Marine Corps , United States , one of the four armed services of the U . S . military . Originally , its function was to supply guards to warships . Over the twentieth century , however , the corps transformed into a multi - function organization that combines ground and air combat units into a maritime force , trained to come from the sea to fight on land ( littoral warfare ) . The history of the Marine Corps traditionally dates from 10 November 1775 , when the Continental Congress authorized the raising of " two Battalions of marines . " These first marines executed a successful amphibious raid into the Bahamas in March 1776 ; joined George Washington at Princeton , New Jersey , in January 1777 ; wintered at Morristown , New Jersey ; participated in the defense of the Delaware River and Philadelphia in the autumn of 1777 ; and joined the unsuccessful Penobscot expedition in the summer of 1779 . At sea , marines — Continental , state , or privateer — served on virtually all armed ships of the embattled colonies . Both the Continental navy and the marines disbanded at the war ' s end . Congress resurrected both the marines and the navy before the century ' s end . In 1794 , spurred by the depredations of algerian pirates , Congress authorized the building of six frigates , the complements of which included marine quotas . on 11 July 1798 , concomitant with the separation of the navy from the War Department , Congress authorized " a Marine Corps . " In the Quasi - War with France ( 1798 – 1800 ) , the new U . S . Marines fought in virtually all sea actions and performed some minor landings , including those in Santo Domingo in 1800 . Next came operations against the Barbary pirates ( 1801 – 1815 ) , including the celebrated march of eight marines " to the shores of Tripoli " as part of the polyglot " army " that moved 600 miles across the Libyan desert from Alexandria to Derna ( 1805 ) . In the War of 1812 , the chief service of the U . S . Marines continued to be at sea , notably in the great frigate duels and in the Essex ' s cruise to the Pacific ( 1812 – 1814 ) . A provisional battalion fought well at Bladensburg , Maryland ( 1814 ) , as did another battalion at New Orleans ( 1815 ) , but neither resources nor opportunities justified significant amphibious employment . The next three decades saw operations against the pirates in the Caribbean ( 1822 to the 1830 s ) , landings in such diverse places as the Falkland Islands ( 1832 ) and Sumatra ( 1831 – 1832 ) , and patrolling off West Africa to suppress the slave trade ( 1820 – 1861 ) . An improvised marine regiment participated in the Seminole War of 1836 – 1842 . In the Mexican - American War ( 1846 – 1848 ) , marines conducted many amphibious operations on both the Gulf and Pacific coasts . A marine battalion drawn from the Gulf Squadron executed raids against Frontera , Tampico , and Alvarado ( 1846 – 1847 ) and landed with Gen . Winfield Scott at Veracruz ( 9 March 1847 ) . A second marine battalion joined Scott at Puebla and marched with him to the " halls of Montezuma " in Mexico City ( 13 September 1847 ) . In the West , marine landing parties from the Pacific Squadron participated in the conquest of California ( 1846 ) and in raids on Mexico ' s west coast ports ( 1847 ) . In the Civil War ( 1861 – 1865 ) , a marine battalion fought at the first Battle of Bull Run ( 1861 ) , but primarily served with the navy . Overshadowed by the larger scope and drama of the land campaigns , the series of amphibious operations in which marines participated — beginning with the capture of Fort Clark on Hatteras Inlet , North Carolina , on 28 August 1861 and ending with the assault of Fort Fisher , a guardian of Wilmington , North Carolina , on 15 January 1865 — has been largely overlooked . The U . S . Marines were in China with the East India Squadron as early as 1844 and accompanied Commodore Matthew C . Perry when he forced open the doors of Japan to foreign commerce in 1853 . In the last third of the nineteenth century , marine involvement in the Orient and in the Caribbean increased . From 1865 until 1898 , marines participated in some thirty - two landings , including Formosa ( 1867 ) , Japan ( 1867 and 1868 ) , Mexico ( 1870 ) , Korea ( 1871 , 1888 , and 1894 ) , Colombia ( 1873 ) , Hawaii ( 1874 and 1889 ) , Egypt ( 1882 ) , Panama ( 1885 and 1895 ) , Samoa ( 1888 ) , Haiti ( 1888 ) , China ( 1894 and 1895 ) , and Nicaragua ( 1894 and 1896 ) . In the Spanish - American War ( 1898 ) , a marine battalion seized an advanced base at Guantánamo Bay , Cuba , in support of the American blockade of the Spanish