For most of its 250-year history, the Marine Corps has been defined by its ability to project power from the sea. That meant beach landings, first at Nassau in 1776, then on a massive scale during World War II. But today, the concept of storming a beach has evolved into something far more complex and far less visible.

The Marines’ first amphibious landing happened in March 1776, just a few short months after Capt. Samuel Nichols recruited the first two battalions of Marines at Tun Tavern in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, in late 1775. The Continental Army needed gunpowder badly, having just 728 pounds in December 1775. So, the Marines raided New Providence in the Bahamas, seizing two British forts and 200 barrels of gunpowder.

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