What is the importance of Tun Tavern and the existence of the United States Marine Corps?
PHILADELPHIA — Tun Tavern, known as the birthplace of the Marine Corps, will finally receive official recognition from the state. The Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission has approved the placement of an official state historic marker. “The marker is going to happen,” said Bob Giannini, National Park Service museum curator with the Independence National Historical Park. “That is, it was approved by the Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission’s State Marker Division.” The marker is expected to be placed later this year. There is no marker of any kind commemorating the existence of Tun Tavern in Philadelphia; the last markers were removed in the 1960s. “We have not yet set a date for the unveiling of this important marker, but it will definitely happen within the next six months,” Giannini said. The erection and dedication are likely to be in October. The Tun Tavern marker will be on the east side of Front Street between Walnut and Chestnut streets in Philadelphia. This lo
Tun Tavern was a tavern in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania which served as a founding or early meeting place for a number of notable groups. It is traditionally regarded as the site where the United States Marine Corps held its first recruitment drive.[1] It is also regarded as the “birthplace of Masonic teachings in America. Samuel Carpenter built the tavern in 1685. Built at the intersection of Water Street and Tun Alley, at what is today known as Penn’s Landing, it was named both for the alley and the Old English word “tun”, for a container of beer. In the 1740s, a restaurant, “Peggy Mullan’s Red Hot Beef Steak Club”, was added to the tavern. [edit] Organizations founded in the Tavern The tavern hosted the first meetings of a number of organization. In 1720, the first meetings of the St. George’s Society (forerunner of today’s “Sons of the Society of St. George”) were held there. The Society was a charitable organization founded to assist needy Englishmen arriving in the new colony. In 1
he U.S. Marine Corps will celebrate its 234th birthday on Nov. 10, 2009 During the American Revolution, many important political discussions took place in the inns and taverns of Philadelphia, including the founding of the Marine Corps. A committee of the Continental Congress met at Tun Tavern to draft a resolution calling for two battalions of Marines able to fight for independence at sea and on shore. The resolution was approved on November 10, 1775, officially forming the Continental Marines. As the first order of business, Samuel Nicholas became Commandant of the newly formed Marines. Tun Tavern’s owner and popular patriot, Robert Mullan, became his first captain and recruiter. They began gathering support and were ready for action by early 1776. Each year, the Marine Corps marks November 10th with a celebration of the brave spirit which compelled these men and thousands since to defend our country as United States Marines. Sources:
