Leatherneck
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Through American Civil War
History
The term "Leatherneck" was derived from a leather stock once worn around the neck by both American and British Marines and soldiers (British sailors referred to Royal Marines as "Bootnecks"). Beginning in 1798 "one stock of black leather and clasp" was issued to each United States Marine every year. Its use as a synecdoche for Marines began as a term of ridicule by sailors.
The dress blue uniform of the US Marines still bears a tribute to that stock collar today, with a stiff cloth tab behind the front of its collar.
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Leather neck collar
This stiff leather collar, fastened by two buckles at the back, measured between 2.5 and more than 3 inches tall in front, tapering toward the back. The origin of the leather neck collar, also known as a "stock", has to do with early 19th-century military fashion trends in Europe and North America; its use among enlisted men supposedly improved their military bearing and appearance by forcing the chin high and posture straight.
The stock was uncomfortable, but Marines would be punished for failure to wear them on duty, so some would have the stock stitched to their coats to ensure it was always on their uniform. General George F. Elliott, recalling its use after the American Civil War, said the "effect of the stock when buckled around a man's neck was to hold his head high in the air, like geese looking for rain".
The stock was dropped as an article of American Marine uniform in 1872, after surviving through the uniform changes of 1833, 1839, and 1859.
As protection
The stock collar was worn originally to protect the neck from sword cuts, such as cutlass slashes while boarding ships, and to maintain an erect posture.
Alternative etymology for Royal Marines
The American Marine Corps nickname "leatherneck" is generally attributed to the wearing of the leather stock. The use of the term "Bootneck" for British Royal Marines had a similar cause, and also on the alleged habit of cutting a strip of leather from the top of a boot to provide additional protection for the neck, although it is unclear if this was ever common practice.