Happy 250th Navy
The US Navy began life as the Continental Navy. On 13 October 1775 the Continental Congress passed a resolution for the purchase of two vessels. The first of those vessels was named the Alfred after Alfred the Great. She had been laid down as a merchantman in 1774 and christened the Black Prince.
Alfred was 140 feet long, 32 wide and drew 15 feet at full displacement. She was armed with 20 9 pounder guns and 10 6 pounders.
On December 22, 1775, Esek Hopkins was appointed the naval commander in chief. The first major action the nascent Navy engaged in was a raid on Nassau in the Bahamas where the Continentals took a large supply of gunpowder.
The Continental Navy, and the early US Navy was no match for the Royal Navy however. Of the first 13 purpose built vessels the Continental Congress commissioned, none made any difference in the war. Most were either captured or sunk by the Brits. Two were burned on the ways to prevent them from falling into British hands. Of the approximately 65 vessels (new, converted, chartered, loaned, and captured) that served at one time or another with the Continental Navy, only 11 survived the war.
Since those humble beginnings and somewhat inauspicious beginnings, The US Navy has fought across the globe. From the Shores of Tripoli fighting the Barbary pirates to Tokyo Bay and all points in-between, the US Navy has overcome the country’s adversaries.
In 1972, then-Chief of Naval Operations Admiral Elmo R. Zumwalt authorized official recognition of 13 October as the birthday of the U.S. Navy. Since then, each CNO has encouraged a Navy-wide celebration of this occasion “to enhance a greater appreciation of our Navy heritage, and to provide a positive influence toward pride and professionalism in the naval service.”
