4 Flag Display

[Peter Ansoff]

The Continental Navy was dis-banded after the revolution. For all intents and purposes while there was no Navy, the "Revenue Cutter Service" WAS the defacto Navy!

Actually, it was a close thing. The Revenue Cutter Service was established in April 1790. The US Navy as we know it was established in April 1798. However, Congress had already authorized construction of six warships back in 1794 -- they were under Army administration until 1798. The RCS preceded the Navy by either 4 or 8 years, depending on how you count it.

The Marines were NOT dis-banded, so that's why they take "precedence" ahead of the Navy.

I think that this is largely a piece of Marine Corps PR. For all practical purposes, the Marine Corps, like the Navy, was disbanded at the end of the Revolution. The last Marine Officer, Lt. Thomas Elwood, was discharged in September 1783. The "Agent of the Marine," which was the final administrative structure for both the Continental Navy and the Continental Marines, was abolished after Robert Morris retired in 1784. After that, as Charles Smith wrote in his authoritative "Marines in the Revolution", " . . . there was no organized corps, and little remained of the Continental Marines but a few gallant memories." The USMC that we know today was born on 11 July 1798, when President Adams signed "An Act for Establishing and Organizing a Marine Corps."

Peter Ansoff

[Robin Hickman]

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Hi, Peter !



OK..... So, if the U.S. Navy (as we know it) was established in April, 1798, and the USMC (as we know it) was not established until July 11th, 1798 (about three months AFTER the Navy), the WHY does the USMC flag take precedence over the USN flag?


While we're on the subject, to the best of my memory, you wrote an entry somewhere in these Forums regarding the whole Armed Forces Flags "precedence" evolution, including their recognized dates, but I can't seem to be able to find it!


HELP !!!


Robin Hickman
Eugene, Oregon, USA
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