HAPPY 251st BIRTHDAY, UNITED STATES NAVY!
On October 13, 1775, the Continental Congress passed a resolution authorizing the purchase and fitting of “two armed vessels, one to carry ten carriage guns and a proportionable number of swivels, with eighty men, to be fitted, with all possible despatch, for a cruise of three months.” A second vessel of similar size was also authorized. This was in response to two British ordnance ships known to be sailing from England unescorted, and their capture would yield powder, arms, and equipment that Washington’s army besieging Boston desperately needed.
On October 30, four more vessels were authorized and, on November 10, the Continental Marines were established. By the end of 1775, seven ships had been authorized, and 13 frigates of 24, 28, and 32 guns were under construction in American shipyards.
The Continental Navy never numbered more than 65 vessels, and it was gradually reduced by capture and attrition, effectively disbanding in 1785. The U.S. Navy traces its continuous institutional existence to the Naval Act of March 27, 1794. But, by convention and by act of Congress, October 13, 1775
