John Harris (USMC officer)

John Harris
6th Commandant of the Marine Corps (1856–1864)
Born	(1793-05-20)May 20, 1793 East Whiteland Township, Pennsylvania
Died	May 12, 1864(1864-05-12) (aged 70) Washington, D.C.
Place of burial	Oak Hill Cemetery Washington, D.C.
Allegiance	United States of America
Service / branch	United States Marine Corps
Years of service	1814–1864
Rank	Colonel
Commands	Commandant of the Marine Corps
Battles / wars	War of 1812 Indian wars American Civil War

John Harris (May 20, 1793 – May 12, 1864) was the sixth Commandant of the Marine Corps. He served in the Marine Corps for over 50 years, attaining the rank of colonel.

Early life and family

Harris was born in East Whiteland Township, Chester County, Pennsylvania, to an established local family that produced a number of military officers. His father, William Harris, was an officer in the American Revolutionary War. His older brother, Thomas, was a naval surgeon and became head of the navy's Bureau of Medicine and Surgery. His youngest brother, Stephen, married a granddaughter of Persifor Frazer; Stephen's sons Stephen and Joseph both served in the Coast Survey before and during the American Civil War.

Career

John Harris was commissioned a second lieutenant in the Marine Corps on 23 April 1814. Two months later he was promoted to first lieutenant and, during the summer of that year, served with the forces that opposed the advance of the British on the city of Washington during the concluding days of the War of 1812.

The following year he was placed in command of the Marine Guard aboard USS Macedonian, which was one of the ships of the squadron of Commodore Stephen Decatur that sailed from New York in May 1815 on an expedition to punish the Barbary pirates for their numerous depredations.

Upon his return to the United States, 1st Lt Harris performed duty at Erie, Pennsylvania, and at Boston, Massachusetts. From the latter station he was assigned to duty aboard USS Franklin, which he joined in August 1821. On his return from a cruise in the South Pacific in 1824, according to family legend, he introduced the lima bean from Peru to the United States. He was brevetted captain on March 3, 1825.

This was followed by tours of duty ashore at Boston and at sea, first in USS Java, then aboard the Delaware and Philadelphia. Promoted to the regular rank of captain on June 13, 1830, he was next stationed at Norfolk, Virginia. After that he rejoined the Delaware, from which ship he was detached in March 1836. Three months later he joined the Philadelphia detachment of Marines at Fort Monroe, Virginia, for active duty with the Army in the field in the Florida Indian Wars.

During the period of the Indian Wars in the South, he served with distinction in the Creek campaign in Alabama and in the war with the Seminole Indians in Florida. Colonel Commandant Archibald Henderson, who commanded the Marine Regiment during the troublesome times with the Indians, stated in a letter to the Secretary of the Navy that "Captain Harris while in Florida had command of Mounted Marines and did good service in that capacity."

Captain Harris was awarded brevet rank of major on January 27, 1837, "for gallantry and good conduct in the war against Florida Indians, particularly in the affair of the Hatchee Lustee." He returned to Washington in March 1837 as the bearer of a treaty which had been made by the commanding general with the Seminole chiefs. Promoted to major 6 October 1841, he served until the Mexican-American War at Philadelphia, Washington, and Norfolk.

In March 1848, Major Harris was ordered to Mexico to cooperate on shore with the squadron off the Isthmus of Tehauntepec. He sailed from New York with a battalion of Marines, but upon their arrival at Veracruz, the armistice had been concluded. He was then ordered to garrison Alvarado with his battalion.

Major Harris rejoined Headquarters in Washington, from Alvarado, in late summer of 1848. His next assignments were as Commanding Officer of the Philadelphia and New York Marine Barracks. He was promoted to lieutenant colonel, December 10, 1855, and placed in command at Brooklyn, New York, where he remained until January 7, 1859, on which date he was appointed Colonel Commandant of the Marine Corps. At the age of 66, he was the oldest officer to become Commandant of the Marine Corps. He likewise had seen more service than any officer receiving the appointment, having been a Marine for 45 years before becoming Commandant.

Harris' term as Commandant included a serious unfortunate incident shortly before the outbreak of the Civil War. At that time nearly half of his officers resigned to serve the Confederate States and he labored to reconstitute the weakened Corps. Also, during the early days of the Civil War, when contraband traffic began to flow from Maryland, Colonel Harris detailed an entire battalion of Marines to serve as United States Secret Service operators in the troubled area, with the result that the situation was well in hand within a brief period.

Services rendered the Union by Marines under Harris were varied and many. Few, however, have been recorded as outstanding. This may be attributed to the fact that the Marine Corps of that period was composed of relatively few men in comparison with the strength of the Army or the regular Navy. The relatively minor role of the navy in the Civil War (memorable almost exclusively for its land battles) may be a factor as well.

Death

Harris died after a brief illness on May 12, 1864, while in office as Commandant of the Marine Corps. He had served as a marine officer for 50 years. He is buried in Oak Hill Cemetery in the Georgetown area of Washington, D.C.

Legacy

Harris's photograph appears in a skit titled "The Civil War: the Re-enactments" on the HBO series Mr. Show (season 4, episode 8).

References

 This article incorporates public domain material from websites or documents of the United States Marine Corps.

• "John Harris". Find a Grave. Retrieved 2009-02-13.
• Harris, Joseph S. Record of the Harris Family descended from John Harris born 1680 in Wiltshire, England. Geo. F. Lasher, Philadelphia, 1903.
• "Colonel John Harris, USMC". Commandants of the U.S. Marine Corps. History Division, United States Marine Corps. Retrieved 2015-05-24.
• Commandants of the Marine Corps. Annapolis, Maryland: Naval Institute Press. 2004. pp. 74–84. ISBN 978-0-87021-012-9. {{cite book}}: Unknown parameter |editors= ignored (|editor= suggested) (help)
• Harris, Joseph S. Notes on the Ancestry of the Children of Joseph Smith Harris and Delia Silliman Brodhead. Press of Allen, Land & Scott, Philadelphia, 1898.