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| Samuel Nicholas |
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| The Few- The Proud- The Marines |
The son of Andrew Nicholas and Mary Shute, Samuel Nichols was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania in 1744. His father was a prosperous Quaker blacksmith and his mother was the mayor’s sister.
When Samuel was seven, his uncle enrolled him in the recently opened Philadelphia Academy. He completed his studies in 1759, having attended classes with the children from some of Philadelphia’s most prominent families; many of whom, along with Samuel, would play very important future roles in the American Revolution. Following his studies at the academy, he studied at the College of Philadelphia (now the University of Pennsylvania).
Sixteen year old Nichols became a member of Schuylkill Fishing, an exclusive club whose associates assembled frequently on the banks of the river for fishing, fowling and feasting. In 1766, he helped to organize the Gloucester Fox Hunting Club, America’s first hunt club. He was also the proprietor of the Connostogoe Wagon, (a/k/a Tun Tavern) a popular watering hole in town. The tavern was own by the family of Mary Jenkins. In 1778, Mary would become Samuel’s wife.
When the Second Continental Congress met in 1775, the search began for a means by which to resolve the problem of maintaining a sufficient number of able-bodied recruits for the Continental Navy. On November 5, 1775, they assigned the task to Samuel Nicholas by commissioning him as Captain of Marines and authorized the staffing of two battalions.
Congress confirmed and documented Captain Nichols’s commission on November 28, 1775. His pay was set at $32 per month ($820 in 2011). This was the first such document issued with respect to the Continental Navy and was signed by John Hancock. Additional such documents were later issued for Esek Hopkins and John Paul Jones. As the first commissioned officer in the Marines, Samuel Nicholas is considered to be the first Commandant of the Marine Corps.
Captain Nichols now went to work enlisting the necessary manpower for his two battalions. Nicholas’ orders were the two companies would consist of one Colonel, two Lieutenant-Colonels, two Majors and additional officers as needed, with an equal number of privates. Only good seamen, acquainted with maritime affairs were to be enlisted or appointed as officers.
By the end of 1775, the Marines were composed of five companies, enough troops to man the fleet of the Continental Navy. They soon sailed to the Bahamas under the command of Commodore Hopkins. During March 1776, the Marines underwent a baptism by fire as they were led by Hopkins on a raid in Nassau, resulting in little blood shed and successfully capturing two forts, 88 cannons 15 mortars and an extensive supply of military stores from the British, due to catching them totally by surprise.
British General Thomas Gage had warned Lt. Governor Montfort Browne of a possible attack by the Americans, but Browne did little if anything to bolster the island’s defenses. Captain Nicholas accomplished this with a landing party of 250 Marines and sailors. This event later went down in the history books as the first amphibious landing, in addition to being the most successful operation by the Navy during the Revolutionary War.
As the Alfred – flagship of Commodore Esek Hopkins - began her pursuit of the British ship Glasgow on April 6th along the coast of Rhode Island, Captain Nichols was standing on the quarterdeck when his second lieutenant, standing next to him, was killed during the course of a 3-hour battle.
Nicholas soon returned to Philadelphia and resumed his recruiting efforts. On June 25th, 1776, he was promoted to major. Shortly thereafter, the Marine Committee detached him from the Alfred and had him remain in the city to train four companies of new recruits. To do so, he requested equipment and arms for them.
A letter written by Nichols to Congress stated, “The enemy having overrun the Jerseys, and our army being greatly reduced, I was ordered to march with three of the companies to be under the command of His Excellency, the Commander-in-Chief.” He led his companies, numbering 131 men, into the Trenton-Princeton campaign. Though the Marines followed George Washington as he crossed the
Delaware River, they did not fight under Army authority.
Transferring on February 1, 1777 to the artillery, Major Nicholas served with General Washington until spring. A senior officer now, Nicholas was without a field command, so he returned to his efforts of supervising the recruitment of new Marines. In 1778, Marine barracks were reestablished as recruiting resumed. From now until the end of the war, the duties Nicholas fulfilled were much the same as each Commandant to follow him would assume. While a good portion of his activity involved recruitment, he also acted as Muster Master of the Navy (Receiver General of the Muster Rolls) a portion of the time.
In a letter to Congress dated November 20, 1779, Nichols stated his desire to be placed in charge of the Marine Detachment on board America. The vessel was presently undergoing construction; however, Congress informed Nicholas his place was in Philadelphia.
By the time the British surrendered at Yorktown, the role of the Marines in the war had begun to diminish. In 1783, Nicholas, who was now 39, returned to Philadelphia to resume his business interests and social life. A yellow fever outbreak in the city took his life on August 29, 1783.
Samuel Nichols is remembered with three US Navy ships bearing the name USS Nichols. Each year on November 10th, the United States Marine Corps celebrates its birthday and on that day, a wreath is laid on Nicholas’ grave in the Arch Street Friends Meeting cemetery.
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