From two battalions raised by the Continental Congress in 1775 to the Corps of today: the wars and battles the Marines fought, the leaders who shaped them, and the traditions they carry. **How to read it.** Wars and campaigns are durations, with a picture behind the timeline while they last; battles, milestones and people are moments with their picture. Chapter headings mark the eras. Hover over a cluster of moments to fan it out, and open any moment for its full notes and sources. Related events (a leader and their battle, a battle and its war) are linked. **Sources and images.** Each event links the Wikipedia article it draws on. Images are linked, not copied, from Wikimedia Commons, where most are US government works in the public domain; open an image's original for its author and license. Dates are given in UTC; where only the month or year is known, the notes say so.
102 moments · 1775-04-19T00:00:00Z CE – 2025-11-10T00:00:00Z CE · by @athan · @athan
The Douglas–Mansfield Act
law
organization
Congress fixed the Marine Corps' strength at no fewer than **three divisions and three air wings**, and gave the Commandant a voice on the Joint Chiefs of Staff on matters concerning the Corps. Both sponsors were former Marines: Senator **Paul Douglas** enlisted as a private at 50 and was wounded at Peleliu and Okinawa; Representative **Mike Mansfield** had served as a Marine private in the Philippines and China. **Read more:** [Mike Mansfield — Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mike_Mansfield) *Image: Wikimedia Commons (from the article above).*
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