Quantico, town, (2000 pop. 561), Prince William Co., NE Va., on the Potomac River, 29 mi (47 km) SSW of Washington, D.C.; inc. 1927, reinc. 1934. It is now the site of the FBI training academy, and is surrounded by a U.S. marine base. The Spanish visited the area in the mid-16th cent., but it was settled by Scots, who grew tobacco there, and became a Revolutionary War service base for Colonial vessels. During the Civil War, Confederate troops maintained gun positions on this section of the Potomac.
The large Marine Corps Base Quantico, c.100 sq mi (259 sq km), est. 1917, almost completely encloses the town and houses or employs more than 16,000, including military personnel and their families and civilian employees. Thousands were trained there for combat in World War I, and during World War II some 15,000 officers and others were schooled in amphibious warfare, techniques that were conceived and developed at Quantico. The base, which later developed helicopter warfare techniques, continues to play an important part in the Marine Corps' development of concepts, training, and equipment and in its officer training program. Quantico also is the site of the Marine Corps University, formed (1989) from 14 separate schools. Adjacent to the base is the National Museum of the Marine Corps.
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