showing the Colonial Marine undress uniform ("BDU") carved in stone.

In battle even less might be worn. In 1755, Capt. Daniel-Hyacinthe-Marie Liénard de Beaujeu led the charge against Braddock at Fort Duquesne. Capt. Claude-Pierre Pécaudy de Contrecœur, the fort's commandant, was too old and sick to take the field. Beaujeau stripped to leggings and mocs, putting on only his grade gorget. The gorget must have made a good target because he was killed by Gage's first volley. Beaujeu's five companies of Colonial Marines (each less than 2/3 of today's USMC platoon), some 100 FC militia and some 600 Indians ("coalition partners") then went on to inflict carnage.

It is not unusual for one pair of ancestors to underpin a French-Canadian surname - or French-Lousianan surname, as in the case of Sgt. Fontenot (Fonteneau). They didn''t have to switch beds to do so; they just had a lot of kids (link):

Jean Louis joined the French Colonial Marines as a young man and left France in 1720, at the age of 34, for assignment in the Mobile (Alabama) military district. Six years later (February 8, 1726) he married a widow from New Orleans (Marie Louise Henrique) and was assigned to the Poste aux Alabama (Fort Toulouse) shortly afterwards. Based on "roll call" records at the fort in the mid 1700s, it appears that Jean Louis was the only sergeant at the garrison of about 40 soldiers. He and Marie Louise had twelve children, 8 sons and 4 daughters, all born at the post. When these children became of age (teenagers), the boys joined the marines and married daughters of other marines and the girls married sons of other marines at the fort.
So true also in Canada - Marines married into Marine families (also fur trading and riverine trading families - the three groups fed on each other); their kids became Marines (or militia officers); etc., etc.

Not all Marines engaged in sharp battles ala Beaujeu. A lot of time was spent in garrison - and promotion was very slow. Moreover, much of their activity outside garrison was directed at the "Rule of Law", rather than "Laws of War". LawVol may appreciate this story - from Philippe de Rigault, Marquis de Vaudreuil, Letter, October 12, 1717 (link) (pp.592-593):

The trouble which prevented the principal chiefs of the Detroit tribes from coming to Montreal, was created by an Outaouac of that post and four others from Saguinan. These five men pretended they were going to war against the Flatheads; they proceeded to the river of the Miamis and there slew an Iroquois and his wife, who was a Miami woman, and two children. This wrongful attack concerns the Iroquois because the man who was killed was of their tribe. It also concerns the Miamis, for the man was married and living with them. This matter must be settled, and the Iroquois and Miamis must be prevented from taking vengeance on the Outavois and the other tribes of Detroit.

The Sr. de Tonty has already begun, for his part, to take action with the Miamis through the Sr. de Vincennes to dissuade them from their intention of avenging themselves and to remove every pretext for their pursuing this course which would give rise to a war between them and the people at Detroit and Saguinan, which it would be difficult to stop. He has induced the tribes of Detroit to join him in sending to Saguinan to seize these murderers and deliver them up to the Miamis.

The Outaouacs and Poutouatamis each sent a boat of their men, to which the Sr. de Tonty added a boat of Frenchmen under the command of the Sr. de Bragelongue, a Lieutenant, who brought back the three murderers to Detroit where the Sr. de Tonty had them under guard until he received news from the Miamis, to whom he had taken care, to make known the amends, which it was proposed to make to them. He hopes that they will be satisfied with this action and will accept as a complete reparation the presents which the tribes of Detroit, and the French also, are preparing to make them, and that this disturbance may be suppressed by this means. I hope so, too; but I shall not be able to get any news about it until next spring.

As regards the Iroquois, if they move in this matter, I shall find means to settle it with them, as they will not fail to bring their complaints to me before taking any action.
This (Lt.) Sr. Etienne de Bragelongue, was primarily an engineering type (his dad was an engineer, but also the 3rd ranking general officer in the French cavalry corps). Etienne was the aide-major du fort at Fort Chambly (primarily engineering and logistics), the major "FOB" for the Colonial Marines, on the Richelieu near Montreal) - later a capitaine of one of the Marine companies stationed at Chambly. He married and had one daughter who died young. Before his marriage, he managed another daughter by one woman and possibly a son by another woman. The son died without any issue. The daughter went on to marry and carried on the Bragelongue (Bragelonne - Viscount of, by Dumas, is based on another French branch of this family) line in North America - she has to have thousands of descendants.

How the "Rule of Law" went in 1717 on the Miami.

Cheers

Mike

PS: Bob, I agree with you. FULL STOP