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Extracted from Chapter Four of The Compact History of the U. S. Marine Corps, by LtCol P. N. Pierce and the late LtCol F. O. Hough. Copyrighted by Hawthorne Books. May 1960. S4.95.
ON OCTOBER 17, 1820, MAJOR ARCHIBALD HENDERson was promoted to the rank of lieutenant colonel and became the fifth Commandant of the Marine Corps at the age of 37.
Under the blunt, outspoken Henderson the Marine Corps underwent some profound changes. The long span of years of his command were eventful ones, and through a series of dramatic events which commanded wide attention, the Corps established a high reputation with the people of the nation. The man who was to become known as "the grand old man of the Marine Corps" was largely responsible.
Morale was low in the Armed Forces of the 1820s. As usual after each war, the military had been shunted aside. The War of 1812 was rapidly passing into the limbo of forgotten things. It had been an unpopular war to begin with, as far as Americans were concerned. The war-torn era of Napoleon had ended at Waterloo, and the great powers of Russia, England, Austria and Prussia had combined in the Quadruple Alliance to "preserve the tranquillity of Europe" against a revival of revolution. The danger of being drawn into a European war appeared very remote. The Congress of the United States was much too occupied with internal expansion to pay attention to the relatively few people it hired for the defense of the nation. The strength of the Marine Corps stood at 49 officers and 865 enlisted men.
Immediately upon assuming command, Henderson, who had evidently given the matter considerable thought, set about improving the morale and efficiency of his Corps. He began by personally inspecting every shore station which included Marines and many of the ship's detachments. He was a stickler for detail, and continually gave evidence of knowing thoroughly the job of everyone of his Marines. He insisted on the strictest economy in the expenditure of funds, and personally handled the majority of the Corp's legal affairs. Although he had the reputation of being a martinet, he went to great lengths to insure that his officers and men were properly accorded their...