THE BIRTH OF THE UNITED STATES NAVY:

A Mad Idea that Stuck.

By Mike Descheemaeker of SV WHIRLWIND

Both the Revolutionary events in Massachusetts in the year of 1775 and the need to keep the British Army under siege in Boston led to the early formation of the US Navy.  The British were surrounded by the Continental army in Boston and the people of the colonies wanted a voice and a say in the running of their colony.  At this point the 13 colonies were only rebelling against the tyranny of the parliament and hoped the King would see that colonists were in the right and simply give them representation.  While history has shown that kings do not view their reign as tyrannical, time and time again people hope for more autonomy without a fight.  Many hoped war was not the answer and yet obtaining their goal was otherwise quite complicated.  The colonies were dependent on Britain in many ways and Continental Leadership knew that challenging the Royal Navy on the high seas was, as Samuel Chase of Maryland said, the Maddest Idea; they could be no match.  In spite of the madness of the idea, the congress slowly debated whether or not there was a genuine need for a true American Navy.  The congress was concerned that the creation of a navy would be seen as an act of aggression or a move toward sovereignty a threat to the crown.  While the debate wore on the continental congress gave the commander of the Continental Army, George Washington, authorization to spend money as he saw fit in an emergency.  As it was, Washington saw fit to secretly and, at first, privately funded the arming of two schooners, the Hannah and Warren, for potential military purposes.

Working with the New England maritime community to ready two ships of merchant service for naval service quickly turned into more than Washington anticipated.  With lack of gunpowder and cannons combined with a New England sense of independence and Sea Lawyer obstinance among the volunteers who manned these ships, it’s amazing they were able to accomplish what they did. Using the small rocky harbors to the north and south of Boston Harbor, Washington’s ships were able to rush out and intercept a merchant ship arriving from England or Canada sent to supply the besieged British Army in Boston proper. The British army and loyalist citizens of Boston were slowly whittled down to starvation rations; they began tearing down structures and stealing furniture inside abandoned rebel leader mansions to gather fuel for cooking fires.  Firewood and fresh food was being imported from Maine and Nova Scotia because of the siege. These early schooners of the continental army had limited oversight and often took advantage of their interceptions as opportunities to enrich themselves with the spoils of war thereby making themselves no more than privateers with captain and crews.  In the beginning they captured as many friendly ships as they did enemy ships.  At the time with the lines of independence being still blurred it was difficult to determine what was a legal prize. Many of the core families of the initial rebellion were involved in merchant shipping on the New England coast and into the Caribbean. Needless to say Washington had more than one awkward meeting with a angry rebellion financier questioning why Washington’s secret navy had captured one of their legitimate merchant ships.

After the first two schooners started to see some success in capturing actual military supply vessels and independence seemed the only path forward the congress approved a navy.  Washington quietly let them know what he had been up to with his secret navy.  Some of the challenges the young Navy faced was competing with privateers and there financiers for capable ships, commanders and armament for effective naval combat. It’s rather amusing to see the work orders from the captain of one ship requesting top masts and yards, studding sail spars, and a quiver of sails needed to capture or flee from a well canvased enemy. The simple working sail plan of a New England fishing schooner was not adequate for a military vessel facing the dreaded Royal Navy and its well honed ships and crews.

After a rough and quiet start, the young US Navy had, by wars end, fitted out close to fifty ships and captured two hundred enemy ships some with military munitions bound for the British war effort. With really no chance of going broadside to broadside against the British, snatching a prize lost in the fog or separated from its escort was a common tactic in the early days.   Captain John Paul Jones and others did have success in the North Sea in direct action against the British towards the wars’ end. This action gave Jones title to the first American Naval vessel to force an enemy naval vessel to strike her colors.

