Barracks History

About

Still used for its original purpose, the Home of the Commandants has been home to all but the first two commandants, and is said to be the oldest, continuously occupied public building in Washington, D.C.

Early 19th Century

In March 1801, President Thomas Jefferson and the second commandant of the Marine Corps, Lt. Col. William Ward Burrows, made a horseback tour through the new city of Washington, D.C., looking for a proper site for the Marine Barracks and a home for the commandant.

Square 927, a short walk from the Washington Navy Yard and in easy marching distance of the Capitol, was their choice. Construction began later that year, and Burrows' successor, Lt. Col. Franklin Wharton, completed the house in 1806 and the Barracks in 1808.

When first built, the Georgian-Federalist style house measured 25 by 32 feet. It contained four large rooms and a central hallway on each floor, a kitchen in the basement and servant's quarters in the attic.

Renovations and additions, which began in 1836, have expanded the house to 15,000 square feet, including 30 rooms not counting closets or baths. The décor has always been dictated by the personal tastes of each commandant and his family.

Surving the British

The Home of the Commandants was one of the few buildings not burned by the British when they sacked the Capitol in 1814. This omission by the British has given rise to several legends as to why the house was spared.

One version is that Admiral Cockburn and General Ross, commanding the British troops, spared it to use as their headquarters, then neglected to apply the torch upon their withdrawal.

Another contends that Marines at the Battle of Bladensburg so impressed General Ross that he ordered the house and the Barracks spared as a gesture of soldierly respect.

Historic Traditions

In 1916, Maj. Gen. George Barnett, the 12th commandant, approached then-acting Secretary of the Navy, Franklin D. Roosevelt, with the idea of having portraits painted of all former Marine Corps commandants to document the successive changes in uniforms. The idea was approved, and today portraits of all of the commandants hang in the house, with one exception. 

It is also a tradition that the occupants of the house leave a gift for future occupants of the house to use. Some gifts from former commandants include fine furniture, crystal and china. 

Landmark Designation

Square 927, now the block surrounded by 8th, I, 9th and G Streets SE, was entered in the National Register of Historic Places in 1972 and designated a National Historic Landmark by the Department of the Interior in 1976. 

The selection of the site for the Barracks was a matter of personal interest to President Thomas Jefferson, who rode through Washington with Lt. Col. William Ward Burrows, the second commandant of the Marine Corps, in search of a suitable location. The site now occupied was approved due to its proximity to the Washington Navy Yard and because it was within easy marching distance of the Capitol.

The early 19th-century Barracks was arranged in a quadrangle as it is today, and the use of the building was similar. The areas on the south and east side of the quadrangle were used for offices, maintenance facilities and living spaces for troops, and a building on the west was the location of the officers' quarters. The Home of the Commandants at the north end of the Barracks was completed in 1806 and is the only original building still standing. It is the oldest public building in continuous use in the Nation's Capitol. The rest of the Barracks was rebuilt between 1900 and 1907.

The training of new officers and recruits started at the Barracks soon after it was established and continued throughout the 19th century. Until 1901, it was also the location of Marine Corps Headquarters. Marines from the Barracks participated in the defense of Washington in the War of 1812, and served in the Indian Wars of 1826-37, the war with Mexico, the Civil War and the Spanish American War. Most recently, Marines from the Barracks deployed to Southwest Asia and participated in Operations Desert Shield and Desert Storm.

"The President's Own" United States Marine Band's mission is to perform music for the President of the United States and the Commandant of the Marine Corps. Founded in 1798 by an Act of Congress, the Marine Band is America's oldest continuously active professional musical organization.