Resurrecting the Few: The Navy Act of 1794

When the muskets fell silent in 1783, and the Treaty of Paris declared American independence a reality, the new republic faced an uncertain peace. The Continental forces, Army, Navy, and Marines had fulfilled their sacred charge. With victory in hand, the infant nation, weary of war and wary of standing armies, began to dismantle the very military that had secured its freedom.

The Continental Marines, established on 10 November 1775, had fought with honor from the Bahamas to the decks of Continental frigates. They served under Captain Samuel Nicholas, the first Commandant, though that title would be given posthumously, and were instrumental in amphibious operations that shaped early American maritime strategy.

But in 1783, with independence achieved and money scarce, Congress made a fateful choice, the Continental Navy was dissolved, its ships sold or left to rot in port, and with it, the Marine Corps quietly ceased to exist. No ceremony, no farewell orders, just silence.

For over fifteen years, the United States had no official Marine Corps, from 1783 to 1798. During that span, threats mounted. The Barbary corsairs harassed unprotected American shipping. Revolutionary France seized U.S. vessels during the Quasi-War. And yet, the United States remained reluctant to fund a permanent military establishment.

But the world does not wait on idealism.

On 27 March 1794, faced with increasing attacks on American commerce, the U.S. Congress passed the Navy Act of 1794. It authorized the construction of six frigates, each designed to rival the best warships of Europe. These ships, United States, Constellation, Constitution, Chesapeake, Congress, and President, were to be armed with heavy firepower and manned by sailors and Marines.

Although the Marine Corps had not yet been officially resurrected, the act laid the groundwork. The ships would need a force to fight on deck, repel boarders, and conduct landing operations. The lessons of the Revolution had not been forgotten.

“The naval service cannot exist without a corps of Marines,” wrote an officer in the War Department in 1797. “Their utility in the field and afloat is well attested.”

The decisive moment came on 11 July 1798, when President John Adams, recognizing the growing threats abroad and the need for disciplined shipborne troops, signed legislation formally reestablishing the United States Marine Corps.

Adams, a steadfast proponent of naval power, understood that ships alone were not enough. Warships needed warriors, not only to man the guns, but to project American force wherever her interests were threatened.

“We ought not to forget that the Marines in the late war were among the first to go ashore, and often the last to leave,” Adams recalled in private letters.

The newly revived Corps fell under the Department of the Navy, which had been established just a month earlier in April 1798. At the helm of this rebirth was Major William Ward Burrows, appointed by Adams as the first official Commandant of the United States Marine Corps. Burrows, a veteran of the Revolutionary War, brought discipline, structure, and a fighting spirit back to the Corps. Under his leadership, the Marines quickly became essential to the expanding Navy.

From 1798 onward, Marines served aboard every major U.S. warship and began to reclaim their reputation as America’s shock troops. Within a few years, they would fight and bleed on the shores of Tripoli, their legacy once again etched into the annals of war.

Legacy of a Forgotten Chapter

The period between 1783 and 1798 is often overlooked in Marine Corps history, but it is vital. It reminds us that the Corps was not born of convenience or politics. It was reborn because the nation needed it. Because there are times when diplomacy fails, when words fall short, and in those moments, America turns to her Marines.

“It is not for glory that the Corps was reconstituted, it is because there are battles only Marines are willing to fight.”
— Attributed to Major Burrows, 1800

Timeline Snapshot

10 Nov 1775, Continental Marines established
1783, Marines disbanded after Revolutionary War
27 Mar 1794, Navy Act passed, authorizing six frigates
30 Apr 1798, Department of the Navy established
11 Jul 1798, United States Marine Corps formally reestablished
3 Jul 1798, William Ward Burrows appointed Commandant

Sources and References

Naval Documents Related to the United States Wars with the Barbary Powers, U.S. Naval History and Heritage Command
Toll, Ian W., “Six Frigates, The Epic History of the Founding of the U.S. Navy”
Robert D. Heinl Jr., “Soldiers of the Sea, The United States Marine Corps, 1775–1962”
National Archives, Records of the Continental Congress and U.S. Navy Department
Letters of John Adams and Henry Knox, Library of Congress
Marine Corps History Division, Quantico, VA

This was no ordinary act of Congress. It was a recommitment to national defense, and the rebirth of a warrior tradition that has never wavered since.

Semper Fidelis, always.