From Chapter 1 – When a state of war was declared to exist on April 6, 1917, the United States Marine Corps was composed of 462 commissioned officers, 49 warrant officers, and 13,214 enlisted men on active duty, a total of 13,725 and, while the corps was expanded to an actual strength, including reserves, of 75,101 officers and enlisted men, its high standard was never lowered. When these figures are compared with the approximate strength of 3,100 at the end of the Civil War, and of 4,800 at the end of the Spanish War, the growth of the Marine Corps is illustrated. Despite the fact that on the outbreak of war, 1S7 officers and 4,546 enlisted men were on duty beyond the continental limits of the United States, and 49 officers, and 2,187 enlisted men were serving on board the cruising vessels of the Navy, only five weeks later, on June 14, 1917, the Fifth Regiment of Marines, consisting of 70 officers and 2,689 enlisted men, approximately one-sixth of the enlisted strength of the Marine Corps, competently organized and ready for active service, sailed on the Henderson, De Kalb, and Hancock from the United States, forming one-fifth of the first expedition of American troops for service in France.
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