Happy Birthday, US Navy

On Friday, October 13, 1775, meeting in Philadelphia, the Continental Congress voted to fit out two sailing vessels, armed with ten carriage guns, as well as swivel guns, and manned by crews of eighty, and to send them out on a cruise of three months to intercept transports carrying munitions and stores to the British army in America. This was the original legislation out of which the Continental Navy grew and as such constitutes the birth certificate of the navy.

It is important to realize that the Navy was not just a convenience, it was absolutely essential. The continentals had backed themselves into a corner with their lack of real Naval power. The British Navy, by far the most powerful force up to that time, had blockaded U.S. ports, raided U.S. shipping, interfered with the trade between our allies and, most importantly, was hauling soldiers to our shores.

We can thank the delegations from Rhode Island for seeing the need and proposing something that was widely thought to be far too bold for its time. The United States had a working shipbuilding industry, but no one had made anything remotely close to a warship.

In practice, the Revolutionary Navy was largely ineffective, with one notable exception. John Paul Jones, the Scottish-born sailor is generally considered to be the father of American Naval tradition. His bold attacks on the British Isles and his legendary battle with the HMS Serapis are the beginnings of a proud tradition that survived the sail, steam, ironclads, aircraft carriers and Aegis cruisers. Happy Birthday and Anchors Aweigh.