 Marines Earned Sea Legs in the US Frigate Navy; Engaged British, Pirates, Creeks and Seminole on Florida’s Early 1800s Gulf Coast

Marines earned grudging respect from the British for their defense of the Capitol in the Battle of Bladensburg, Md., in 1814.

 

We know from the Marine Corps Hymn that the Corps has traveled to the hall of Montezuma and the shores of Tripoli. Many of our listeners may not know that the Marines also sloshed around in the swamps of Florida in the Seminole Wars. Joining us for this episode, the first of two parts, is Paul Westermeyer, historian at Marine Corps University in Quantico, Virginia. He weaves the story of how the Marine Corps established a permanent institutional footing after a false start in the Revolutionary War. The Marines then performed heroically at sea and on land in the Barbary Pirate Wars and the War of 1812. They came ashore again along the gulf coast in the First Seminole War. Paul Westermeyer returns for the second part of this podcast series to look at the Marines in the Second Creek and Seminole Wars. The views Paul Westermeyer presents are his own and do not necessarily reflect the views of any government organization. 

 

Marines performed heroically at sea aboard U.S. Navy frigates, helping capture prize ships and counter the British navy's offensive operations off American coasts. Future Marine Corps Commandant Archibald Henderson served with distinction aboard the U.S.S. Constitution in the War of 1812. 

 

Host Patrick Swan is a board member with the Seminole Wars Foundation. He is a combat veteran and of the U.S. Army, serving in Iraq, Afghanistan, Kuwait, and Kosovo, and at the Pentagon after 9/11. A military historian, he holds masters degrees in Public History, Communication, and Homeland Security, and is a graduate of the US Army War College with an advanced degree in strategic studies. This podcast is recorded at the homestead of the Seminole Wars Foundation in Bushnell, Florida. 

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