Important Dates in the History of the Navy
- 26 Aug 1775: Creation of the Rhode Island State Navy.
- 5 Sep 1775: Commissioning of the Hanna, officially under the control of the Army.
- 13 Oct 1775: The Continental Congress authorized the outfitting of two ships, for “intercepting vessels coming out with stores and ammunition.” This date is recognized as the birth date of the American Navy.
- Journals of the Continental Congress, 1774-1789, Vol. III (Washington, DC: Government Printing Office, 1905), 293; digital images, HathiTrust (https://hdl.handle.net/2027/msu.31293020542589?urlappend=%3Bseq=47%3Bownerid=13510798902998866-51: accessed 27 January 2022).
- 18 Feb 1776: The first American Squadron launched.
- 1779: Famous defeat of the Serapis by John Paul Jones.
- 1783: Disbanding of the Continental Navy.
Governance of the Navy:
- Jan 1776-Dec 1779: Marine Committee
- 28 Oct 1779-1781: Board of Admiralty
- 1781: Department of the Marine
Records of these organizations can be found in the Journals of the Continental Congress and the Papers of the Continental Congress.
References:
- John Lehman, On Seas of Glory: Heroic Men, Great Ships, and Epic Battles of the American Navy (New York: The Free Press, 2001), 14, 32-33.
- Craig L. Symonds, The U.S. Navy: A Concise History (New York: Oxford University Press, 2016), 5-6.
- George C. Daughan, If By Sea: The Forging of the American Navy – From the Revolution to the War of 1812 (New York, Basic Books, 2008), 203.
- “U.S. Navy,” Maritime History of Massachusetts (https://www.nps.gov/nr/travel/maritime/navy.htm: accessed 16 November 2022).