History of the U.S. Marine Corps

The United States Marine Corps was formally established on November 10, 1775. During this long history, the Marine Corps has become particularly conspicuous because of its unique costume. At the beginning, the marine uniform was made of green cloth. Some people believe that the reason they use green is because the marines are rifleman, which is also a common practice in the European army. But in fact, the US Marines at the end of the 17th century were not infantry at all, but musketeers, so this statement is not reliable. There is a more reliable explanation as to why the Marine Corps uniforms are green―because the green cloth was a very cheap material at the time, and it had a wide range of sources. The Marine Corps' iconic dark blue costumes did not appear until 1798. The first batch of official dress guidelines required that the Marines often wear dark blue wide cloth, and then use red cloth to decorate the edges. In addition, the buttons on the regular clothes are not ordinary buttons, but brass buttons specially used by the Navy. In 1834, US President Jackson asked the Marines to use green uniforms, and this iconic dark blue uniform was forced to temporarily withdraw from the stage of history. However, new problems soon appeared, because at that time the United States lacked green fabrics, and most of the green fabrics had to be purchased from the United Kingdom, and the high prices of these imported fabrics were scary. In addition, green dyes are inherently of poor quality. When they are transported by sea for a period of time, they quickly fade and even turn yellow. Although many people complained about the incident, no changes were made before President Jackson resigned. It was not until 1839 that the dark blue military uniform returned to the Marine Corps. The blue dress uniform of the Marine Corps has a very obvious feature-a deep red stripe on the outside of the trouser legs. But not all marines can wear this red stripe, and only members with a rank above Corporal are eligible to use it. For officers, the red stripes on their uniforms are slightly wider. There are many opinions about the origin of red stripes. Among the recruits, the most popular statement is that the red stripes mean that the Marines have made huge sacrifices in history. This is not groundless, and indeed there is a certain basis. Around 1847, when the Marines attacked Chapultepec Castle in Mexico City, they paid a huge price and many Marines died. There is another way of saying about red stripes. As early as 1834, the US Army believed that the red pants stripes more closely matched the jacket surface color. On some less formal occasions, marines wear uniforms made of khaki and green. In different situations, there will be some subtle changes in uniform matching. In the eyes of Americans, the term 'leatherneck' (leatherneck) is an insult at first glance, but the word actually originated from the uniform of the Marine Corps. At the beginning of the establishment of the Marine Corps, in order to make the neck look more upright, both officers and ordinary soldiers will wear this leather product on the neck. After the Civil War, black leather replaced the 'leather neck'. And now, the leather on the collar has completely disappeared, replaced by a cloth in front of the collar. It is worth mentioning that there is also an iconic accessory on the uniform of the Marine Corps Hat-Eagle, Earth and Anchor (EGA). This symbol was born in 1868, when Brigadier General Jacob Zerin convened an officer committee, and the topic was to discuss the design of a new ornament on the uniform of the Marine Corps. They discussed it, and finally decided to replace the horn that has been used since 1859 with the earth, eagle, and anchor. By 1875, the Earth, Eagle, and Anchor officially became the Marine Corps' logos.