United States Navy

The United States Navy, or USN, has the mission "to maintain, train and equip combat-ready Naval forces capable of winning wars, deterring aggression and maintaining freedom of the seas." With some 343,000 active duty personnel, 129,000 reservists, 256 ships and more than 4,000 aircraft, they are a formidable force.

Birth of the USN

On 13 October 1775, the Continental Congress drafted what is considered by many to be the birth certificate of the USN:

"Resolved, that a swift sailing vessel, to carry ten carriage guns, and a proportional number of swivels, with eighty men, be fitted, with all possible dispatch for a cruise of three months, and that the commander be instructed to cruise eastward, for intercepting such transports as may be laden with warlike stores and other supplies for our enemies, and for such other purposes as the Congress shall direct... Resolved, that another vessel be fitted out for the same purposes..."

Within a few days of voting to establish a Navy, Congress established a Naval Committee, which directed the purchasing, outfitting, manning and operations of the first ships of the new Navy, drafted naval legislation, and prepared rules and regulations to govern the Navy's conduct and internal administration.

There are numerous men who played prominent roles in founding the USN, including George Washington, Continental Navy officers Esek Hopkins, John Barry, and John Paul Jones as well as civilian representatives at the Continental Congress who argued for the establishing of a Navy, such as John Adams, Benjamin Franklin, Robert Morris, Joseph Hewes, and Silias Deane. Since so many men colluded in the establishing of a Navy, the USN doesn't recognize one person, at the exclusion of others, to be the "Father of the Navy."

About half a dozen places make claims to being the "birthplace of the Navy," such as Machais, ME for the seizure of the Royal Navy schooner Margaretta by a small sloop armed with woodsmen on 12 June 1775. Whitehall, NY makes the claim that the army's fleet on Lake Champlain under Benedict Arnold was the United States' first Navy. George Washington employed a small fleet of schooners out of Beverly and Marblehead, MA. The first call for the establishment of a Navy was in Providence RI. However, if the Continental Congress had not passed the first national naval legislation in Philidelphia, there would be small argument about where the USN was born, anyway.

The Revolutionary War

During the United States' fight for independence, the Navy's squadrons and cruisers seized enemy supplies and carried correspondence and diplomats to Europe, returning with needed munitions. They took nearly 200 British vessels as prizes, some off the British Isles themselves, contributing to the demoralization of the enemy. One notable triumph during this war was the capture of the British sloops of war Drake by Captain John Paul Jones' Ranger in April of 1778. Jones gained international notoriety for this incident, and for his operations in the North Sea and the Raids against the the coast of Great Britain itself. After the American Revolution had ended, the Continental Navy was disbanded.

War of 1812

On 18 June 1812, the United States declared war on Great Britain for impressment of sailors and interference with commerce. The Royal Navy responded by blockading the American coast, although a number of United States warships were able to slip through the blockaders. These warships took aim at enemy naval and merchant ships, winning several courageuos victories in ship-to-ship actions. A particularly notable one would be the victory by Captain Isaac Hull in the USS Constitution 9often called "Old Ironsides") over the HMS Guerriere.