squadron at Santiago de Cuba , and a regiment formed for service in the Philippine Insurrection ( 1899 – 1904 ) . Between the turn of the century and World War I , the corps continued to participate in landings and expeditions in Central America , Africa , and China . In World War I , the Fifth Marine Regiment was in the first convoy to sail for France ( 14 June 1917 ) . Along with the Sixth Marine Regiment , it became the Fourth Brigade , Second U . S . Division , which fought at Belleau Wood ( June 1918 ) , Soissons ( July 1918 ) , Saint - Mihiel ( September 1918 ) , Blanc Mont ( October 1918 ) , and in the final Meuse - Argonne offensive ( November 1918 ) . Four marine squadrons , forming the day wing of the navy ' s northern bombing group , operated primarily over Belgium in support of the British . Marine involvement in the occupation of Haiti and Santo Domingo continued through these war years . The marines served along the Mexican border , participated in the sugar intervention in Cuba ( 1917 – 1919 ) , and conducted minor expeditions to Siberia ( 1918 – 1920 ) . After the war , they renewed large - scale involvement in Nicaragua ( 1926 – 1933 ) and China ( 1926 – 1941 ) . When the Japanese struck Pearl Harbor on 7 December 1941 , the U . S . Marines were there helping defend the islands . The marines were also in the Philippines and at Guam , Wake , and Midway islands . Beginning with Guadalcanal ( August 1942 ) , marine divisions or corps conducted amphibious assaults at Bougainville ( November 1942 ) , Tarawa ( November 1942 ) , New Britain ( December 1943 ) , Kwajalein ( January 1944 ) , Eniwetok ( February 1944 ) , Saipan ( June 1944 ) , Guam ( July 1944 ) , Tinian ( July 1944 ) , Peleliu ( September 1944 ) , Iwo Jima ( February 1945 ) , and Okinawa ( April 1945 ) . Marine aviation , in addition to providing air defense and close air support incident to these and other operations , contributed to the neutralization of bypassed Japanese - held islands . During World War II the Marine Corps reached a peak strength of 485 , 113 ; almost 87 , 000 were killed or wounded . Marine units took part briefly in the occupation of Japan ( 1945 – 1946 ) and for a longer term in the occupation of Northern China ( 1945 – 1949 ) . Immediately after the outbreak of the Korean War ( June 1950 ) , a marine brigade moved to reinforce the Pusan perimeter . Joined by the remainder of the First Marine Division and supported by the First Marine Aircraft Wing , these marines executed the assault at Inchon and the subsequent recapture of Seoul ( September 1950 ) . The marines also joined the United Nations forces in the counter offensives of spring and summer 1951 until reaching the truce line . Two years of trench warfare followed . More then 25 , 000 marines were killed or wounded during the Korean conflict . Involvement in Vietnam began with the assignment of U . S . Marine advisers to the Vietnamese Marine Corps in 1954 . Marine transport helicopter units arrived in 1962 and , in 1965 , the landing of the Ninth Marine Expeditionary Brigade at Da Nang marked the first significant introduction of U . S . ground forces . Marine ground operations concentrated in the First Corps Tactical Zone , the northern five provinces of South Vietnam . By the summer of 1968 , Marine Corps strength reached a peak of more than 85 , 000 , more than the number who fought at Iwo Jima or Okinawa during World War II . This force completely left Vietnam by June 1971 . In reaction to the North Vietnamese Easter offensive of 1972 , two marine aircraft groups returned to Vietnam but without any marine ground forces . They helped evacuate embassy staff , U . S . citizens , and refugees from Saigon and Phnom Penh in 1975 . During the 1980 s , the Marine Corps participated in several efforts to restore stability in countries threatened by war or by political disintegration . Lebanon presented a particularly difficult situation . In August 1982 , marine security guards went to Beruit , Lebanon , as part of a multi - national peacekeeping force to oversee evacuation of Palestine Liberation Organization ( PLO ) guerillas underIsraeli siege . They remained in Lebanon after the PLO evacuation to train Lebanese soldiers and prevent the outbreak of war . on 23 September 1983 , a suicide truck bomber destroyed the Marine Corps barracks , killing 241 and wounding 70 . The marines and American civilians evacuated Beruit in February 1984 . For the rest of the decade , marines remained stationed on ships in the Mediterranean . The August 1990 Iraqi invasion of Kuwait lead to the largest mobilization of