Gilded Age Marines

A VISION OF THE USMC ADVANCED BASE FORCE JOHN S. NAYLOR 5 NOVEMBER, 2025 The fleet has sailed from here, in search of the enemy. The craggy, desert island’s deep-water harbor bustles as small craft move from shore to ship, some delivering supplies and repair parts to the destroyer tender just off the beach. Further out, two colliers swing at anchor, awaiting the return of the fleet.  Ashore, the sounds of Marines and sailors at work compete with the constant rush of the trade winds blowing across the baking hills. Seabirds at the trash dump keen; the sound of boats’ bells and ships’ whistles travel over the water. The canvas walls of the Navy maintenance shops rustle in the constant wind. Inside, out of the sun, machinists fabricate repair parts for damaged plants and condensers. Across the company road a Marine work detail expands the latrine trench behind the bivouac tents; others stack supplies outside the supply tents near the new wharf where corpsmen transfer the sick and woun...

Subic Bay – The First Decade of U.S. Naval Presence John S. Naylor – 29 September, 2025 Subic Bay is back in the news. After more than thirty years, the U.S. is returning to the naval base there, as a part of strengthening its position in the region, and rebuilding its relationship with the Philippines. Aggressive moves by China in the region have forced the U.S. to resume a presence abandoned with the end of the Cold War and anticipated “Peace Dividend.” How the U.S. wound up in Subic Bay in the first place may inform some of the advantages of a forward located naval base, despite it being well within range of present-day hostile observation and fires.  In 1898, at the opening of the war with Spain, the village of Olongopo, located on the northern shore of Subic Bay, sixty miles northeast of Manila, was a sometime anchorage under the development of the Armada in the Philippines. When Spanish Admiral Montojo was notified that Dewey’s squadron had departed Hong Kong, bound for Manil...

Executive Order 969 and the Development of U.S. Amphibious Doctrine John S. Naylor – 24 September 2025 Major General Commandant George F. Elliott, USMC 10th Commandant, 1903-1910   Ten years after the Spanish American War, the Marine Corps remained in a state of transformation, from being shipboard enforcers and navy yard watchmen, to a becoming a landing force capable of supporting Navy fleet operations. Proof of concept exercises at Nantucket, Culebra, and Subic Bay were dress rehearsals for the nascent Advanced Base Force, then yet to be fully formed due to operational exigencies. Expeditionary units of the Marine Corps had fought in the Boxer Rebellion, fought in the Philippines, enabled the independence of Panama from Colombia, and supported the Army in Cuban pacification. But during this era, it was Theodore Roosevelt’s Executive Order 969 which remains the most remembered event of the year 1908. Oft regarded as one of a number of attempts to abolish the Corps, it showed that...

 Review:  Military Landing Operations by Major Dion Williams      In July of 1906 , the  Journal of the U.S. Infantry Association , (presently  INFANTRY) , published an article written by Major Dion Williams, USMC, titled “Military Landing Operations”. The article shows a certain level of sophistication in amphibious doctrine of the time. Williams had his own experience with landing parties — he led Marines ashore at Cavite following Dewey’s victory at Manila Bay and was an instructor on landing operations at the Naval War College. But his writing reflects the experience of the landings at Guantanamo, the Army’s experiences in Cuba and Puerto Rico, and in various fleet exercises conducted since then. They also reflect the decades of “corporate knowledge” gained by Marines and Bluejackets in executing landing parties the world round since 1775. What may be most interesting in his piece, and when it was written, is that in putting pen to paper on this s...

Addendum: “The Marines Have Landed at Nantucket, and the Situation is Well In Hand.” Marine Corps Gazette, May 2025.  I recently wrote a piece that wound up in publication, unfortunately sans photographs. We couldn’t find who held the copyrights for images used in the Nantucket Historical Society’s magazine in 1981, but I thought it might be interesting to review the photos here. In this photo we see Marines in 1901 setting up bivouac amongst the dunes of the east end of Nantucket. They landed as part of the Atlantic Squadron’s summer exercises, with the mission of setting up an “Advanced Base” where the Navy could anchor, refuel, rearm, and treat the wounded, without interference from a foreign navy.  The Marines, first under the command of Captain C.G. Long, and then Major Charles Doyen, are erecting circular section tents; at the upper left you may spot a rectangular tent, possibly for headquarters, or an officer. I believe ships’ whaleboats can be seen at the left edge of ...