Confederate States Marine Corps

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The Confederate States Marine Corps (CSMC) was part of the Navy of the Confederate States of America . It was erected by the Confederate Congress on March 16, 1861 during the War of Civil Secession . The members of the CSMC mainly served in coastal fortifications , but also on board ships and in infantry and artillery units.

Organization and facilities

The CSMC was established on March 16, 1861 as part of the Confederate Navy modeled on the United States Marine Corps . The troop strength should be 45 officers and 944 NCOs and men . This number was increased to 1026 on September 24, 1862. The CSMC was set up in Montgomery , Alabama . When the Confederation capital was moved to Richmond , Virginia , the organization of the Corps was terminated there. Headquarters and central training facilities remained at Camp Beall and Gosport Shipyard in Norfolk , Virginia throughout the war .

The CSMC's units were in Richmond, Virginia, at Camp Beall, not far from Fort Darling near Drewry's Bluff , Virginia, at Fort Fisher near Wilmington , North Carolina , in Charlotte , North Carolina, in Charleston , South Carolina, on Hilton Head Island , South Carolina, based in Savannah , Georgia , Pensacola , Florida, and Mobile , Alabama . During the war, units of the Confederate States Marine Corps were also used on larger warships and for special tasks.

Command and troops

Lloyd J. Beall, commandant of the CSMC

The CSMC initially consisted of 16 officers and about 100 NCOs and crews who had retired from the United States Marine Corps. Other soldiers were released to the CSMC through the amalgamation and disbandment of other units, such as the Virginia State Marines, while others were recruited through recruiting. Although over 1000 men were approved, the corps never reached the planned target strength. On October 30, 1864, the entire CSMC consisted of only 539 soldiers.

Commander Lloyd J. Beall was a former US Army paymaster with no naval experience. Most of the officers, however, came from the Navy. Beall had served in the 1st Infantry and 2nd Dragoon Regiment after attending the West Point Military Academy before becoming paymaster. He was appointed commander on May 23, 1861 and remained until the end of the war.

literature

  • Earl J. Coates, Don Troiani, Michael J. McAfee: Don Troiani's Civil War Zouaves, Chasseurs, Special Branches, & Officers. Stackpole Books, Mechanicsburg PA 2006, ISBN 0-8117-3320-3 .
  • Ralph W. Donnelly: The Confederate States Marine Corps. The Rebel Leathernecks. White Mane Publishing, Shippensburg PA 1989, ISBN 0-942597-13-3 .
  • Ron Field: American Civil War Marines 1861–65 (= Elite. 112). Illustrated by Richard Hook. Osprey Publishing, Oxford 2004, ISBN 1-84176-768-9 .
  • John E. McGlone III .: The Lost Corps: The Confederate States Marines. In: US Naval Institute. Proceedings. 99, 1972, ISSN  0041-798X , pp. 69-73.
  • J. Thomas Scharf: History of the Confederate States Navy from its organization to the surrender of its last vessel. Rogers & Sherwood, New York NY 1887, ( Digitized ; Reprint: The Fairfax Press, New York NY 1977).

Individual evidence

  1. ^ J. Thomas Scharf: History of the Confederate States Navy from its organization to the surrender of its last vessel. 1887, pp. 769-772 .
  2. ^ John E. McGlone III .: The Lost Corps: The Confederate States Marines. In: US Naval Institute. Proceedings. 99, 1972, pp. 69-73.
  3. ^ J. Thomas Scharf: History of the Confederate States Navy from its organization to the surrender of its last vessel. 1887, p. 772 .
  4. ^ J. Thomas Scharf: History of the Confederate States Navy from its organization to the surrender of its last vessel. 1887, pp. 770-771 .