On Nov. 10, 1775, the Second Continental Congress formed the Continental Marines, and the date is now celebrated as the birthday of the modern-day United States Marine Corps. Thursday marks the military branch’s 241st birthday.Both the Continental Marines and Continental Navy were disbanded in 1783 following the Revolutionary War, but Congress reformed the former in 1798 signed into law by the United States’ second president, John Adams as the United States Marine Corps in preparation for the Quasi-War with France.Camp Lejeune in Jacksonville, N.C., is the largest Marine Corps base on the East Coast with more than 47,000 troops on 156,000 acres of land. The base is named after Gen. John A. Lejeune, the 13th Commandant of the Marine Corps, who issued an order in 1921 declaring that on Nov. 10 every year a summary of the history, mission and tradition of the Marine Corps be read to every command.Built in 1941, Camp Lejeune is home to several state-of-the-art training training facilities and approximately 170,000 active duty, dependent, retiree and civilian employees make up the surrounding community. The base makes an economic impact of more than $3 billion each year.
