Confederate States Marine Corps The Confederate States Marine Corps ( CSMC ) , a branch of the Confederate States Navy , was established by an act of the Congress of the Confederate States on March 16 , 1861 . The CSMC ' s manpower was initially authorized at 45 officers and 944 enlisted men , and was increased on September 24 , 1862 to 1026 enlisted men . The organization of the corps began at Montgomery , Alabama , and was completed at Richmond , Virginia , when the capital of the Confederate States of America was moved to that location . The CSMC headquarters and main training facilities remained in Richmond , Virginia throughout the war , located at Camp Beall on Drewry ' s Bluff and at the Gosport Shipyard in Norfolk , Virginia . Modeled after USMC . Before the war , the United States Marine Corps had been an " exceptionally fine and well - disciplined " organization , and " from it came the nucleus of the corresponding establishment of the Confederate service " , the CSMC . The CSMC was modeled after the United States Marine Corps , but there were some differences : the Confederates organized themselves into permanent companies , replaced the fife with the light infantry bugle , and wore uniforms similar to those of British Royal Marines . Like the USMC , when ashore they provided guard detachments for Confederate naval stations at : Seagoing detachments served aboard the various warship s and even on commerce destroyers . Organization . The CS Marine Corps was formed in the early days of the Civil War from three sources : Source of men . The Commandant of the CSMC , Colonel - Commandant Beall , said the CSMC " was composed of enlisted men , many of whom were old soldiers and commissioned officers , a number of whom had seen service before in the U . S . Marine Corps and elsewhere . " The record of US Marine officers who " resigned and tendered their swords to the Confederate Government " were : These officers assembled with the CSMC as it stood up in Richmond , Virginia , with the exception of Captain Tansill , who had resigned while still on board the USS " Congress " at sea . Captain Tansill was arrested by order of Secretary Welles of the U . S . Navy when he arrived in New York on August 23 , 1861 and was held without charge , hearing or trial . He was released on Jan 10 , 1862 as part of a prisoner exchange , and subsequently joined the CSMC in Virginia . " The gross injustice done him was recognized in an act of the Confederate Congress of April 11 , 1863 , which provided that ' officers of the navy and Marine Corps who resigned from the navy and Marine Corps of the United States in consequence of secession , and who were arrested and imprisoned in consequence of such resignation , and who subsequently joined the navy and Marine Corps of the Confederate States , ' should receive ' leave of absence , pay for and during the term of such imprisonment , and up to the time of their appointment in the navy and marine corps of the Confederate States . ' " Manpower composition . The breakdown of officer manpower composition was : The breakdown of enlisted manpower composition as of Sep 24 , 1862 was : Although the CSMC had an authorized manpower of 1026 men , its enrollment never approached that number ; the figures for 30 October 1864 list only 539 officers and enlisted men . Though the officers were mostly former U . S . Marine officers , the head of the corps , Colonel - Commandant Lloyd J . Beall , was a former U . S . Army paymaster with no Marine experience . Major Lloyd J . Beall , USA graduated from the United States Military Academy , and had served in the First Infantry and Second Dragoons before becoming a paymaster from 1844 until the outbreak of the war . He resigned his commission on April 22 , 1861 and was appointed Colonel - Commandant of the CS Marine Corps on May 23 , 1861 . Colonel Beall served throughout the war as the only Commandant of the Marine Corps . Unit organizations . CS Marine Corps units were stationed at Confederate naval bases , as well as helping garrison shore fortifications such as Fort Fisher in North Carolina . Marines also served on Confederate warships , such as the CSS " Alabama " . In the famous battle between the ironclads USS " Monitor " and CSS " Virginia " , Company C , Confederate States Marine Corps , served aboard the " CSS Virginia " , helping to man several of her guns . In the summer of 1862 , the CS Marine Corps was broken into squad - sized units and dispersed throughout the south . Dispersed Marine units were intended to provide training to overcome a shortage of trained naval gunners , with greater overall effect than their service as a single naval artillery battalion . With detachments spread at every major Confederate naval installation , Headquarters for the Confederate States Marines was established at Fort Darling and Camp Beall , located at Drewry ' s Bluff on the James River in Virginia . Three companies , A , B , and C , were stationed semi - permanently at headquarters . There the marines helped repulse the attack made on the bluff by U . S . naval forces including the USS " Monitor " and the USS " Galena " in the summer of 1862 . Despite desertions and even near - mutinies , most marines served well and deserved Navy Secretary Stephen R . Mallory ' s praise for their " promptness and efficiency . " The corps ' weakness was due largely to internal squabbles over rank , shore duty , and administrative assignments . Also , with no funds for bounties , the corps could not easily enlist recruits . Until 1864 the monthly pay of enlisted men was $ 3 less than that of equivalent army grades . Only late in the war were the marines allowed to draw from army conscripts to augment their ranks . Service during the war . Confederate Marines saw their first naval action aboard the CSS " Virginia " ( USS " Merrimack " ) off Hampton Roads , Virginia , March 8 to March 9 , 1862 , and near the end of the war were part of the naval brigade that fought at Sayler ' s Creek , Virginia . From the Drewry ' s Bluff and other major posts ( Wilmington , Charleston , Pensacola , Norfolk , Galveston , and Savannah ) , Marine detachments were parsed out to serve on major warships and for special operations , including the captures of the USS " Underwriter " and the USS " Water Witch " , and an attack to free Confederate prisoners of war being held at Point Lookout , Maryland . Marine sea - based amphibious operations included the " Old " " CSS Savannah " shore party at Fort Beauregard , Phillips Island , SC to evacuate the garrison under attack . Marines under the command of Commodore Josiah Tattnall were used to construct and man shore batteries which turned back Union gunboats and monitors both at Richmond and at Savannah . The end of the war found most surviving Confederate States Marines gathered together in Richmond in support of the last desperate defenses of the South . Marines in Virginia were part of the General Richard S . Ewell ' s Corps which fought with distinction at the Battle of Sayler ' s Creek , the last major battle before the surrender of Lee ' s Army at Appomattox . Uniform . Their uniform resembled that prescribed for the Confederate Army , but since the CSMC was not as large and many of its records were destroyed in 1865 , there is controversy about the exact details of the uniform . It is clear , however , that the Marines were often equipped out of the stores of whichever garrison was nearest their location . One description has the Marines dressed in frock coat s of a particular ( and undetermined ) shade of gray and dark blue or black trousers . It appears that Confederate States Marines wore forage cap s although it is unclear if there was any ornamentation on the cover . Much of the gear worn by the CSMC was imported from the United Kingdom and its empire , namely Canada , creating a fairly unique look .