Everything about Tun Tavern totally explained
Tun Tavern was a
tavern in
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania and is traditionally regarded as the site where the
United States Marine Corps held its first recruitment drive.
History
The tavern was built in 1685 by Samuel Carpenter. He located this tavern on the waterfront at the corner of Water Street and Tun Alley at what is today known as
Penn's Landing. The
Old English word
tun means a cask, barrel, or keg of beer. With his new beer tavern on Tun Alley, Carpenter elected to name the brewery with a logical title, Tun Tavern.
In 1720, the first meetings of the St. George's Society (forerunner of today's "Sons of the Society of St. George") were held at the Tavern. The Society was a charitable organization founded to assist needy Englishmen arriving in the new colony.
In 1732, the first meetings of the St. John's No. 1
Lodge of the
Grand Lodge of the Masonic Temple were held in the tavern. An American of note,
Benjamin Franklin, was its third Grand Master. Even today the Masonic Temple of Philadelphia recognizes Tun Tavern as the birthplace of Masonic teachings in America.
In the early 1740s, a new proprietor expanded Tun Tavern and gave the addition a new name, "Peggy Mullan's Red Hot Beef Steak Club at Tun Tavern." The new restaurant became a commercial success and was patronized by notable Americans. In 1747, the St. Andrew's Society, a charitable group dedicated to assisting poor immigrants from
Scotland, was founded in the tavern.
In 1756, Colonel Franklin organized the Pennsylvania Militia (see "Associated Regiment of Philadelphia" under heading of Pennsylvania's 103rd Artillery and 111th Infantry Regiment at
Continental Army). He used Tun Tavern as a gathering place to recruit a regiment of soldiers to go into battle against the
Native American uprisings that beset the American colonies.
George Washington,
Thomas Jefferson, and the
Continental Congress later met in Tun Tavern as the American colonies prepared for independence from the British Crown.
On
November 10,
1775, the Continental Congress commissioned
Samuel Nicholas to raise two battalions of
Continental Marines, today known as the
United States Marine Corps. That very day, Nicholas set up shop in Tun Tavern. He appointed Robert Mullan, then the tavern's proprietor, as chief Marine Recruiter—serving, of course, from his place of business at Tun Tavern. Prospective recruits flocked to the tavern, lured by beer and the opportunity to serve in the new Corps of Marines. Needless to say, both the Marine Corps and the tavern thrived during this new relationship.
Tun Tavern no longer exists, and its original location is now occupied by
Interstate 95. The
National Museum of the Marine Corps in
Quantico, Virginia contains a replica of the tavern with a lunch menu and alcoholic beverages.
Further Information
Get more info on 'Tun Tavern'.
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