John Adams signs four Acts of Congress... The Marines...

Item # 701168

September 04, 1799

COLUMBIAN CENTINEL, Boston, Sept. 4, 1799

* 18th century U.S. Marine Corps
* Second President John Adams
* Acts of United States Congress

The front page has four Acts of Congress, each signed in script type by the President: John Adams, one of which is: "An ACT, authorizing an Augmentation of the Marine Corps".
Page 2 has: "Capt. Truxton's Resignation" which is quite lengthy & signed by him in type: Thomas Truxton.
Four pages, slightly irregular at the spine, good condition.

AI notes: In 1799, Congress passed an important act that temporarily revived and expanded the U.S. Marine Corps during the Quasi-War with France. Although the Marines had been authorized in 1798, this 1799 legislation strengthened their statutory basis by formally organizing the Corps for naval service, specifying that detachments would serve aboard U.S. Navy ships, and authorizing the President to employ Marines both at sea and in shore operations connected with naval defense. The act also clarified pay, rations, and command arrangements, placing Marines under the Secretary of the Navy and aligning their structure with the rapidly expanding wartime fleet. While the Marine Corps would not receive its permanent, enduring legal foundation until the Act of 11 July 1798 (later reaffirmed in 1834), the March 1799 statute was critical in solidifying the Corps’ operational role as the Navy’s sea-soldier force during America’s first major undeclared naval conflict.