| Marine Corps Recruit Depot Parris Island | |
|---|---|
| Parris Island, South Carolina | |
 | |
| Site information | |
| Type | Military base |
| Owner | United States |
| Controlled by | United States Marine Corps |
| Open to the public | No |
| Website | mcrdpi.marines.mil |
 | |
| Site history | |
| Built | 1861 |
| In use | 1915–present |
| Garrison information | |
| Current commander | Brigadier General Ahmed T. Williamson |
| Garrison | Recruit Training Regiment (1st–4th Battalions) Support Battalion Headquarters & Service Battalion Weapons & Field Training Battalion 6th Marine Corps District |
Parris Island Drydock and Commanding Generals House | |
  | |
| Coordinates | 32°20′21.7″N80°41′23.8″W / 32.339361°N 80.689944°W /32.339361; -80.689944 |
| Area | 2 acres (0.81 ha) |
| NRHP reference No. | 78002492[1] |
| Added to NRHP | November 21, 1978 |
Marine Corps Recruit Depot Parris Island (often abbreviated asMCRD PI) is an 8,095-acre (32.76 km2) military installation located withinPort Royal, South Carolina, approximately 5 miles (8.0 km) south ofBeaufort, the community that is typically associated with the installation. MCRD Parris Island is used forUnited States Marine Corps Recruit Training ofenlistedUnited States Marines.Recruits living east of theMississippi River report there to receive initial training. Recruits living west of the Mississippi River receive training atMarine Corps Recruit Depot San Diego, California, but may train at MCRD Parris Island by special request. Parris Island is only open to civilians for the Museum, and prior criminal history such as felonies and drug charges will prevent visitors from entering the island.[citation needed]
AFrench Huguenot expedition, led byJean Ribault in 1562, was the first European group to attempt to colonize Parris Island. Earlier Spanish expeditions had sighted the area and named it "Punta de Santa Elena", which now remains one of the oldest continuously used European place names in the United States. The French expedition built an outpost namedCharlesfort, and Ribault left a small garrison as he returned to France for colonists and supplies.
After a long absence because of Ribault's delay from wars in Europe, Charlesfort was abandoned after the garrisonmutinied, built a ship on the island and sailed back to France in April 1563. In 1566, the Spanish, led byPedro Menéndez de Avilés, founded a settlement namedSanta Elena which became the capital ofLa Florida for the next decade. In May 1586, English forces underFrancis Drake carried out araid on St. Augustine further south. Fearing another raid, both Santa Elena and Parris Island were abandoned by the Spanish the following year.[2]
After coming under English control, the island was granted toRobert Daniell in 1706 and became known as Port Royal Island. It later came into the hands of Colonel Alexander Parris, the PublicTreasurer of South Carolina. After his death 1736, it gradually became known as Parris Island (and the namePort Royal Island was applied to a different island to the north).[3]
From the 1720s to theCivil War, the island was divided into several plantations, initially growingindigo then later cotton. During and after the Civil War, the island became home to freed slaves and was a site of freedmen schools taught by abolitionists such asFrances Gage andClara Barton.Union forces captured Port Royal Sound in 1861, and Parris Island became a coaling station for the Navy. This function was taken up again after the war in large part because of the freedman-turned-RepresentativeRobert Smalls, who fought for the creation of a federal military installation on the island.
Marines were first assigned to Parris Island on June 26, 1891, in the form of a small security detachment headed by First Sergeant Richard Donovan, two corporals and 10 privates.[4] This unit was attached to the Naval Station, Port Royal, South Carolina, the forerunner of Parris Island. Donovan's unit was highly commended for preserving life and property during hurricanes andstorm surges that swept over the island in 1891 and 1893.
Military buildings and family quarters constructed between 1891 andWorld War I form the nucleus of theParris Island Historic District. At the district center are the commanding general's home, a 19th-century wooden dry dock, and an early 20th-century gazebo, all of which are on theNational Register of Historic Places.[5]
On November 1, 1915,Parris Island was officially designated a Recruit Depot, andUnited States Marine Corps Recruit Training has continued there since then. In the early years of the Marine Corps presence it was referred to asParis Island.[6]
Prior to 1929, a ferry provided all transportation to and from the island from Port Royal docks to the Recruit Depot docks. That year, a causeway and a bridge over Archer's Creek were completed. The causeway was dedicated as the General E. A. Pollock Memorial Causeway in April 1984.
In the month following the Japaneseattack on Pearl Harbor, 5,272 recruits arrived there with 9,206 arriving in January 1942, making it necessary to add the 5th, 6th, 7th and 8th Recruit Training Battalions. As the war influx continued, five battalions were sent toNew River, North Carolina, to train, and the Depot expanded to 13 battalions. From 1941 to 1945, the Marines trained 204,509 recruits there, and at the time of the Japanese surrender, the Depot contained more than 20,000 recruits.
On February 15, 1949, the Marines activated a separate "command" for the sole purpose of training female recruits.[7] Later, the command was designated the4th Recruit Training Battalion.
TheKorean War began in 1950, when 2,350 recruits were in training. From then until the1st Marine Division withdrew from Korea, Parris Islanddrill instructors trained more than 138,000 recruits. In March 1952, the training load peaked at 24,424 recruits. The recruit tide again flooded during the years of theVietnam War, reaching a peak training load of 10,979 during March 1966.
On the night of April 8, 1956, theRibbon Creek incident resulted in the drowning of six recruits, which led to widespread changes in recruit training policies. Supervision of drill instructors was expanded, such as the introduction of theseries commander.[8]
On October 11, 2002, the town of Port Royal annexed the entire island,[9] but most visitors still associate the installation with Beaufort, a larger community five miles to the north.
On June 17, 2011, Brigadier GeneralLori Reynolds became the first female commander of the base.[10] On June 20, 2014, Brigadier General Terry Williams became the first African-American commander of the base.[11][12][13]
The Marines train about 17,000 recruits at Parris Island each year. Recruit training for those enlisted in the United States Marine Corps includes a thirteen-week process during which the recruit becomes cut off from the civilian world and must adapt to a Marine Corps lifestyle. During training, the drill instructors train recruits in a wide variety of subjects including weapons training,Marine Corps Martial Arts Program, personal hygiene and cleanliness,close order drill, andMarine Corps history. The training emphasizes physical fitness and combat effectiveness. Recruits must attain a minimum standard of fitness to graduate. This standard includes aPhysical Fitness Test and a Combat Fitness Test. Recruits must also meet minimum combat-oriented swimming qualifications, qualify in rifle marksmanship with theM16A4service rifle, pass minimum curriculum standards, and complete a 54-hour simulated combat exercise known as "The Crucible".
The facility has trained female U.S. Marine recruits since 1949.[7] The facility also has female drill instructors.[14]
This article incorporatespublic domain material from websites or documents of theUnited States Marine Corps.
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