Jacob Zeilin Brigadier General Jacob A . Zeilin ( July 16 , 1806 – November 18 , 1880 ) was the first United States Marine Corps non - brevet general . He served as the seventh Commandant of the United States Marine Corps from 1864 to 1876 . Early life . Jacob Zeilin was born in Philadelphia , Pennsylvania on July 16 , 1806 . He entered the Marine Corps as a Second Lieutenant on October 1 , 1831 after several years of study at the United States Military Academy . Military career . After completing the preliminary training of a Marine officer in Washington , D . C . , Zeilin ' s first tours of duty were ashore at the Marine Barracks , Philadelphia , and at Gosport ( Portsmouth ) , Virginia . He first went to sea on board the sloop of war " Erie " in March 1832 , which was followed by a tour of duty at Charlestown ( Boston ) , Massachusetts . In August 1834 , he again joined the sloop " Erie " on a long and eventful voyage which lasted for more than three years . He was promoted to first lieutenant on 12 September 1836 . From September 1837 to April 1841 , Zeilin served at Charlestown , Massachusetts , and New York . In February 1842 , he returned to sea duty , on board the , and during the cruise that followed spent several months on the Brazil station . Upon the conclusion of this tour of sea duty , and after again serving at important Marine Corps stations on the east coast of the United States from 1842 to 1845 , he was transferred to duty aboard the frigate of the U . S . Pacific Squadron . Between 1845 and 1848 , he cruised on the " Columbus " and " Congress " . Mexican - American War . During the Mexican - American War , Zeilin commanded the Marine detachment embarked in " Congress " , which ship was attached to Commodore Robert F . Stockton ' s force . He took part in the conquest of California ( 1846 – 1847 ) and was brevetted to the rank of major ( two grades above his rank at the time ) for gallantry during the action at the San Gabriel River crossing on January 9 , 1847 . Later , he took part in the capture of Los Angeles and in the Battle of La Mesa . On 28 January 1847 , Zeilin was appointed Military Commandant of San Diego and served in that capacity until the completion of the conquests of California . In September 1847 , he served with the forces that captured Guaymas and those that met the enemy at San Jose on the 30th . For the remainder of the war , Mazatlán was his center of activity , and he fought in several skirmishes with the Mexicans in that area . He was promoted to the regular rank of captain on 14 September 1847 . During the following few months , Zeilin , with the Marines of the Pacific Squadron , participated in the capture of important ports in lower California and the west coast of Mexico , and served as Fleet Marine Officer of the Pacific Squadron . Interwar period . After the close of the war with Mexico , Zeilin proceeded to Norfolk , Virginia , where he served for a time , thence to New York . He remained at New York until June 1852 . He was selected to accompany Commodore Matthew C . Perry as Fleet Marine Officer in the famous expedition to Japan , serving with the Marine detachment in in which he cruised to Japan with the expedition . With elaborate ceremonies , the Marines under his command took a prominent part in the expedition . He was the second person to set foot on shore at the formal landing of the naval forces at Yokohama , Japan , on 14 July 1853 , and was one of those later accorded special honor for his part in the expedition that opened the doors of Japan to the outside world . Upon his return from Japan , he was again stationed at Norfolk . This duty was followed by his being placed in command of the Marine Barracks , Navy Yard , Washington , D . C . After remaining for a time at Washington , he again went to sea , this time aboard the frigate " USS Wabash " , on the European Station , until 1859 . American Civil War . During the early part of the American Civil War , Zeilin was on garrison duty in command of Marine Barracks , firstly at Philadelphia and later at Washington , D . C . Five days later , he was appointed to the regular rank of major . On July 21 , 1861 , he commanded a company of Marines during the First Battle of Manassas and received a slight wound . In 1863 , Zeilin was given command of the battalion of Marines sent to support the naval force whose mission was the capture of Charleston , South Carolina , but , because of illness , he returned after a few weeks of this duty to garrison duty at Marine Barracks , Portsmouth , New Hampshire . Later , he returned to sea , serving with the South Atlantic Blockading Squadron under Rear Admiral John Dahlgren . In 1864 , Zeilin assumed command of the Marine Barracks at Portsmouth , New Hampshire . On June 10 , 1864 , he was appointed Colonel Commandant of the Marine Corps in the rank of colonel . On 2 March 1874 , he became the Marine Corps ' first general officer when he was promoted to brigadier general . It was Zeilin who officially approved of the design of the " Eagle , Globe , and Anchor , " as the emblem for the Marine Corps . Later life . Zeilin eventually retired from the Marine Corps on November 1 , 1876 after serving over forty - five years as a Marine Corps officer . Four years later , on 18 November 1880 , he died in Washington , D . C . He is buried in Laurel Hill Cemetery , Philadelphia , Pennsylvania . Namesakes . Two ships in the United States Navy have been named USS " Zeilin " in his honor : in 1920 and in 1941 .