"No individual had greater responsibility for the decision to recruit and arm American slaves than did Alexander Cochrane." Cochrane formed two Corps of Colonial Marines, made up primarily of escaped slaves with, presumably, some free blacks. The first Corps was based on the island of Marie-Galante and operated from 1808 to 1810. The larger second Corps (the first had been disbanded) was based in Spanish Florida, the larger contingent at St. Augustine and a smaller contingent in northwest Florida (Pensacola and Prospect Bluff). It was disbanded in 1815, at the conclusion of the War of 1812.