The First Adjutant Recruited
On July 11, 1798, President John Adams signed into law An Act for Establishing and Organizing a Marine Corps, which made the Marine Corps an official military branch in the United States. The Act required:
“…if the marine corps, or any part of it, shall be ordered by the President to do duty on shore, and it shall become necessary to appoint an adjutant, paymaster, quartermaster, sergeant major, quartermaster sergeant, and drum and fife major, or any of them, the major or Commandant of the corps is hereby authorized to appoint such staff officer or officers, from the line of subalterns, sergeants, and music, respectively, who shall be entitled, during the time they shall do such duty, to the same extra pay and emoluments which are allowed by law to officers acting in the same capacities in the infantry.”
William Ward Burrows, the second Commandant of the Marine Corps (1st official), was commissioned as a major and appointed to office on July 12, 1798. For the first few weeks, Burrows did everything himself, including recruiting Marines for duty. On August 2, 1798, one of the Marines recruited was a Second Lieutenant to help with musters and training.
For almost 100 years, the role didn’t really change, but the following four decades saw many adjustments to the Adjutant’s responsibilities. The rank of the Adjutant was raised to Colonel, three assistant Adjutant and Inspector’s were authorized, and new responsibilities were added, including public relations. In 1913, the Marine Corps decided that the Adjutant “required general military knowledge and therefore, should be integrated with the line.” This was different compared to other administrative staff who were considered as specialist departments. This changed in 1925 when the position was recategorized as Administrative Staff.
In the 1940s, the Commandant of the Marine Corps requested a survey from the Navy Department Management Engineer for improving the Headquarters. The survey recommended a new department for all personnel administrative functions. In May 1943, the Personnel Department was organized, and the Adjutant and Inspector’s Department was absorbed into the new unit. Today, the Adjutant is a Special Staff officer, under the cognizance of the Assistant Chief of Staff, G-1.
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