Changes

The Navy was created to fight the American Revolution on October 13, 1775 when the [[Articles of Confederation|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. The Royal Navy was so powerful it blockaded the American coast and moved the British army from point to point at will. The American Navy's role was to attack British shipping, while avoiding direct combat.  [[John Paul Jones]], briefly an officer in the American Navy, gained fame with his astonishing victory in the "Bonhomme Richard" over the British frigate "Serapis" (Sept. 23, 1779), Jones however never received another ship and  joined the Russian navy.<ref>Evan Thomas, ''John Paul Jones: Sailor, Hero, Father of the American Navy'' (2003)</ref>  Of twenty-seven small men-of-war at sea, only three survived hard fighting and cruising.   

The Navy was created to fight the American Revolution on October 13, 1775, when the [[Articles of Confederation|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. The Royal Navy was so powerful it blockaded the American coast and moved the British army from point to point at will. The American Navy's role was to attack British shipping, while avoiding direct combat.  [[John Paul Jones]], briefly an officer in the American Navy, gained fame with his astonishing victory in the "Bonhomme Richard" over the British frigate "Serapis" (Sept. 23, 1779), Jones however never received another ship and  joined the Russian navy.<ref>Evan Thomas, ''John Paul Jones: Sailor, Hero, Father of the American Navy'' (2003)</ref>  Of twenty-seven small men-of-war at sea, only three survived hard fighting and cruising.   

Several states operated their own navies—the Massachusetts fleet led by Captain Dudley Saltonstall (called commodore while commanding a fleet) with 18 ships attacked a British outpost at  Penobscot Bay in Maine in 1779; it was trapped and destroyed as the sailors fled and the ships were all burned or captured.<ref>George E. Buker, ''The Penobscot Expedition: Commodore Saltonstall and the Massachusetts Conspiracy of 1779'' (2002)</ref>

Several states operated their own navies—the Massachusetts fleet led by Captain Dudley Saltonstall (called commodore while commanding a fleet) with 18 ships attacked a British outpost at  Penobscot Bay in Maine in 1779; it was trapped and destroyed as the sailors fled and the ships were all burned or captured.<ref>George E. Buker, ''The Penobscot Expedition: Commodore Saltonstall and the Massachusetts Conspiracy of 1779'' (2002)</ref>

====1815-60====

====1815-60====

The Algerian War (1815), suppression of West Indian pirates (1816–29), and antislavery patrols (1820–50) provided training for the [[Mexican-American War]] of 1846-48. Mexico lacked a navy so the unchallenged American the navy of 63 warships vessels conducted blockade and amphibious operations, the latter destined to become an American specialty. Captains John Sloat and Robert Stockton helped secure [[California, history|California]]. Captains David Conner and Matthew Perry commanded the bulk of the fleet in the Gulf of Mexico, making possible the transportation to, and landing at, Veracruz (Mar. 13, 1847) and  maintenance of the logistics lifeline for Gen. [[Winfield Scott]]'s triumphal march to capture Mexico City.

The Algerian War (1815), suppression of West Indian pirates (1816–29), and antislavery patrols (1820–50) provided training for the [[Mexican-American War]] of 1846–48. Mexico lacked a navy so the unchallenged American the navy of 63 warships vessels conducted blockade and amphibious operations, the latter destined to become an American specialty. Captains John Sloat and Robert Stockton helped secure [[California, history|California]]. Captains David Conner and Matthew Perry commanded the bulk of the fleet in the Gulf of Mexico, making possible the transportation to, and landing at, Veracruz (Mar. 13, 1847) and  maintenance of the logistics lifeline for Gen. [[Winfield Scott]]'s triumphal march to capture Mexico City.

In 1815 the Board of Navy Commissioners, consisting of three senior officers, was created to provide technical advice to the department regarding naval technology, naval operations being excluded from its purview. In 1842 an organization of technical bureaus was instituted, including bureaus for the Navy Yards and Docks; Construction, Equipment, and Repairs; Provisions and Clothing; Ordnance and Hydrography; and Medicine and Surgery.  

In 1815 the Board of Navy Commissioners, consisting of three senior officers, was created to provide technical advice to the department regarding naval technology, naval operations being excluded from its purview. In 1842 an organization of technical bureaus was instituted, including bureaus for the Navy Yards and Docks; Construction, Equipment, and Repairs; Provisions and Clothing; Ordnance and Hydrography; and Medicine and Surgery.  

