Marines

ma-renz', in the British and American navies, sea soldiers,--bodies of infantry trained to accompany ships of war for the purpose of making a landing or performing such military service on shore as may require disciplined troops. Marines are commanded by their own officers and are not assigned permanently to any particular ship. The pay and discipline are similar to that of the infantry. The United States marine corps is enlisted by the navy department and is subject to naval control. It consists of 222 officers and 6,821 men, commanded by a brigadier-general. The corps gave a good account of itself in the Cuban War and in the expedition of 1900 to rescue Pekin from the Boxers. As the marines are supposed to know little of seamanship, they are the butts of the sailors' jokes. "Tell that to the marines," has passed into a popular saying, denoting incredulity.