Comments on: Two sailing ships, ten carriage guns each plus swivels

By: GreyGoat

GreyGoat — Tue, 14 Oct 2008 01:19:26 +0000

According to these folks, we’ve already missed the birthday:

Whitehall

Whitehall was settled in 1759 at the southern end of Lake Champlain. Founded as the colonial town of Skenesboro by British Army Captain Philip Skene, this community became the first permanent settlement on Lake Champlain. An important center of maritime trade, Skene developed lake travel north to reach the West Indies via Quebec.

On May 9, 1775, Skenesboro was captured by American forces in the first aggressive revolutionary war action in New York State. Skene’s trading schooner became the first ship of the US Navy when it was taken to Crown Point armed and used under the leadership of Col. Benedict Arnold to capture a British ship renamed Enterprise on May 18, 1775.

In 1776, Congress ordered General Philip Schuyler to construct a fleet of ships capable of countering an expected British invasion. This first US Naval fleet of thirteen ships added to the four already patrolling Lake Champlain was constructed during the summer of 1776. Led by Benedict Arnold, the action of this fleet at the battle of Vancour in October of that year caused a delaying action that ultimately saved the American Forces at Saratoga. This naval fleet was the only one to see active service in the Revolutionary War.
http://www.revolutionaryday.com/usroute4/whitehall/default.htm

By: LarryK

LarryK — Mon, 13 Oct 2008 23:51:00 +0000

And remember that the USCG (created 1790) is the oldest continuous seagoing service since after the War of Independence the Navy was disbanded. From 1790 till 1798, when the U.S. Navy was created (OK re-created), the cutters of the Revenue Cutter Service were the only national maritime service.

Just sayin’

By: Adeodatus

Adeodatus — Mon, 13 Oct 2008 21:02:20 +0000

BillT,
Keep in mind our Founding Fathers were wise. In the Constitution, they wanted the Legislative branch to “provide and maintain a navy” but only to “raise and support armies” but not appropriate them for more than two years.

Even the Founders didn’t trust the army!

; )

By: AW1 Tim

AW1 Tim — Mon, 13 Oct 2008 13:00:06 +0000

And a glorious 223rd birthday to all my fellow webfoots!

May there be many happy returns of the day.

I may have some few regrets in my life, but joining this storied branch of the tree of liberty was never one of them.

May God bless, and may our nation always honour all those who sail in harm’s way upon the waters great and small, in defense of our Constitution.

By: RetRsvMike

RetRsvMike — Mon, 13 Oct 2008 12:44:04 +0000

proof positive that since the beginning, it was always all about procurement and committee work..

congrats!

By: BillT

BillT — Mon, 13 Oct 2008 12:20:48 +0000

Happy Birthday, Junior Service!

I won’t whizz in the punchbowl by reminiscing about G. Washington commissioning those first warships as Continental *Army* assets…