Marine Barracks, Washington, D.C.

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Marine Barracks, Washington, D.C. is located at 8th and I Streets SE in Washington, D.C. Established in 1801, it is a registered historical site, the oldest post in the United States Marine Corps and home to the Commandant of the Marine Corps.

History

The buildings at the Marine Barracks are some of the oldest in Washington. When the British burned Washington during the War of 1812, they also captured the barracks of the U.S. Marines, whom they had defeated at the Battle of Bladensburg. It is traditionally held within the Marine Corps that, out of respect for the brave showing of the Marines at Bladensburg, the British refrained from burning the barracks and the Commandant's house.

Square 927, now the block surrounded by 8th & I, and 9th & G Streets S.E., was entered in the National Register of Historic Places in 1972, and was then designated a National Historic Landmark by the Department of the Interior in 1976.

8th and I has been the home of the Silent Drill Platoon and the "President's Own" U.S. Marine Band since the barracks' establishment in 1801 and the residence of the Commandant since 1806, when the Commandant's House was completed.

Duties

Funeral escort for Marines and dignitaries.
Ceremonial honor guard for state functions.
Security Forces for Camp David and the White House.
Parades

Friday Evening Parade
Tuesday Sunset Parade at the Iwo Jima Memorial

Provide military correspondence courses for Marines and other services through the Marine Corps Institute.
Training to maintain MOS proficiency and emergency preparedness.

The Marines assigned to the D.C. barracks must meet strict height and weight standards, since they perform in ceremonial parades, funerals and other ceremonies for presidential and other national dignitaries. During the summer months, a Sunset Parade is held every Tuesday evening at the Marine Corps War Memorial in Rosslyn, Virginia, near Arlington National Cemetery. In addition, an Evening Parade takes place at the Barracks every Friday evening from late spring until the end of summer. Both Sunset and Evening Parades are open to the public.

Notes

References

Marine Barracks Washington website. Retrieved on 2007-03-31..
Listing at the National Park Service

External links

GlobalSecurity Article on Marine Barracks, Washington, D.C.