Editing Samuel Nicholas (section)

==1776–1779==
In December 1776, Major Nicholas wrote to Congress: "The enemy having overrun the Jerseys, and our army being greatly reduced, I was ordered to march with three of the companies to be under the command of His Excellency, the Commander-in-Chief." This was the first example of a battalion of Marines about to serve as an actual fighting unit under the direct command of [[United States Army|Army]] authority. The Marines did not, however, engage in the attack on [[Trenton, New Jersey|Trenton]], on December 26, 1776, which followed General [[George Washington]]'s crossing of the [[Delaware River]]. They were attached to General [[John Cadwalader (general)|John Cadwalader's]] division, which was ordered to cross the Delaware to Burlington, New Jersey, south of Trenton, in concert with Washington's crossing to the north on the night of December 25, 1776, but was turned back due to ice floes on the river.

After the first [[Battle of Trenton]], the battalion of Marines under the command of Maj. Nicholas participated in a battle with a detachment of [[Charles Cornwallis, 1st Marquess Cornwallis|Cornwallis]]'s main army at [[Battle of Princeton|Princeton, New Jersey]]. During the ensuing months, Nicholas's battalion served both as infantry and artillery, participating in several skirmishes.

Following the British evacuation of Philadelphia in June 1778, the Marine Barracks were reestablished and recruiting resumed. From then until the close of the war, Nicholas's duties at Philadelphia were similar to those of later Commandants. Moreover, he was actively in charge of recruiting and sometimes acted as Muster Master of the Navy.

On November 20, 1779, Nicholas wrote Congress to request he be put in charge of the Marine Detachment aboard the 74-gun ship of the line [[USS America (1782)|''America'']], then being constructed in Portsmouth, New Hampshire. However, Congress was firm in its intention that Nicholas remain in Philadelphia. Upon her completion, the ''America'' was presented to France as a gift.

After that, despite his requests to lead the Marine detachment on another ship, he mostly oversaw recruiting and training efforts. "I consequently had the mortification to become … a useless officer," he wrote, "at least in sense of danger."<ref name=":0" />