October 13, 1775

Happy Birthday to the United States Navy! Here’s to many more years of being Always Courageous!

October 13 is the birthday of the United States Navy, which has its roots back in the early days of the American Revolution. On October 13, 1775, the Continental Congress established a naval force with the hopes that a small fleet of privateers could attack British commerce and offset the British sea power.

The early Continental Navy was designed to work with privateers to wage tactical raids against the transports that supplied British forces in North America. The Continental Congress purchased, converted and constructed a fleet of small ships to accomplish this mission. These navy ships sailed independently or in pairs, hunting British commerce ships and transports.

In 1785, two years after the end of the war, the money-poor Congress sold off the last ship of the Continental Navy. But with the expansion of trade and shipping in the 1790s, the possibility of attacks by European powers and pirates increased. In March 1794 Congress responded by calling for the construction of a half-dozen frigates and the United States Navy was here to stay. With thousands of ships and aircraft now serving worldwide, the United States Navy is a force to be reckoned with.