Dinner Table Daily

Jonathan Martin, also known as Keto, holds a unique place in U.S. history as the earliest documented Black Marine, enlisting decades before the Marine Corps would later exclude people of color altogether. In April 1776, while the American colonies were still fighting for independence, Martin joined the Continental Marines, making him the first recorded Black man to serve in what would become the U.S. Marine Corps. At the time, he was enslaved on a Delaware plantation leased by William Marshall from John Dickinson, one of the nation’s founding figures. A trained blacksmith, Martin likely came to Philadelphia in late 1775 on a supply errand and may have been listed among enslaved people labeled as runaways, facing the constant threat of recapture. His enlistment offered both a chance to fight and a path away from bondage. Recruited by Marine officer Miles Pennington, Martin was assigned to the brig Reprisal, where he served in various shipboard roles common to Marines of the era. His service ended tragically in 1777 when the Reprisal was lost at sea near Newfoundland, killing nearly everyone aboard. Although more Black men would serve in the Continental Marines before the unit disbanded in 1783, the Corps reversed course when it was formally reestablished in 1798, barring people of color from enlistment until 1942. That long exclusion eventually gave way to segregated service under the Montford Point Marines, whose legacy traces back to pioneers like Jonathan Martin, whose brief life and service laid the earliest foundation for Black Marines in America.