Captain Samuel Nicholas: A Brief History

Samuel Nicholas, born in 1744, became the first commissioned officer of the Continental Marines. He was born to Mary and Andrew Nicholas. His father was a prosperous Quaker blacksmith. Due to his father's prominence in the community, sixteen-year-old Samuel Nicholas joined the exclusive Schuylkill Fishing Company and was a founding member of the Gloucester Fox Hunting Club. Both of these endeavors brought him in frequent contact with a myriad of prominent Philadelphians, many of who later …

…hi legacy as the "First Commandant of the Marine Corps." On a side note, contrary to popular belief, Captain Samuel Nicholas was not the first '"Commandant". The first "Commandant" of the Marine Corps, in truth and in writing, was a Lieutenant Colonel William Ward Burrows. This fact is due to the simple fact that before he was promoted to "Lieutenant Colonel Commandant" there was no alliance for rank and position for the Marine Corps.