Commandants of the Marine Corps [command.htm]

Commandants of the Marine Corps

COMMISSION OF FIRST COMMANDANT - CAPT. S. NICHOLAS

Nr.	Name	Dates	Period Served	Final Rank as CMC
1.	Samuel Nicholas (1)	B. 1744 D. 27 Aug 1790	28 Nov 1775 1781	Major
2.	William W. Burrows (2)	B. 16 Jan 1758 D. 6 Mar 1804	12 Jul 1798 6 Mar 1804	Lt. Colonel
3.	Franklin Wharton (3)	B. 23 Jul 1767 D. 1 Sep 1818	7 Mar 1819 1 Sep 1818	Lt. Colonel
4.	Anthony Gale	B. 17 Sep 1782 D. 1843	3 Mar 1819 16 Oct 1820	Lt. Colonel
5.	Archibald Henderson (4)	B. 21 Jan 1783 D. 6 Jan 1859	17 Oct 1820 6 Jan 1859	Colonel
6.	John Harris (5)	B. 20 May 1790 D. 2 May 1864	7 Jan 1859 12 May 1864	Colonel
7.	Jacob Zeilin (6)	B. 16 Jul 1806 D. 18 Nov 1880	10 Jun 1864 31 Oct 1876	Br. General
8.	Charles McCawley	B. 29 Jan 1827 D. 13 Oct 1891	1 Nov 1876 29 Jan 1891	Colonel
9.	Charles Heywood (7)	B. 3 Oct 1839 D. 26 Feb 1915	30 Jan 1891 2 Oct 1903	Maj. General
10.	George Elliott (8)	B. 30 Nov 1846 D. 4 Nov 1931	3 Oct 1903 30 Nov 1910	Maj. General
11.	William P. Biddle (9)	B. 17 Dec 1853 D. 25 Feb 1923	3 Feb 1911 24 Feb 1914	Maj. General
12.	George Barnett (GNA)	B. 9 Dec 1859 D. 27 Apr 1930	25 Feb 1914 30 Jun 1920	Maj. General
13.	John A. Lejeune (GNA)	B. 10 Jan 1867 D. 20 Nov 1942	1 Jul 1920 4 Mar 1929	Maj. General
14.	Wendell Neville (GNA) (MOH) USMC MEDAL of Honor Recipients	B. 12 May 1870 D. 8 Jul 1930	5 Mar 1929 8 Jul 1930	Maj. General
15.	Ben H. Fuller (GNA)	B. 27 Feb 1870 D. 8 Jun 1937	9 Jul 1930 28 Feb 1934	Maj. General
16.	John H. Russell (GNA)	B. 14 Nov 1872 D. 6 Mar 1947	1 Mar 1934 30 Nov 1936	Maj. General
17.	Thomas Holcomb (11)	B. 5 Aug 1879 D. 24 May 1965	1 Dec 1936 31 Dec 1943	Lt. General
18.	Alexander A. Vandegrift (12) (MOH) USMC MEDAL of Honor Recipients	B. 13 Mar 1887 D. 8 May 1973	1 Jan 1944 31 Dec 1947	General
19.	Clifton B. Cates	B. 31 Aug 1893 D. 4 Jun 1970	1 Jan 1948 31 Dec 1951	General
20.	Lemuel C. Shepherd, Jr.	B. 10 Feb 1896 D. 6 Aug 1990	1 Jan 1952 31 Dec 1955	General
21.	Randolph McCall Pate (13)	B. 11 Feb 1898 D. 31 Jul 1961	1 Jan 1956 31 Dec 1959	General
22.	David M. Shoup (14) (MOH) USMC MEDAL of Honor Recipients	B. 30 Dec 1904 D. 13 Jan 1983	1 Jan 1960 31 Dec 1963	General
23.	Wallace M. Greene, Jr. (GNA)	B. 27 Dec 1907	1 Jan 1964 31 Dec 1967	General
24.	Leonard F. Chapman, Jr.	B. 3 Nov 1913	1 Jan 1968 31 Dec 1971	General
25.	Robert E. Cushman, Jr. (GNA)	B. 24 Dec 1914 D. 2 Jan 1985	1 Jan 1972 30 Jun 1975	General
26.	Louis H. Wilson (MOH) USMC MEDAL of Honor Recipients	B. 11 Feb 1920	1 Jul 1975 30 Jun 1979	General
27.	Robert H. Barrow	B. 5 Feb 1922	1 Jul 1979 30 Jun 1983	General
28.	Paul X. Kelley	B. 11 Nov 1928	1 Jul 1983 30 Jun 1987	General
29.	Alfred M. Gray, Jr.	B. 22 Jun 1928	1 Jul 1987 30 Jun 1991	General
30.	Carl E. Mundy, Jr.	B. 16 Jul 1935	1 Jul 1991 30 Jun 1995	General
31.	Charles C. Krulak (GNA) (SS)	B. 4 Mar 1942	1 Jul 1995 30 Jun 1999	General
32.	James L. Jones (SS)	B. 19 Dec 1943	1 Jul 1999 13 Jan 2003	General
33.	Michael W. Hagee	B. 16 Dec 1944	13 Jan 2003 13 Nov 2006	General
34.	James T. Conway	B. 26 Dec 1947	13 Nov 2006 24 Sep 2015	General
35.	James F. Amos	B. 11 Nov 1946	22 Oct 2010 17 Oct 2014	General
36.	Joseph F. Dumford, Jr.	B. 18 Dec 1955	17 Oct 2014 24 Sep 2015	General
37.	Robert B. Neller	B. 09 Feb 1953	24 Sep 2015 11 Jul 2019	General
38.	David H. Berger	B. 21 Dec 1959	11 Jul 2019 Present	General
39.	Eric M. Smith (15)	B. nn Xxx 1964	22 Sep 2023 Present	General
(GNA) Graduate of the U. S. Naval Academy.
(MOH) Awarded Congressional Medal of Honor.
(SS) Awarded Silver Star.
(1) The resolution of the Continental Congress on 10 November 1775 provided for a colonel to command two battalions of Marines authorized, but the highest rank received by any Marine during the Revolution was that of major. Samuel Nicholas was appointed "Captain of Marines" on 28 November 1775, and promoted to major on 25 June 1776. Because of his senior status among other Marine officers of the Revolution, he is numbered as the first Commandant. The year 1781 saw Major Nicholas' return to private life. By the summer of 1781 there were only three Marine captains and three lieutenants on active duty, and overall organization had ceased to exist. (2) When Burrows was appointed under authority of the Act of 11 July 1798 (1 Stat. 72) he was not known technically as "Major Commandant." It was not until 1 May 1800, when Burrows was promoted to "Lieutenant Colonel