=====Landings=====

=====Landings=====

In combined operations with the Union  army—particularly at Hatteras Inlet (Aug. 29, 1861) and Port Royal, S.C. (Nov. 7, 1861),  and at Wilmington, N.C. (Jan. 13-15, 1865)--the Union navy seized strategic locations  on the Confederate coast. These actions not only deprived the South of  blockade-running havens but also provided the North with base facilities and coaling  stations, which enabled the blockading steamships to keep the sea for extended periods.   

In combined operations with the Union  army—particularly at Hatteras Inlet (Aug. 29, 1861) and Port Royal, S.C. (Nov. 7, 1861),  and at Wilmington, N.C. (Jan. 13–15, 1865)--the Union navy seized strategic locations  on the Confederate coast. These actions not only deprived the South of  blockade-running havens but also provided the North with base facilities and coaling  stations, which enabled the blockading steamships to keep the sea for extended periods.   

=====River war=====

=====River war=====

On the western waters, shallow-draft Union gunboats carried out a series of decisive  riverine operations that ultimately divided the South along the Mississippi River. After the  capture of New Orleans (Apr. 25, 1862) by a fleet under Flag Officer [[David G. Farragut]],  Union naval forces steaming up the Mississippi and forces fighting their way downstream  converged on [[Battle of Vicksburg|Vicksburg, Mississippi]], the main Confederate stronghold on the Mississippi River. After a prolonged siege by water and land, Vicksburg fell to Generally [[Ulysses S. Grant]] on July 4, 1863. President Abraham Lincoln wrote: "The Father of Waters  again goes unvexed to the Sea."   

On the western waters, shallow-draft Union gunboats carried out a series of decisive  riverine operations that ultimately divided the South along the Mississippi River. After the  capture of New Orleans (Apr. 25, 1862) by a fleet under Flag Officer [[David G. Farragut]],  Union naval forces steaming up the Mississippi and forces fighting their way downstream  converged on [[Battle of Vicksburg|Vicksburg, Mississippi]], the main Confederate stronghold on the Mississippi River. After a prolonged siege by water and land, Vicksburg fell to Generally [[Ulysses S. Grant]] on July 4, 1863. President Abraham Lincoln wrote: "The Father of Waters  again goes unvexed to the Sea."   

====Confederacy====

====Confederacy====

Stephen Russell Mallory, the  Confederate secretary of the navy, began with 3,000 personnel and twelve captured U.S. ships. During the war Mallory doubled manpower and commissioned 209 vessels, but it was always too little and too late. The [[Confederate States of America|Confederacy]] lacked a naval tradition, warships or an industrial infrastructure that could build ships and cannon. Most of the riverboat captains and engineers were northerners who went North, taking their boats with them. It seized many Union ships in Southern ports, but was unable to make use of them.  However it did raise the scuttled frigate "Merrimack" after capturing the  Norfolk navy yard) and made it into an ironclad. For a single day the "Merrimack", renamed the "Virginia", threatened to destroy the blockading Union Navy of wooden ships. But the Northern ironclad "Monitor" showed up, neutralizing the "Virginia;" the battle was a draw. (The Confederates had to abandon Norfolk and they burned the "Virginia."). The low-slung Monitor was equipped with a revolving gun turret, an epoch-making development in naval warfare.  

Stephen Russell Mallory, the  Confederate secretary of the navy, began with 3,000 personnel and twelve captured U.S. ships. During the war Mallory doubled manpower and commissioned 209 vessels, but it was always too little and too late. The [[Confederate States of America|Confederacy]] lacked a naval tradition, warships or an industrial infrastructure that could build ships and cannon. Most of the riverboat captains and engineers were northerners who went North, taking their boats with them. It seized many Union ships in Southern ports, but was unable to make use of them.  However it did raise the scuttled frigate "Merrimack" after capturing the  Norfolk navy yard and made it into an ironclad. For a single day the "Merrimack", renamed the "Virginia", threatened to destroy the blockading Union Navy of wooden ships. But the Northern ironclad "Monitor" showed up, neutralizing the "Virginia;" the battle was a draw. (The Confederates had to abandon Norfolk and they burned the "Virginia."). The low-slung Monitor was equipped with a revolving gun turret, an epoch-making development in naval warfare.  

The South contracted with the British who built a dozen commerce raiders, notably the "Alabama," which was finally tracked down and sunk off the coast of France.  The raiders, with Confederate officers in command and international crews, effectively ruined the U.S. merchant marine on the high search; it never recovered.  

The South contracted with the British who built a dozen commerce raiders, notably the "Alabama," which was finally tracked down and sunk off the coast of France.  The raiders, with Confederate officers in command and international crews, effectively ruined the U.S. merchant marine on the high search; it never recovered.  