In 1778, France allied with the United states and joined in the fight for independence from Great Britain.  Subsequently, the small but growing US Navy was joined by a large French Naval force.  This alliance made way for a gradual change in direction for the colonies.  Finally, with a fleet of 36 French naval ships, a blockade of Yorktown from the sea, and a combined French and US army Cornwallis was forced to surrender.  This surrender brought a decisive victory for the United States an end to the Revolutionary War.  In 1783, the Paris Peace Treaty was signed with Great Britain.  This treaty recognized the United States as a sovereign nation.

Upon Independence, the fledgling US Navy was quickly regarded by some as not necessary and definitely expensive.  This new nation, however, was ready to get out in the world, cross oceans, and continue trade with other nations.  The Navy took on a new task with the turning of the tide in French – US relations.  Circumstances in France quickly changed with the French Revolution which brought a change in heart amongst the former allies in the American Revolution.  The French Revolutionaries were using public guillotines to chop the heads off aristocrats to make their point and get their way.

Washington and Hamilton were appalled by the bloodshed of the French approach to revolution.  Concurrently, Jefferson and Madison looked past the gore and considered themselves loyal allies to French. The US congress stood with the Washington and Hamilton opinion and decided not to uphold the alliance with France after the American Revolution.   The US Congress declared that the new French government with their violent actions was not the government the treaty was originally signed with.  This departure brought the US into Qusai conflict with French Naval vessels and privateers in the Caribbean.  The US Navy quickly became indispensable.  The French preyed on US merchant ships doing trade in the Caribbean with the British.  In 1796-1797 the French captured 316 American merchant vessels with a loss of 12-15 million dollars in goods and vessels. In 1794 congress approved the creation of six heavy frigates to protect American shipping abroad.  Unfortunately the frigates came off the ways slowly and only served in the latter years of this Quasi-War with France…too late to stop a French privateer from snatching up a prize off the coast of New York in May of 1798.
The Frigates United States, Constellation and the famous Constitution were the first three ships off the ways in 1797 with three more to follow in the following years, the frigates President, Congress, and Chesapeake.  These six ships are regarded as the official first ships of the United States modern day navy. Fortunately, for American ship builders having the forests of the new world at their disposal was a great advantage for trying to compete with Old World Naval powers. The American shipbuilders were matching nearly unlimited wood sources with superior craftsmanship blended by naval architects with new visions of speed and strength. Knowing that six ships would be no match for the large navies of Europe these six ships were built heavy for defense and the ability to carry a lot of cannons but with big rigs to maximize speed.

The USS Constitution which is still in active service took over 60 acres of forest to construct.  Her nickname old Ironsides came from her ribs being so tightly spaced that it’s difficult to place a hand between them. With thick oak planking laid over these ribs cannon balls would just bounce off.  Like many a Navy build, these first naval ships were over budget and late on delivery especially for the beginning of the Quasi-War with France.  However by 1798 the first three frigates were sent to stations centered around commerce hubs in the Caribbean. The frigate captains were given orders not to engage with the French naval ships.  They were to capture the French privateers who patrolled the surrounding waters.  Eventually, the early naval frigates saw action with the French on multiple occasions. By 1800-1801 the Quasi-War was brought to an end through treaties and renewed trade agreements.  The fledgling navy was sent into common service and sent home to sit idle at the dock once more.

Meanwhile, the young nation of the United States was tired of paying ransom to the Barbary Pirates on the northern coast of Africa Tunis, Tripoli and Algiers. For hundreds of years the Barbary Pirates or corsairs were in the habit of raiding mostly Christian villages in Spain and Italy and enslaving those they captured. Their treatment was less than wholesome and most of the captives lived out their lives enslaved. Later on, the pirates preyed on merchant vessels plying the Mediterranean and the Atlantic around the Straits of Gibraltar.  Once captured these vessels would be taken back to the Barbary strongholds, their ship and crew enslaved and held for ransom. Lucky crews were freed from the horrors of enslavement when the ships owners paid up.  Unlucky crews were left to rot. This became so common that the British and other European nations paid a flat rate to the pirates so they would leave their ships alone.  America, being young and poor, couldn’t afford to make the payments so American shipping soon became prey for the Corsair pirates.

