When the Continental Congress established the U. S. Marine Corps in 1775, sharp-eyed Benjamin Franklin marked on the drums of the recruiting officers a rattlesnake with the inscription "Don't Tread On Me." The Marine Corps drums still bear that motto. In the act of 1798 which confirmed the Marines' organization, there was provision for a Drum Major, Fife Major, and 32 drums & fifes. In 1799 a band was formed at the Marine encampment in Philadelphia, then the U. S. capital. When the Marines moved to Washington, Drum Major William Farr began...
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