Charles Heywood

Major General Charles Heywood (October 3, 1839 – February 26, 1915) was the ninth Commandant of the Marine Corps. He served as an officer for over 45 years and was the first Marine to reach the rank of major general. During Heywood's term as Commandant, the size of the Corps more than tripled, from 2,175 Marines to 7,810 total.

Biography

Early career Charles Heywood was born on October 3, 1839, in Waterville, Maine, son of Charles Heywood, a lieutenant in the U. S. Navy, who had distinguished himself in the defense of San José del Cabo during the Mexican American War. He was appointed second lieutenant in the Marine Corps from New York, on April 5, 1858. During that year, he was stationed at the Marine Barracks, Washington, D.C., and at Brooklyn, New York.

While on duty in Brooklyn, he served in the 1858 quarantine riots at Staten Island, New York.

In March 1861, he returned to duty on board Cumberland and with that vessel took part in the destruction of the Norfolk Navy Yard during the Civil War. His services during the Civil War thus secured for him two brevet ranks for distinguished gallantry in the presence of the enemy.

After the Civil War, Heywood joined the Military Order of the Loyal Legion of the United States – an organization of officers who has served in the Union armed forces during the war.

From 1865 to 1867, he performed duty on board various ships, serving as Admiral Farragut's Fleet Marine Officer on the European Station and later in the same capacity in the North Atlantic Squadron. During this period he also served for a time at Washington, Norfolk and Brooklyn.

Service as Commandant On January 30, 1891, Lt. Col. Heywood was appointed Colonel Commandant of the Marine Corps. At that time the Marine Corps consisted of 75 officers and 2,100 enlisted men, which gradually rose during his tenure of office until at the time of his retirement in 1903, it had reached the total of 278 officers and 7,532 enlisted personnel, the highest strength up to that point. The Marines at that time were armed with obsolescent M1884 Springfield rifles and .45-70 black-powder ammunition. Training consisted mostly of route marches and drill practice, as there were rarely enough funds to permit regular target practice.

As Commandant, Heywood attempted to improve the fighting ability of Marines in their role as naval infantry, while simultaneously attempting to integrate the Marine Corps more fully into modern naval sea operations. To this end Heywood instituted a regular program of marksmanship training, while having marines train to become gun crews for the secondary batteries aboard the navy's cruisers and battleships.

Although the Marines were scheduled to receive new smokeless powder 6 mm Lee rifles in 1895, delays in production and insufficient appropriations caused the Marine Corps to retain their old M1884 .45-70 Springfield rifles as late as 1897. Commandant Heywood was said to have refused initial deliveries of small allotments of Lee rifles to Marine battalions until he was given assurances that an appropriation would be made to the Corps for at least 3,000 Lee rifles, improved target ranges, and enough ammunition to continue existing marksmanship training programs.

Despite Heywood's efforts, the declaration of war with Spain in 1898 found the Marine Corps ill-prepared for combat in terms of training with modern small arms, battle drills, and small-unit exercises. With no battalion-sized Marine forces at hand, Commandant Heywood ordered a scratch battalion of Marines formed from around 650 Marines stationed across New England, which sailed from Brooklyn, New York just five days later aboard the , a former banana boat that had been hastily converted into a troop transport upon the outbreak of hostilities.

By special acts of Congress, Heywood was promoted to brigadier general in March 1899 and to major general on July 2, 1902. He was the first Marine to hold the rank of major general. He was buried in Arlington National Cemetery.

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