The Navy's Birthday
By Kelcey Petersen
Originally named the Continental Navy, today’s Navy began with two armed vessels that the Continental Congress of 1775 authorized on Oct. 13 of that year. The first warships were dispatched to intercept ships supplying the British with munitions. Congress officially disbanded the Continental Navy at the conclusion of the Revolutionary War. The men were released from service, and the ships were sold.
The United States quickly amassed one of the largest merchant fleets in the world, which needed military protection. With the ratification of the Constitution in 1789, Congress was authorized to re-establish the Navy, and in 1798, the Department of the Navy was formed. From the subsequent wars with pirates along the North African coast, which were seizing American merchant vessels, through battles against the French and the British during the early 19th century, the U.S. Navy established this new sovereign nation as a major sea power.
In 1972, Chief of Naval Operations Adm. Elmo R. Zumwalt officially recognized Oct. 13, 1775, as the birth date of the Navy. In contrast to Navy Day, which is also in October but orchestrated by the non-military Navy League, the Navy’s birthday is an internal event. It involves formal ceremonies, balls, dining-outs, and wearing one’s uniform on Oct. 13. The attendance of a command or individual and/or the performing of the Navy or Marine Corps Band at public and non-military ceremonies are strictly regulated. The celebration is meant to enhance appreciation of the Navy’s legacy and to foster pride and professionalism.
True & False
Q: The Navy Sabbath is the Saturday and Sunday nearest the Navy Birthday.
A: True. Service members are encouraged to wear their uniform to the service and the Navy Hymn should be part of the service.
Q: The Department of the Navy was the first supervisory body to oversee the U.S. Navy.
A: False. When the Continental Navy was established in 1775, the Naval Committee, sometimes called the Marine Committee, was established. Until the establishment of the Department of the Navy in 1798, the secretary of war directed both the Navy and the Army.
Q: Submarine warfare is relatively new.
A: False. On Sept. 7, 1776, Sgt. Ezra Lee of the Continental Army made the first submarine attack on a warship.
Q: The first ships of the Navy were capable of securing the coast of the United States, but no further.
A: False. Over 50 warships were used during the Revolutionary War for engaging and seizing enemy ships and supplies, for carrying correspondence and diplomats across the Atlantic to Europe, and for bringing back munitions and stores.
Q: Lt. John Paul Jones served aboard the Continental Navy’s first warship.
A: True. John Paul Jones, dubbed the father of the Navy, served as first lieutenant, equivalent to executive officer, aboard the Alfred, a 24-gun ship commissioned in Philadelphia, and the first man-of-war of the Continental Navy.
Sources: Bearden, Bill, reviser. The Bluejackets’ Manual. Annapolis, Maryland. United States Naval Institute, 1990 and www.history.navy.mil/birthday.htm