August 18, 1919: "The Marines' Hymn" Is Copyrighted

August 18, 1919: "The Marines' Hymn" is copyrighted, by The Leatherneck, the official magazine of the United States Marine Corps. It is the oldest official song in the United States Armed Forces.

In 1859, Geneviève de Brabant, an opera by Jacques Offenbach, premiered in Paris. In 1867, Offenbach revised it. Among the pieces in the revival's Act II is "The Gendarmes' Duet." Later that year, Francesco Maria Scala was the Director of the United States Marine Band. He had the Band play "The Gendarmes' Duet." Let's just say it sounds a bit different in "translation" from opera buffa to military march.

At some point between then and 1929, lyrics were added by an unknown author. In 1929, General Wendell Neville, then the Commandant of the Marine Corps, authorized this combination of lyrics and music as the Corps' official song. This makes "The Marines' Hymn" the oldest official song in the United States Armed Forces.

The Hymn's opening line is familiar to most Americans: "From the Halls of Montezuma, to the shores of Tripoli." This refers to a pair of early battles with significance in Marine history, albeit in reverse chronological order.

Marines fought at the Battle of Derna, in the Spring of 1805, as part of the First Barbary War, in present-day Libya, whose capital, then as now, was Tripoli. In the Mexican-American War, the Battle of Chapultepec was fought on September 12 and 13, 1847. Marines stormed Chapultepec Castle in Mexico City, taking heavy losses, but also insuring that the war would be won by U.S. troops. The term "Halls of Montezuma" is poetic license: Montezuma and his Aztec Empire fell over 250 years before construction began on Chapultepec Castle.

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August 18, 1919 was a Monday. Wally Hickel, who was Governor of Alaska in the 1960s and again in the 1990s, was born on this day.

These baseball games were played:

* The New York Yankees lost to the Cleveland Indians, 2-1 at League Park in Cleveland. Jim Bagby Sr. outpitched Carl Mays. Tris Speaker went 0-for-4. Both Cleveland runs were driven in by a double in the 8th inning, by Ray Chapman. Almost exactly 1 year later, Chapman would bat against Mays again, with tragic results.

* The Boston Braves and the St. Louis Cardinals were tied, 1-1 after 10 innings at Braves Field in Boston, when the game was called due to darkness.

* The Pittsburgh Pirates beat the Philadelphia Phillies, 3-2 at Baker Bowl in Philadelphia. Carson Bigbee won the game with a home run in the top of the 13th inning.

* The Detroit Tigers beat the Washington Senators, 4-3 at Navin Field (later Briggs Stadium and Tiger Stadium) in Detroit. Ty Cobb went 1-for-3 with a walk.

* The Chicago White Sox beat the Philadelphia Athletics, 11-6 at Comiskey Park in Chicago. Eddie Collins went 1-for-3 with 2 stolen bases and an RBI. "Shoeless" Joe Jackson went 3-for-5 with 2 RBIs. Chick Gandil went 4-for-4 with an RBI. Games like this were why so many people thought the White Sox were better than the team they ended up playing in the World Series, the Cincinnati Reds.

* The St. Louis Browns beat the Boston Red Sox, 4-3 at Sportsman's Park in St. Louis. George Sisler went 2-for-3 with an RBI. Babe Ruth went 1-for-2 with a walk.

 

* Both of the New York City teams in the National League got rained out, and made up their games the next day as part of doubleheaders. The New York Giants faced the Chicago Cubs at the Polo Grounds. The Cubs won the 1st game, 4-3. Grover Cleveland Alexander was the winning pitcher. The Giants won the 2nd game, 5-1.

* And the Brooklyn Dodgers, or the Robins as they were known under manager Wilbert Robinson, were swept by the Cincinnati Reds, 1-0 and 6-1. Jimmy Ring pitched a 3-hit shutout in the 1st game.