marine forces since World War II . More than 92 , 000 marines , including more than 1 , 000 women , were deployed to the Persian Gulf as part of Operations Desert Shield and Desert Storm in 1990 – 1991 . Since the end of Desert Storm , the Marine Corps has increasingly been involved in " military operations other than war . " These operations include providing relief after a devastating cyclone in Bangladesh ( 1991 ) ; safeguarding humanitarian relief efforts in Somalia ( 1993 – 1994 ) ; evacuating embassy staff and civilians from countries torn by civil strife ; helping residents of Dade County , Florida , who were displaced by Hurricane Andrew ( 1992 ) ; providing relief at Guantanomo Bay to Haitians fleeing political upheaval ( 1992 ) , and to Cubans fleeing economic hardship ( 1993 – 1994 ) ; assisting with drug interdiction efforts along the U . S . - Mexico border ; and supporting the efforts of civilian authorities to combat forest fires . But the marines began the twenty - first century in a familiar role as the forward deployed units in Afghanistan as part of Operation Enduring Freedom . The Gulf War was a watershed event in terms of the participation of enlisted women in an armed conflict . However , women had been offering to serve in the marines for many years before that conflict . According to legend , the first woman marine was Lucy Brewer , who donned men ' s clothing , took on the name of George Baker , and saw action on the USS Constitution during the War of 1812 . Officially , Opha Mae Johnson was the first woman marine . She and some 300 other women enlisted in 1918 to take over stateside clerical duties from battle - ready male marines . After the war was over , the Marine Corps separated all women from the service . During World War II , women came back to " free a man to fight " when the corps formed the Women Marine Corps Reserve on 13 February 1943 . During the war , women not only handled clerical duties , but also worked as map makers , mechanics , parachute riggers , radio operators , and welders . A total of 23 , 145 women served as reserves in the corps during World War II . After Japan surrendered , the Marine Corps demobilized the Women ' s Reserve . However , some women returned to the service as regulars under the 1948 Women ' s Armed Services Integration Act . At the height of the Vietnam War , there were about 2 , 700 women marines on active duty . During this period , the Marine Corps began to expand training and opportunities for women within the service . It took some time , however , for the training of women to closely resemble that of men . Firing rifles became part of training for all marine women in 1980 ; testing on combat rifles began in 1985 . By the year 2000 , training and testing standards for women were almost identical to that of men . At the beginning of the twenty - first century , women made up six percent of marine Corps ranks . Ground combat was still off limits , but women were near the heat of battle — flying planes in combat and serving on combat ships during the war in Afghanistan . In January 2002 , Sgt . Jeannette L . Winters became the first woman marine killed in a hostile - fire zone when a tanker plane crashed in Pakistan . Hidden within this combat history is another story — that of the Marine Corps ' s institutional changes and its changing role in U . S . military and foreign policy . During the nineteenth century , the main function of the corps was to supply ships guards for naval warships . These guards provided internal security aboard ships and infantry for ship battles or landing operations . At the end of the nineteenth century , the corps became a colonial infantry force for use in prolonged interventions in the Pacific and Latin America . Between the turn of the century and World War I , the Marine Corps expanded gradually and became structured more permanently into companies , regiments , and brigades for this expeditionary service , which ended in the 1940 s . At the same time , the corps acquired an amphibious assault function as it began to provide forces to defend advanced naval bases . This mission led to the creation of the Fleet Marine Force in 1933 and the development of ship - to - shore movement tactics and equipment used in the amphibious campaigns in the Pacific during World War II . Since the end of World War II , the Marine Corps has expanded its mission even further as development of air support technology allowed the corps to acquire rapid intervention capabilities that made it the nation ' s principal " force in readiness " for the twenty - first century .