In the early days of the Revolutionary War, the Continental Congress rushed to form an army but soon realized that, to win its freedom, America would need men who could fight both on land and sea. Enter the Marines. As Washington struggled to preserve his command after defeats in New York and New Jersey in 1776, the nascent U.S. Navy and Marines deployed the first American fleet, conducted their first amphibious operation, and waged a war on the rivers and seas to block British reinforcements and capture critically needed supplies. Desperate times forced Congress to detach the Continental Marines from the Navy to join the embattled army as Washington sought an “important stroke” to defeat his adversary. Soon after, Washington’s Marines joined a protracted land campaign that culminated in turning-point victories at Trenton, Assunpink Creek and Princeton, before Washington granted Gen. Henry Knox’s request to leverage the Marines’ expertise with naval guns to fill the depleted ranks of the army’s artillery during the “Forage War.” Drawing on his research in primary sources as well as his own military knowledge and experiences, Maj. Gen. Jason Bohm of the United States Marine Corps discusses his new book examining the Corps’ humble beginnings and what it achieved during the early years of the American Revolution, through successes and failures at Lexington and Concord, Bunker Hill, Canada, Boston, Charleston and more.
About the Speaker
Maj. Gen. Jason Q. Bohm is a Marine with more than thirty years of service. An infantryman by trade, he has commanded at every level, from platoon commander to commanding general in peacetime and war. General Bohm has also served in several key staff positions, including as a strategic planner with the Joint Chiefs of Staff, director of the Marine Corps Expeditionary Warfare School; House Director, Marine Corps Office of Legislative Affairs, U.S. House of Representatives; and chief of staff of U.S. Naval Striking and Support Forces, NATO. General Bohm holds a bachelor’s degree in marketing and master’s degrees in military studies and national security studies. Additionally, he has written several articles for the Marine Corps Gazette, and a book, From the Cold War to ISIL: One Marine’s Journey (Naval Institute Press, 2019).