American citizen. [volume] (Canton, Miss.) 1864-1890, 1875-11-13
Our Navy During the Revolution.

AFEATURE of the Centennial next year
will be the exhibition OF memorials of the
past and evidence of the present condi-
ton of the navy of the United States.
ject of national interest, yet after the close
of the war under the Confederation, and
until the Dey of Algiers taught the
United States the necessity of maintain
ing navy for the defense of the CONNER
cial marine, the nation had practically no
navy. The navy of the Revolution was
disbanded at the close of the war, its off,
GERS gave up their commissions, the few
public vessels that remained were sold.
Several of the States maintained small
cruisers with the consent of Congress.
Each State had its own Custom House
and levied its own duties, being only re-
stricted by the provisions oftreaties made by
Congress. James Fennimore Cooper has
given in his naval history such facts as
can be gathered relative to the heroic
navy of the Revolution. During the last
year or two of the war it had dwindled
almost to nothing. This was in part due
to the fact that its place was taken by the
French, and in part to the circumstance
that the British navy SO increased its pro-
lection of transports and merchant ves-
sells that prizes became infrequent. And
the assertion of sovereignty on the seas
was not yetthoughto of while independence
on the land was not secured.
From Cooper's history we draw some
interesting memoranda. In December,
1775, Congress passed an act ordering the
building of thirteen vessels, three OF TWEEN
ty-four guns, five of twenty.eight and five
thirty-two, built in Philadelphia, was
blown up in an action with the British
ship Yarmouth, sixty-four guns, in 1778.
Three other vessels were built in Philadel-
phia, the Washington, thirty-two, the
Effingham, twenty eight and the Della
ware, twenty-four The first two were de.
stroyed by the British army in the Della
ware in ITS without getting to sea and
the Delaware was captured in the Della
ware River in 1777. OF the other nine
vessels the fate was as follows: The War
rem, thirty two, was burned in the Penob-
scot River in 1779 to prevent her falling
into the enemy's hands. The Congress,
twenty eight, and the Montgomery, TWEEN
ty eight, were destroyed in the Hudson
River in TIT, with the same OBJ
ject, never having been to sea. The
Hancock, thirty-two, was captured
by the British in 1777; the Raleigh, thirty
two, and the Virginia, twenty eight, were
captured in 1878, and the Trumbull,
twenty-eight, in 1881. In each case the
surrender was a necessity from the dis
parity of force. The Virginia, never hav-
ing been to sea, was captured by squad
ron off the Capes of the Delaware. The
Providence, twenty eight, and the Boston,
twenty-four, fell into the hands of the
British at the capture of Charleston, S. c.,
in 1880.
Such is the story, in very brief terms,
of the " origInal thirteen" vessels ordered
by the Congress of the Thirteen United
Colonies, in 1875. Not one of them sur
vived in the possession of the Colonies to
the close of the war. Probably gloomy
inference would have been drawn from
this fact if the navy had not been kept up
by the supplies of other vessels. About ten
vessels, of a force ranging from twenty
four guns down to ten, and two even
smaller, were purchased and fitted out as
cruisers while the thirteen'' were build
Ledger.