“The Few, The Proud”
20 MARCH 1779
“THE FEW, THE PROUD”
“The Few, the Proud, the Marines” has been an iconic slogan of the US Marine Corps since it was introduced in 1976 by the J. Walter Thompson advertising agency during a critical post-Vietnam recruiting drive. The end of American involvement in that conflict in 1972 had seen disrespect for returning servicemen and public disdain for the military in general. Recruiting was at paralyzing levels. The Thompson advertising agency was attempting to portray the USMC as the elite military force, attractive to those who sought to associate with the best. It worked. Since, the slogan has been carried in several forms, revived in 1984 with the plea, “We’re looking for a few good men.” But few may know that the phrase dates to the Revolutionary War.
By the beginning of 1779 our Continental Navy was on the ropes. The 28-gun frigate PROVIDENCE lay idle in Boston for want of a crew. She was the second Continental Navy warship to bear the name, the first having been burned to prevent her capture at Penobscot Bay. This newer, bigger, and stronger PROVIDENCE had run the blockade from Rhode Island at the end of April 1778, fighting two British frigates in the process. After shipping arms and supplies in France, she and BOSTON, 24, returned to Portsmouth, New Hampshire, in October. But holding a crew while in port proved difficult, as richer profits and moderate treatment aboard privateers led many of the crew to dessert. Shortly CAPT Abraham Whipple started working his frigate toward Boston, where the likelihood of securing men was greater.
Meanwhile, on this day in Rhode Island, Whipple’s newly appointed Captain of the Marines, Continental Marine Corps 2nd LT William Jones, took out an ad in “The Providence Gazette”:
“The Continental Ship Providence, ABRAHAM WHIPPLE, Esq; Commander, now lying at Boston, is bound on a short Cruize, immediately; a few good Men are wanted to make up her Compliment. All persons, whether Seamen, Marines, or Landsmen, that incline to enter, are desired to repair on board said ship, or to the Subscriber, at PROVIDENCE, within Twelve Days from the Date hereof, and they will receive further Information.” Wm. JONES, Capt., Marines, PROVIDENCE, March 20, 1779.
It must have worked, for from Boston in June 1779, PROVIDENCE sailed with QUEEN OF FRANCE, 28, and RANGER, 18, on a successful raid of British commercial shipping. “A few good men” has since described our US Marines across two centuries of service.
Watch for more “Today in Naval History” 26 MAR 22
CAPT James Bloom, Ret.
Department of the Navy, Naval History Division. Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships, Vol 5 “N-Q”. Washington, DC: GPO, 1979, p. 307.
Smith, Charles R. Marines in the Revolution: A History of the Continental Marines in the American Revolution 1775-1783. Washington, DC: GPO, 1975, pp. 148-49.
Westermier, Michael, Historian, USMC History Division. Personal e-mail dated 1 August 2019.
ADDITIONAL NOTES: USMC 2nd LT William Jones had formerly been a CPT in the Rhode Island Regiment. He came to CAPT Whipple highly recommended by the Navy Board:
“He is a man well acquainted with the service having been in it most of the War, and has great interest in raising a Compy. of Marines. His appearance and Character is such I apprehend as will do honor to the service.”