Commandant" under the Act of 22 April 1800 (2 Stat. 29), that there was an alliance of rank and position for the head of the Marine Corps. (3) Between Wharton's death and Gale's apointment, Brevet Major Samuel Miller, the Adjutant and Inspector and Brevet Major Archibald Henderson served as Acting Commandants, 2-15 September 1818 and 16 September 1818 - 2 March 1819, respectively. (4) By authority of the Act of 30 June 1834 (4 Stat. 32) the rank of Commandant was raised to colonel. On 4 March 1843, Henderson was commissioned brigadier general by brevet for his services during the Florida Indian Wars. Subsequently, he was commonly referred to as Brevet Brigadier General Henderson. This was a personal rank in the nature of a decoration for gallantry. It had nothing to do with the office of the Commandant; less, in fact, than the personal rank held by Heywood. In this connection, it should be noted that, in official correspondence, Henderson usually signed himself "Col. Commdt." (5) Between the death of Harris and the apointment of Zeilin, Major Augustus S. Nicholson, the Adjutant and Inspector, served as Acting Commandant 13 May - 9 June 1864. (6) The Act of March 1867 (14 Stat. 174) provided that "the commandant of the marine corps shall have the rank and pay of a brigadier general of the army." This law was repealed by the Act of 6 June 1874 (18 Stat. 216) when the office of the Commandant was returned to the rank of colonel when and if a vacancy occurred. Thus, Zeilin retained his rank of brigadier general but his successor was slated to be a colonel. (7) By the Act of 3 March 1899 (30 Stat. 413) the post of Commandant was again raised to that of brigadier general; Heywood was promoted as of that date. The Act of 1 July 1902 (32 Stat. 1368) accorded the Commandant the rank, pay, and allowances of a major general in the army. This act, however, specifically provided that should a vacancy occur in the office "on the expiration of the service of the present, incumbent, by retirement or otherwise, the commandant of the Marine Corps shall thereafter have the rank, pay, and allowances of a brigadier-general." Thus, Heywood's final rank must be considered to have been personal in character. (8) The Act of 13 May 1908 (35 Stat. 166) provided for the post of "major-general commandant, in lieu of the present brigadier-general commandant." Accordingly, in May 1908, Elliott was promoted to major general. (9) From the time of Major General Elliott's retirement until his own appointment, Biddle served as Acting Commandant in his personal rank of colonel, 1 December 1910 - 2 February 1911. During Biddle's tenure the term of Commandant was fixed for the first time -- four years "unless sooner relieved" -- by the Act of 19 December 1913 (38 Stat. 3). (10) Lejeune was the first Commandant reappointed after the expiration of a fixed term. (11) The Act of 20 January 1942 (56 Stat. 10) provided the rank of lieutenant general for the Commandant, and Holcomb was accordingly promoted to rank from that date. The same act provided that the office henceforth should be known as "Commandant of the Marine Corps." was advanced to general on the retired list effective 1 January 1944 -- the first Marine ever to hold that rank. (12) The Act of 21 march 1945 (59 Stat. 29) permitted the President to appoint the Commandant to the rank of general. When Vandergrift was promoted on 4 April 1945, to rank from 21 March of that year, he became the first Marine to serve in the rank of general. The Act of 21 March 1945 was restricted in effect to "six months after the termination of the war in which the United States is now engaged..." Hostilities had not yet been officially terminated when, by the Act of 7 August 1947 (61 Stat. 880), the rank of the Commandant was permanently fixed as general. (13) The President in 1955 appointed Lieutenant General Pate to a two-year term as Commandant, in 1957. However, Pate's tenure was renewed for another two years. (14) When Pate was due to be relieved, the President nominated Major General Shoup for a two-year term as he had done with General Pate. The Senate in confirming the nomination, however, invoked the four year provision of the 1913 law and fixed Shoup's tenure as 1960-1964. (Hearing on H.R. 8189. 3 September 1959.) (15) Served as Acting Commandant 10 Jul 2023 - 21 Sep 2023

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