23

Whereas the said Philip Edwards, being an office
in the Navy of the United States, is liable,
from the military arrangements, to be called out
of this state, which justifies a distinction of
his case from others.⁶²

Philip Edwards, Lieutenant of Marines. The first
officer known to have been commissioned by President
Adams in the United States Marine Corps, then being
organized, was Philip Edwards, of Maryland, lieutenant,
to serve on board the United States frigate Constella-
tion,⁶³ which had been launched in Baltimore in Sep-
tember, 1797. Military command was not entirely a new
duty for the former editor. At an election of officers
for the First Baltimore Battalion of the Maryland

*v

Militia held May 5, 1794, Philip Edwards was elected
Second Lieutenant of Light Infantry, serving under
William Lowry, captain-commandant, and William Robb,
captain.⁶⁴ After this date, notices for meetings and
reviews of the Sans Culottes company frequently ap-
peared in the Baltimore newspapers, signed by Edwards.
He was also a member of the Baltimore Marine Society.^
After his service on the Constellation, Edwards

62 Maryland. Laws, statutes, etc. Laws of Maryland,
1797, Chapter XXXI.

63 Metcalf, C. H. A history of the United States
Marine corps, p, 30.

64 Baltimore daily intelligencer. May 7, 1794.
65 Federal gazette. December 3, 1796.