The United States Marine Corps was founded on November 10, 1775, during the American Revolutionary War.
The Second Continental Congress authorized two battalions of Continental Marines in a resolution adopted at Philadelphia's Tun Tavern. The new force was intended to serve aboard naval vessels and conduct shipboard and amphibious operations.
The Marine Corps celebrates November 10 as its birthday. Its original organization was part of the revolutionary military structure, alongside the Continental Army and Continental Navy, rather than an independent modern department.
The corps was disbanded after the Revolutionary War and reestablished in 1798. Despite that interruption, the service traces its lineage to the 1775 congressional resolution, making its 250th anniversary an important milestone during the America250 period.