Morocco actually sent the yet to be formed United States a trade agreement in 1778 but apparently everybody in power was too busy fighting a war and organizing a government that they failed to acknowledge or respond to this request.  In 1784, acting on behalf of the Sultan of Morocco, US merchant vessel Betsy was captured and used for leverage to bring the US to the bargaining table.  A free trade agreement was struck and all seemed well except the Corsairs were basically a mercenary force that worked for the different Sultans along the Mediterranean. In Algeria things were not going well for the US.  For a decade two US ships and there crews were held captive in horrific conditions until some sort of release was secured.  Many in power in the US didn’t want to continue to pay the tribute money because they figured it would just keep going in the wrong direction which it constantly did. The monetary tribute amounts were constantly increased with added demands like Algiers requesting the United States build them a naval vessel. All of this was occurring in much of the same time period as the Quasi-War with France so as things really started to come to a head in the Mediterranean the young Navy was really looking ready to handle this global dilemma.

In 1800 Captain William Bainbridge on the USS George Washington arrived in the Port of Algiers with tribute money and other gifts for the Dey. After getting the anchor down they were informed that the ship would be used to transport the Dey around the Mediterranean to conduct his business. Now the ship had already sailed into the harbor under the protection or threat of the large coastal batteries served by the Deys troops. Bainbridge felt like he didn’t have much choice so he essentially surrendered the vessel to the Dey’s demands.  Back home in the US the nation was not happy about this turn of events. This was the beginning of the end for the US sending tributes to the Sultans.  In fact, President Jefferson, with approval from congress, sent the Navy in force.

In 1803 commodore Preble arrived in the Mediterranean with the Constitution and the rest of his ships. Unfortunately, the new fleet consisted of heavy deep draft vessels which had a difficult time negotiating the shallows and reefs that protected the ports of Northern Africa. In an ambitious action Bainbridge in the USS Philadelphia chasing a Corsair vessel ran hard aground off of Tripoli. Under attack from small gunboats of the Tripolis and unable to refloat the vessel Bainbridge surrendered. Thinking they had flooded the vessel beyond salvage they were horrified to see the USS Philadelphia float in to Tripoli harbor from there new accommodations in the prison. There they sat for almost two years. The Americans knew they needed to recapture or scuttle the Philadelphia before it could be repaired and put back into service against them.  So in February 1804 lieutenant Stephen Decatur with his crew brought a captured Tripoli merchant ketch renamed USS Intrepid into the harbor with the assistance of Sicilian pilot who knew the local waters. They trimmed the rig down to make it look like a local trading vessel and roughed it up to make it look like they had been through a bad storm.  They brought the ketch right along side the Philadelphia under the cover of darkness and attacked the small guard crew.  However, they were unable to cut out the Philadelphia so they set charges and destroyed her at her mooring.

The fleet continued blockades and bombardments of the harbors to some effect but it was a land force of US Marines backing the exiled brother of the ruling Pasha of Tripoli that turned this tide of war. From Alexandria the forces of US marines, led by the former US consul to Tunis, William Eaton, and a mercenary force of the exiled Pashas brother were marched along the coast to capture Derna, Benghazi and eventually Tripoli. With success in Derna the Pasha surrendered to the land force and the constant naval bombing from the USS Constitution.

This, however, did not bring an end to hostilities in the Mediterranean because the British were not happy with the foot hold that the United States was gaining in trade.  Britain used their position to try and squeeze the young nation out of the game.  Determined to defend their trade position, the US sent another force led by Stephen Decatur which defeated the British backed Algerian fleet.  Subsequently, the United States was able to achieve a period of somewhat free trade into the Mediterranean for a time. These actions by the British were fueling the flames of the next war on the horizon in 1812.  And so it was that by this time the United States Navy had proved herself as a valuable and effective tool for the United States to defend, expand, and stand her ground to become a thriving nation.