By the 1960s, the U.S. Marine Corps formally concluded that the Lucy Brewer legend was fictional, rejecting claims she was the first woman Marine.
By the 1960s, the United States Marine Corps' historical division undertook a formal review of the long-circulating legend of Lucy Brewer, who had been popularly credited by folklore enthusiasts and some earlier publications as the first woman to serve in the Marine Corps, disguised as a man aboard USS Constitution during the War of 1812.
After examining archival evidence, muster rolls, and the literary origins of the 1815 pamphlet "The Female Marine," Marine Corps historians determined that no credible documentary evidence supported the existence of a real Lucy Brewer who served in combat. The Corps concluded that the tale was a fictional narrative, likely crafted by publisher Nathaniel Coverly and writer Nathaniel Hill Wright as popular entertainment rather than genuine memoir.
This official determination was historically significant because it corrected a persistent myth that had circulated in popular culture, local histories, and even some early military commemorations for nearly 150 years. It also reinforced the Marine Corps' recognition of Opha May Johnson, who enlisted on August 13, 1918, as the verified first woman to serve in the Corps.
The exact date within the 1960s of this classification is not preserved in a single dated document, but the determination is referenced in Marine Corps historical publications and museum archives, marking a turning point where scholarly rigor superseded folklore in official military history.