The modern U.S. Army can trace its beginnings to the American Revolution, in 1775 the fight of the Colonies against Great Britain, with its first commander Revolutionary General George Washington. Washington used hit and run tactics to ultimately triumph over British forces and their paid Hessian mercenaries. With a victory at Yorktown Virginia and with some assistance from Dutch, French and Spanish forces the Continental Army won its fight with British, resulting in the treaty of Paris where the United States was finally established and recognized.
The Continental Army was eventually disbanded but recreated by the Continental Congress after the end of the war into the United States Army on June 14th, 1784. Between the end of the Revolutionary war and the Army creation in 1784 there was a single battery in the standing Army based as defense at West Point, NY. With conflicts with the American Indians in the West, the Congress further acted to create the Legion of the United States. From 1791 the Army operated in the Legion mode, but the Army returned to the normal regimental style of operations in 1797.
The War of 1812 saw the American Army fighting in the 2nd war against the British, where they were not as successful as they would have liked. After a number of defeats and several startling victories at Niagara and in New Orleans in 1814, a treaty returned both sides to the state things were before the war. Between 1812 and 1860 the United States Army engaged in a series of skirmishes with the Native American Indians as Manifest Destiny gripped the Nation. The U.S. Army also fought later on in the war against Mexico from 1846 to 1848. This was directly as a result of the annexation of Texas, and the war resulted in the new territories of California, Nevada, New Mexico, Utah, Colorado, Wyoming, and Arizona being gained by the United States.
The Army was divided during the Civil War era but rejoined into one unit after the bloody end of the battle of the North against the South in 1865. The U.S, Army proudly claimed victories in the Spanish American War in 1898 and the Philippine-American War in 1898 to the year 1913.
The Army fought in both World War II and World War II and was part of the Korean War in 1950-1953. Following the end of the Korean War the U.S. Army fought hard in East Asia in the Vietnam War where many young Americans died on the battlefield. After Vietnam there was a relative quiet until the First Gulf War, in 1991.
The modern U.S. Army has a proud heritage, as it goes forward into the 21st century working to defend the national interest, the United States Constitution and the people of the U.S.A.
The United States Navy (USN)
The U.S. Navy traces its origins to the Continental Navy, which was established during the American Revolutionary War and was effectively disbanded as a separate entity shortly thereafter. The U.S. Navy played a major role in the American Civil War by blockading the Confederacy and seizing control of its rivers. It played the central role in the World War II defeat of Imperial Japan. The 21st century U.S. Navy maintains a sizable global presence, deploying in strength in such areas as the Western Pacific, the Mediterranean, and the Indian Ocean. It is a blue-water navy with the ability to project force onto the littoral regions of the world, engage in forward deployments during peacetime and rapidly respond to regional crises, making it a frequent actor in U.S. foreign and military policy.
The Navy was rooted in the colonial seafaring tradition, which produced a large community of sailors, captains, and shipbuilders. In the early stages of the American Revolutionary War, Massachusetts had its own Massachusetts Naval Militia. The rationale for establishing a national navy was debated in the Second Continental Congress. Supporters argued that a navy would protect shipping, defend the coast, and make it easier to seek out support from foreign countries. Detractors countered that challenging the British Royal Navy, then the world’s preeminent naval power, was a foolish undertaking. Commander in Chief George Washington resolved the debate when he commissioned the ocean-going schooner USS Hannah to interdict British merchant ships and reported the captures to the Congress. On 13 October 1775, the Continental Congress authorized the purchase of two vessels to be armed for a cruise against British merchant ships; this resolution created the Continental Navy and is considered the first establishment of the U.S. Navy. The Continental Navy achieved mixed results; it was successful in a number of engagements and raided many British merchant vessels, but it lost twenty-four of its vessels and at one point was reduced to two in active service. In August 1785, after the Revolutionary War had drawn to a close, Congress had sold Alliance, the last ship remaining in the Continental Navy due to a lack of funds to maintain the ship or support a navy.
In 1972, the Chief of Naval Operations, Admiral Elmo Zumwalt, authorized the Navy to celebrate its birthday on 13 October to honor the establishment of the Continental Navy in 1775.
The United States Navy is the naval warfare service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the seven uniformed services of the United States. The U.S. Navy is the largest and most capable navy in the world, with the highest combined battle fleet tonnage The U.S. Navy has the world’s largest aircraft carrier fleet, with eleven in service, and two new carriers under construction. With 319,421 personnel on active duty and 99,616 in the Ready Reserve, the Navy is the third largest of the service branches. t has 299 deployable combat vessels and about 4,012 operational aircraft as of 18 July 2023.
The Navy is administratively managed by the Department of the Navy, which is headed by the civilian Secretary of the Navy. The Department of the Navy
The United States Marine Corps (USMC)
The United States Marine Corps traces its roots to the Continental Marines of the American Revolutionary War, formed by Captain Samuel Nicholas by a resolution of the Second Continental Congress on 10 November 1775, to raise two battalions of Marines. That date is regarded and celebrated as the date of the Marine Corps’ birthday. At the end of the American Revolution, both the Continental Navy and Continental Marines were disbanded in April 1783. The institution itself would not be resurrected until 11 July 1798. At that time, in preparation for the Quasi-War with France, Congress created the United States Marine Corps. Marines had been enlisted by the War Department as early as August 1797 for service in the new-build frigates authorized by the Congressional “Act to provide a Naval Armament” of 18 March 1794, which specified the numbers of Marines to recruit for each frigate.
