Daniel Carmick

Daniel Carmick (1772 – November 6, 1816) was an officer in the United States Marine Corps.

Daniel Carmick's Tomb

Biography

Born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, in 1772, was appointed a lieutenant of Marines on USS Ganges on May 5, 1798, and entered the newly formed United States Marine Corps as a captain on July 11, 1798. During the Quasi-War with France, he commanded the Marine Detachment on the USS Constitution and led the daring attack to spike the cannon in the fort at Puerto Plata in Hispaniola.

Major Carmick served with distinction in the Mediterranean, and led Marines under Lt. François-Godefroy Barbin de Bellevue (1789-1845) in the Battle of New Orleans during the War of 1812. When the war began, the U.S. naval presence in New Orleans was perhaps stronger than at any point in the country, certainly as to "gunboats," the shallow-draft coastal and riverine craft.[1]

Daniel Carmick's Plaque

Wounded on December 28, 1814, by a Congreve rocket in one of the engagements which set the stage for the more well-known (January 8, 1815) battle, Daniel Carmick died November 6, 1816. At that time, Carmick was the "second highest ranking officer in the United States Marine Corps." [2] He is buried in Saint Louis Cemetery Number 2 in New Orleans.[3]

Namesake

In 1942, the destroyer USS Carmick (DD-493) was named in his honor.

Additional notes

Marine Corps ceremonies were held at Major Carmick's tomb in conjunction with the Marine Corps "birthday" celebration, November, 2012.[4] Carmick's contributions to his fledgling country and Corps have escaped well-deserved scrutiny. He participated in the U.S. Marine Corps' first landing on foreign soil on May 11, 1800,[5] * (See Note Below) is credited with helping to establish the term "leatherneck" in reference to Marines, and apparently had issues with authority (the Commandant of the Marine Corps, which was a position Carmick felt he himself deserved), eventually being acquitted by a court martial and having his command returned to him.[6]

(*) Note: The Continental Marine Corps conducted three foreign-shore landings during the American Revolutionary War; 1) Nassau, New Providence Island, Bahamas on March 3, 1776 (Marine Battalion, Commodore Esek Hopkins Squadron, Continental Navy) and 2) again on January 28, 1778 (Marine Detachment, Continental sloop Providence) as well as 3) a raid on Whitehaven, Great Britain on April 23, 1778 (Marine Detachment, Continental sloop Ranger). In addition, South Carolina Marines (Marine Detachment, South Carolina Navy frigate South Carolina commanded by Commodore Alexander Gillon) also landed on New Providence Island on May 8, 1782 while conducting joint operations with the Spanish Navy to assist in securing the Bahamas for Spain.[7]

References
  1. See, e.g., Eaton, Fernin, Governor on Trial: Claiborne in His Own Words, A Salon Publique presented at Pitot House, Bayou St. John, New Orleans, LA, November 7, 2011, p. 19, slide 27, listing the country's only functioning gunboats as being in New Orleans. All the rest were "in ordinary," i.e., rotting on dry land. https://www.academia.edu/1910804/Gov._Claiborne_in_his_own_words--a_salon_publique_at_Pitot_House_Bayou_St._John
  2. "Interim Appointment: W.C.C. Clairborne Letter Book, 1804-1805; Jared W. Bradley, Ed.; LSU Press; 2002, p. 461."
  3. Paul Purpura, New Orleans Times-Picayune, February 2, 2012.
  4. http://www.nola.com/military/index.ssf/2012/11/marines_honor_maj_daniel_carmi.html
  5. Bradley, Jared William, Interim Appointment, Louisiana State University Press, Baton Rouge, (2002), p. 461-475
  6. Bradley, Interim Appointment, p. 468-469
  7. Hoffman, Colonel Jon T., USMC: A Complete History, Marine Corps Association, Quantico, VA, (2002), pp. 13-15, 21, & 25.

This article incorporates text from the public domain Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships.

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