[[File:NAVY1908.jpg|thumb|550px|U.S. Navy recruiting poster, 1908]]

[[File:NAVY1908.jpg|thumb|550px|U.S. Navy recruiting poster, 1908]]

President [[Theodore Roosevelt]], a strong navy man, proudly sent his powerful new "great white fleet" of sixteen new battleships around the world in 1907-09, demonstrating the  maturity of American naval engineering as well as the substance for the "big stick" foreign policy.  

President [[Theodore Roosevelt]], a strong navy man, proudly sent his powerful new "great white fleet" of sixteen new battleships around the world in 1907–09, demonstrating the  maturity of American naval engineering as well as the substance for the "big stick" foreign policy.  

Rear Admiral [[Bradley A. Fiske]] was at the vanguard of new technology in [[Naval guns and gunnery]], thanks to his innovations in fire control 1890-1910, and his six books and 65 professional articles. He immediately grasped the potential for air power, and called for the development of a torpedo plane.  

Rear Admiral [[Bradley A. Fiske]] was at the vanguard of new technology in [[Naval guns and gunnery]], thanks to his innovations in fire control 1890–1910, and his six books and 65 professional articles. He immediately grasped the potential for air power, and called for the development of a torpedo plane.  

Fiske, as aide for operations in 1913-15 to Secretary of the Navy [[Josephus Daniels]] and Assistant Secretary [[Franklin D. Roosevelt]], proposed a radical reorganization of the Navy to make it a war-fighting instrument. Fiske wanted to centralize authority in a chief of naval operations and an expert staff that would develop new strategies, oversee the construction of a larger fleet, coordinate war planning including force structure, mobilization plans, and industrial base, and insure that the US Navy possessed the best possible war machines. Eventually, the Navy adopted his reforms and by 1915 started to reorganize for possible involvement in the World War then underway.

Fiske, as aide for operations in 1913–15 to Secretary of the Navy [[Josephus Daniels]] and Assistant Secretary [[Franklin D. Roosevelt]], proposed a radical reorganization of the Navy to make it a war-fighting instrument. Fiske wanted to centralize authority in a chief of naval operations and an expert staff that would develop new strategies, oversee the construction of a larger fleet, coordinate war planning including force structure, mobilization plans, and industrial base, and insure that the US Navy possessed the best possible war machines. Eventually, the Navy adopted his reforms and by 1915 started to reorganize for possible involvement in the World War then underway.

====World War I====

====World War I====

*  Duncan, Francis. ''Rickover and the Nuclear Navy'' (1990).

*  Duncan, Francis. ''Rickover and the Nuclear Navy'' (1990).

*  Hartmann, Frederick H. ''Naval Renaissance -- The U.S. Navy in the 1980s'' (1990).  

*  Hartmann, Frederick H. ''Naval Renaissance -- The U.S. Navy in the 1980s'' (1990).  

*  Lehman, John F., Jr. ''Command of the Seas: Building the 600 Ship Navy'' (1989).  

*  Lehman, John F. Jr. ''Command of the Seas: Building the 600 Ship Navy'' (1989).  

* Love, Robert W. ''History of the US Navy: 1942-1991'' (1992) [https://www.amazon.com/History-U-S-Navy-1942-1991-U/dp/0811718638/ref=sr_1_9/103-4827826-5463040?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1191328523&sr=1-9  excerpt and text search]

* Love, Robert W. ''History of the US Navy: 1942-1991'' (1992) [https://www.amazon.com/History-U-S-Navy-1942-1991-U/dp/0811718638/ref=sr_1_9/103-4827826-5463040?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1191328523&sr=1-9  excerpt and text search]

*  Marolda, Edward J., and Oscar P. Fitzgerald. ''The United States Navy and the Vietnam Conflict: From Military Assistance to Combat 1959-1965.'' (1987), 591pp

*  Marolda, Edward J., and Oscar P. Fitzgerald. ''The United States Navy and the Vietnam Conflict: From Military Assistance to Combat 1959-1965.'' (1987), 591pp

* Muir, Malcolm, Jr. ''Black Shoes and Blue Water: Surface Warfare in the United States Navy, 1945-1975.'' (1996). 348pp

* Muir, Malcolm Jr. ''Black Shoes and Blue Water: Surface Warfare in the United States Navy, 1945-1975.'' (1996). 348pp

* Polmar, Norman. ''The American Submarine'' (1981). well-illustrated popular history

* Polmar, Norman. ''The American Submarine'' (1981). well-illustrated popular history

*  Ryan, Paul B. ''First Line of Defense -- The U.S. Navy Since 1945''

*  Ryan, Paul B. ''First Line of Defense -- The U.S. Navy Since 1945''