Official traditions and customs
The Marines’ Hymn dates back to the 19th century and is the oldest official song in the United States armed forces. The Marine motto Semper Fidelis means Always Faithful in Latin, often appearing as Semper Fi; also the name of the official march of the Corps, composed by John Philip Sousa. The mottos “Fortitudine” (With Fortitude); By Sea and by Land, a translation of the Royal Marines’ Per Mare, Per Terram; and To the Shores of Tripoli were used until 1868. The Marine Corps emblem is the Eagle, Globe, and Anchor, sometimes abbreviated “EGA”, adopted in 1868. The Marine Corps seal includes the emblem, also is found on the flag of the United States Marine Corps and establishes scarlet and gold as the official colors.
Two styles of swords are worn by Marines: the officers’ Mameluke Sword, similar to the Persian shamshir presented to Lt. Presley O’Bannon after the Battle of Derna, and the Marine NCO sword. The Marine Corps Birthday is celebrated every year on 10 November in a cake-cutting ceremony where the first slice of cake is given to the oldest Marine present, who in turn hands it off to the youngest Marine present. The celebration includes a reading of Commandant Lejeune’s Birthday Message. Close Order Drill is heavily emphasized early on in a Marine’s initial training, incorporated into most formal events, and is used to teach discipline by instilling habits of precision and automatic response to orders, increase the confidence of junior officers and noncommissioned officers through the exercise of command and give Marines an opportunity to handle individual weapons.
An important part of the Marine Corps culture is the traditional seafaring naval terminology derived from its history with the Navy. Marines are not “soldiers”, or “sailors”.
The United States Air Force (USAF) is the aerial and space warfare service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the seven American uniformed services. Initially established as a part of the United States Army on 1 August 1907, the USAF was formed as a separate branch of the U.S. Armed Forces on 18 September 1947 under the National Security Act of 1947. It is the most recent branch of the U.S. Armed Forces to be formed. The USAF is the largest and most technologically advanced air force in the world. The service articulates its core missions as air and space superiority, global integrated ISR, rapid global mobility, global strike, and command and control. The United States Air Force is the aerial and space warfare service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the seven American uniformed services. Initially established as a part of the United States Army on 1 August 1907, the USAF was formed as a separate branch of the U.S. Armed Forces on 18 September 1947 under the National Security Act of 1947. It is the most recent branch of the U.S. Armed Forces to be formed. The USAF is the largest and most technologically advanced air force in the world. The service articulates its core missions as air and space superiority, global integrated ISR, rapid global mobility, global strike, and command and control.
The U.S. Air Force is a military service organized within the Department of the Air Force, one of the three military departments of the Department of Defense. The Air Force is headed by the civilian Secretary of the Air Force, who reports to the Secretary of Defense, and is appointed by the President with Senate confirmation. The highest-ranking military officer in the Air Force is the Chief of Staff of the Air Force, who exercises supervision over Air Force units and serves as a member of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. Air Force combat and mobility forces are assigned, as directed by the Secretary of Defense, to the Combatant Commanders, and neither the Secretary of the Air Force nor the Chief of Staff have operational command authority over them.
The U.S. Air Force is a military service organized within the Department of the Air Force, one of the three military departments of the Department of Defense. The Air Force is headed by the civilian Secretary of the Air Force, who reports to the Secretary of Defense, and is appointed by the President with Senate confirmation. The highest-ranking military officer in the Air Force is the Chief of Staff of the Air Force, who exercises supervision over Air Force units and serves as a member of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. Air Force combat and mobility forces are assigned, as directed by the Secretary of Defense, to the Combatant Commanders, and neither the Secretary of the Air Force nor the Chief of Staff have operational command authority over them.
The United States Coast Guard (USCG)
The United States Coast Guard (USCG) is a branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the country’s seven uniformed services.[1] The Coast Guard is a maritime, military, multi-mission service unique among the U.S. military branches for having a maritime law enforcement mission (with jurisdiction in both domestic and international waters) and a federal regulatory agency mission as part of its mission set. It operates under the U.S. Department of Homeland Security during peacetime and can be transferred to the U.S. Department of the Navy by the U.S. President at any time, or by the U.S. Congress during times of war. This has happened twice, in 1917, during World War I, and in 1941, during World War II.
Created by Congress on 4 August 1790 at the request of Alexander Hamilton as the Revenue Marine, it is the oldest continuous seagoing service of the United States. As Secretary of the Treasury, Hamilton headed the Revenue Marine, whose original purpose was collecting customs duties in the nation’s seaports. By the 1860s, the service was known as the U.S. Revenue Cutter Service and the term Revenue Marine gradually fell into disuse.
The modern Coast Guard was formed by a merger of the Revenue Cutter Service and the U.S. Life-Saving Service on 28 January 1915, under the U.S. Department of the Treasury. As one of the country’s five armed services, the Coast Guard has been involved in every U.S. war from 1790 to the Iraq War and the War in Afghanistan As of 2014, the Coast Guard had over 36,000 men and women on active duty, 7,350 reservists, 29,620 auxiliarists, and 7,064 full-time civilian employees. In terms of size, while the U.S. Coast Guard is the smallest of the military service branches, by itself is the world’s 12th largest naval force. The Coast Guard’s legal authority differs from the other four-armed services, as it operates simultaneously under Title 10 of the U.S. Code and its other organic authorities, such as Titles 6, 14, 19, 33, and 46. Because of its legal authority, the Coast Guard can conduct military operations under the U.S. Department of Defense or directly for the President in accordance with Title 14 USC 1–3. The Coast Guard’s enduring roles are maritime safety, security, and stewardship. To carry out those roles, it has 11 statutory missions as defined in 6 U.S.C. § 468, which include enforcing U.S. law in the world’s largest exclusive economic zone of 3.4 million square miles (8,800,000 km2) The Coast Guard’s motto Semper Paratus means Always ready in Latin.
[1] There are seven uniformed services of the United States: Army; Navy; Air Force; Marine Corps; Coast Guard; Public Health Service Commissioned Corps; and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Commissioned Corps.