History of the Marine Corps

Born in a Philadelphia tavern at the height of the Revolution, the Marine Corps began as America’s first seaborne fighting force. This episode traces that origin.

Out of the smoke and uncertainty of rebellion, Samuel Nicholas gathered the first Marines from the city’s streets. They were craftsmen, sailors, and laborers who became the sharp edge of a new nation. They launched their first assault in the Bahamas, fought beside Washington on the Delaware, and held fast through both triumph and disaster.

From frozen rivers at Trenton to burning ships at Penobscot, Chapter 1 follows the Continental Marines. They were poorly equipped and often outnumbered, but they fought across every front of the Revolution and forged the traits that would define the Corps.

Born in a Philadelphia tavern at the height of the Revolution, the Marine Corps began as America’s first seaborne fighting force. This episode traces that origin.

Out of the smoke and uncertainty of rebellion, Samuel Nicholas gathered the first Marines from the city’s streets. They were craftsmen, sailors, and laborers who became the sharp edge of a new nation. They launched their first assault in the Bahamas, fought beside Washington on the Delaware, and held fast through both triumph and disaster.

From frozen rivers at Trenton to burning ships at Penobscot, Chapter 1 follows the Continental Marines. They were poorly equipped and often outnumbered, but they fought across every front of the Revolution and forged the traits that would define the Corps.

In the spring of 1945, the Battle of Okinawa became the bloodiest fight of the Pacific War. What was meant to be the final step toward Japan turned into a storm of mud, coral, and fire that tested every limit of courage and endurance.

This episode follows the Marines through the final weeks of the campaign. It is a story of bravery and exhaustion, of shattered armies and civilians trapped between them, of generals who chose death over surrender, and of the staggering…