On October 13, 1775, the Second Continental Congress authorized the creation of a Navy.
Previously, the British had imposed martial law in Boston and Americans wanted to capture British supplies and ammunition bound for that city. Before the creation of the Continental Congress, George Washington took command of several ships to start intercepting the British vessels. At the same time, several colonial governments began preparing their own warships.
The first recorded request for a navy came on August 26, 1775, when the Rhode Island State Assembly passed a resolution. The resolution asked its delegates to bring legislation before Congress requesting the “building at the Continental expense a fleet of sufficient force, for the protection of these colonies, and for employing them in such a manner and places as will most effectively annoy our enemies.” Rhode Island had a particular interest in protecting their waters because several British ships had harassed their merchants.
The resolution was brought before Congress on October 3 but was set aside. When they did begin to discuss the issue, several people opposed it. Among them was Samuel Chase who called it “the maddest idea in the world.” As John Adams recalled, “The opposition… was very loud and vehement. It was… represented as the most wild, visionary, mad project that had ever been imagined. It was an infant taking a mad bull by his horns.”
However, it was soon discovered that British supply ships were heading toward Quebec with provisions that the Continental Army desperately needed. So on October 13, Congress authorized the formation of a Navy. The resolution authorized the purchase of two ships with ten guns each.
The initial purpose of the navy was to disrupt British trade and intercept military vessels carrying ammunition and reinforcements for the redcoats. By the end of the year, Congress had purchased six more ships, and thirteen warships were under construction.
As the war progressed and the size of the Continental Navy grew, its success multiplied. Its ships carried official correspondence and diplomats to Europe, returning with much-needed munitions. Almost 200 British vessels were seized, upsetting trade routes and forcing the enemy’s warships to be used for protection instead of attacking the US coastline.
When the Revolutionary War ended, the new government was short on funds and many officials saw the Navy as an unnecessary expense. The few ships that survived the war were sold off. The last one, the Alliance, had fired the final shots of the war. It was auctioned off in 1785 and the Continental Navy was disbanded.
America would be without a formal navy for the next nine years. However, after a series of run-ins near Algiers, Algeria, between American merchants and pirates, Congress finally approved the creation of a permanent navy on March 27, 1794.
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Having served in the Navy I appreciate this article. I guess it is fitting that the “Ocean State”, Rhode Island, made the initial request for the formation of the Navy. I was amused by the early opposition and the heated debate. Thanks Mystic!
I love reading about these stamps that connect with the American Revolution
I wonder what the founding fathers would think of how much money and resources we devote to the military now?
Muslim slave traders from Tunis, Algiers, and Tripoli enslaved 1 million to 1.25 million Europeans in North Africa, from the beginning of the 16th century to the middle of the 18th century. That’s in addition to the millions of Africans capture and sold. The number of European slaves captured by Barbary pirates remained roughly constant for a 250-year period. In the first years of the 19th century, the United States, allied with European nations, fought and won the First and the Second Barbary Wars against the pirates. The wars were a direct response of the American, British, French and the Dutch states to the raids and the slave trade by the Barbary pirates against them. Just before Jefferson’s inauguration in 1801, the pasha (Turkish ruler) of Tripoli released the crew members of two recently captured American ships on the condition that the U.S. increase its tribute. If America refused, the Barbary States would declare war on the United States. Jefferson ordered a naval expedition to the Mediterranean, resulting in the First Barbary War (1801-1805). In the war, Tunis and Algiers broke their alliance with Tripoli. For four years, the U.S. fought with Tripoli and Morocco. The battles were mostly naval, including Lt. Stephen Decatur’s daring raid on the Tripoli harbor to demolish a captured American ship, removing it from enemy hands–(“to the shores of Tripoli”). The Barbary slave trade and slave markets in the Mediterranean declined and eventually disappeared after the European occupations. Today, with Russia, Communist China and Iran all vowing to annihilate the U.S. by any and all means necessary, it is more important than ever to realize that our Founders would agree that we aren’t devoting anywhere nearly enough to our navy and military forces in general. Thanks, Mystic for yet another history reminder via stamps!