Marine Barracks Washington, D.C.: Pic of the Week

On April 25, 2025, Marine Barracks Washington, D.C., which is located only a few blocks from the Library of Congress in Southeast Washington, D.C., hosted its first Friday evening parade of the season. 

In 2025, the U.S. Marine Corps is celebrating its 250th year. The Marine Corps was founded on November 10, 1775 when the Second Continental Congress raised two battalions of Marines as a part of the Continental Army “to be able to serve to advantage by sea when required” in the Revolutionary War. Congress created the modern Marine Corps through an An Act for the establishing and organizing of a Marine Corps, signed into law by President John Adams on July 11, 1798.

Marine Barracks Washington, D.C. was established in 1801 by President Thomas Jefferson and Lt. Col. William Ward Burrows, the second Commandant of the Marine Corps. It is “the oldest continually active post in the Marine Corps” and the location of the  home of the Commandants of the Marine Corps. The U.S. Marine Corps Barracks and Commandant’s House was listed in the National Register of Historic Places in 1972 and was designated a National Historic Landmark in 1976. According to the National Park Service, “[t]he National Register is the official list of the nation’s historic properties considered worthy of preservation” and it includes over 90,000 properties. Just over 2,600 properties are designated National Historic Landmarks, which “tell stories that are important to the history of the entire nation – not just local communities or states. These properties possess a high degree of historic integrity.”

Each summer since 1957, the United States Marine Band, the United States Marine Drum and Bugle Corps, and the United States Marine Corps Silent Drill Platoon have performed for audiences at the “Oldest Post of the Corps.” The Marine Band, “The President’s Own,” has a primary mission of providing music to the President and the Commandant of the Marine Corps. The Marine Band traces its roots back to the July 11, 1798 law establishing the Marine Corps, which stated that the Marine Corps should have a drum and fife-major and 32 drummers and fifers. The Marine Drum and Bugle Corps, “The Commandants Own,” was founded in 1934 to augment the Marine Band and to provide music for the Commandant of the Marine Corps and Marine Barracks Washington, D.C. The Silent Drill Platoon, a 24-Marine rifle platoon, was founded in 1948 to perform precision drill exhibitions.

Friday evening parades give the public an opportunity to visit a historic landmark, experience some of the longstanding traditions of Marine Barracks Washington D.C., and learn about the United States Marine Corps’ 250 years of history.

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