American Judiciary, Part 5: John Marshall, Soldier of the Revolution
Soon after Lexington and Concord, John Marshall joined the Culpepper Minutemen and on December 9, 1775, received his first taste of war at the Battle of Great Bridge. The following summer, Marshall received a commission as a lieutenant in the Eleventh Virginia Regiment, beginning a four-year stint in the Continental Army. By all accounts, Marshall was an outstanding junior officer, a great leader of men and an inspiration for all those who served with him. It was through this crucible of war that Marshall’s deep sense of nationalism was formed, a nationalism that would shape all his decisions in the years to come.
Tom Hand, creator and publisher of Americana Corner, discusses John Marshall’s experience as a soldier, and why it still matters today.
Images courtesy of the New York Public Library, Encyclopedia Virginia, Library of Congress, National Portrait Gallery - Smithsonian Institution, Wikimedia, National Army Museum - UK, Picryl, Yale University Art Gallery; “The Shot Heard ‘Round the World” by Domenick D'Andrea courtesy of the National Guard Bureau.
The first few decades of the 19th century were an exciting time for the American judiciary, at least as exciting as anything involving attorneys and judges can be. From the time Thomas Jefferson was sworn in as President on March 4, 1801, through the presidency of Andrew Jackson, there was a tremendous antagonism between the populist Executive branch and the Supreme Court, the last bastion of Federalism. This unprecedented tension between the Executive and the Judiciary made for frequent and intense conflicts, arguably more frequent and more intense than during any other period in our country’s history.