Edwin North McClellan Edwin North McClellan ( 1881 — 1971 ) was a United States Marine Corps officer , author , and historian . He was the first director of the Historical Section of Headquarters Marine Corps , a historigraphical organization now known as Marine Corps History Division . Biography . He was born on December 5 , 1881 in Philadelphia , Pennsylvania . He was commissioned as a second lieutenant in the United States Marine Corps on 18 June 18 , 1907 , attended School of Application , starting his first assignment on 25 December 1908 aboard in time to participate in the cruise of the Great White Fleet . On 25 December 1909 , he was reassigned to the Marine Barracks at Naval Station Norfolk , and promoted to first lieutenant on 25 May 1910 . The same day , he departed for the Philippines , arriving in Manila on 2 December and remaining there until departing for Peking , China on 1 August 1912 . While there , he would command the Mounted Detachment of the China Marines from 18 December 1912 to 9 July 1913 . After a brief stayover at Mare Island Naval Shipyard , McClellan served in the Judge Advocate General ' s Corps in Washington , D . C . from 14 November 1913 to 9 February 1917 . His work was mostly writing , preparing the Index - Digest of Court - Martial Orders from 1914 to 1916 , and the Naval Digest of 1916 . During this assignment , he attended the George Washington University Law School , graduating in 1916 , and was promoted to captain on 29 August of that same year . He then returned to sea aboard , commanding the ship ' s Marine Detachment . When named to command the Marines of Battleship Force No . 1 , Atlantic Fleet aboard on 22 May 1917 , he was temporarily promoted to major , later made permanent . He served most of World War I aboard the " Minnesota " , until she struck a mine on 29 September 1918 , then being detached to Marine Barracks , Quantico , Virginia , on 14 October when she put in for repairs . After the Armistice with Germany brought the war to a close , McClellan was assigned on 28 February 1919 for duty with the Historical Section of the United States Army War College , detached to the American Expeditionary Forces in France . Charged with documenting the activities of the Marine Corps during the war , he remained in Europe until 17 August . Three days later , he returned to the United States and was assigned to Headquarters Marine Corps . On 8 September , the Historical Section , Adjutant and Inspectors Department , was established by Marine Corps Order No . 53 , and McClellan was ordered in charge , a post he would hold until 1925 . The section consisted of one officer and several enlisted clerks . On 7 Nov , 1924 Private Arman Manookian , a young artist , was assigned as one of McClellan ’ s clerks . On 21 October 1921 , Maj McClellan suggested to the Commandant of the Marine Corps , MajGen John A . Lejeune , that 10 November be designated as the birth date of the Marine Corps , an anniversiary that had not typically been celebrated to that point . He suggested the date be declared a holiday , with celebrations held throughout the Corps , to include a ball . Lejeune issued Marine Corps Order No . 47 , which mandated this celebration , and the order would be republished each year at the United States Marine Corps birthday ball . Also during his tenure , he was Secretary - Treasurer of the Marine Corps Association from 1 July 1921 to 1 October 1922 , and edited five issues of the " Marine Corps Gazette " . On 1 June 1925 , McClellan was transferred to the Marine Barracks at Pearl Harbor , in Hawaii , and took Manookian with him . McClellan departed Hawaii 15 November 1927 , when he briefly toured the Western Recruiting Region . On 19 October 1928 he joined the 5th Marine Regiment to serve as a photographer of the occupation of Nicaragua until 24 July of the next year . After a brief stop in Quantico to attend the Field Officer ’ s Course , he returned to direct the Historical Section again on 20 June 1930 . During this second tour , he compiled a seven - volume history of the Corps , but the Great Depression made printing unfeasable , to which he resorted to hand - mimeograph ed copies for distribution . Promoted to lieutenant colonel on 1 March 1934 , McClellan performed a brief tour at the end of the occupation of Haiti from 15 June to 15 August that same year . After a few months at the Philadelphia Naval Shipyard , he was sent to Shanghai to serve with the 4th Marine Regiment briefly before being diverted to the Philippines again . There , he commanded the Marine Barracks at the Cavite Navy Yard until his retirement on 30 June 1936 . In retirement , McClellan returned briefly to Philadelphia before moving to Honolulu , only to return in 1941 . He lived there until his death on July 25 , 1971 at Naval Hospital Philadelphia . Publications . McClellan ’ s published works consist of more than a hundred articles and books , some of which include : Several of McClellan ’ s works were originally published as mimeograph ed sheets . Two of his books , " Uniforms of the American Marines , 1775 to 1829 " and " The United States Marine Corps in the World War " have each been republished more than once .