Connecticut State Navy The Connecticut State Navy was the colonial ( and later , state ) navy of Connecticut during the American Revolutionary War . Established in 1775 , all of its ships were destroyed or captured by 1779 . In the remaining years of the war a few smaller ships were commissioned to interdict smuggling between the Connecticut shore and Tory - controlled Long Island . One the Connecticut Navy ' s most distinctive commissions was the " Turtle " , a submarine whose use in New York harbor in 1776 constitutes the first documented instance of submarine warfare . Early acquisitions . After the American Revolutionary War began in April 1775 , the Connecticut General Assembly in July authorized the Governor and Council of Safety to procure and outfit two armed vessels . On July 24 , Governor Jonathan Trumbull and the Council appointed a committee to identify potentially useful vessels in the colony ' s harbors . On August 2 , the committee filed its report , and noted that there was some opposition in the colony to attempting to match the Royal Navy ' s might . In spite of this , Governor Trumbull and the council decided to outfit William Griswold ' s 108 - ton ship " Minerva " , and appointed another committee to acquire a " spy vessel , to run and course from place to place , to discover the enemy , and carry intelligence " of about 25 tons , to be captained by Samuel Niles . The next day they hired Giles Hall to be the captain of the " Minerva " , established a pay scale , and authorized Hall to hire 40 sailors and 40 marines . On August 14 , they authorized the purchase of the " Britannica " , a sloop in Stonington , which was to be renamed " Spy " , with Robert Niles as its captain . The " Spy " began service early in October , and promptly brought in the navy ' s first prize , a British supply ship . " Minerva " began service on October 9 , with orders to capture transports bound for Quebec . However , most of the crew refused to obey Hall ' s orders , and she returned to port . The mutinous crew was dismissed , and in December Hall was ordered to return the ship to its owner . Expansion . In December 1775 the General Assembly authorized the acquisition of more ships , specifically another armed vessel and four row galley s , " for the defence of this and the neighboring colonies . " A brigantine was purchased , named " Defence " , and Seth Harding was given her command ; she entered service in April 1776 . The governor and council decided to order the construction of a vessel as the third of the authorized ships . This resulted in the August 1776 launch of the 200 - ton " Oliver Cromwell " , with William Coit as its captain . Of the four row galleys , only three were built : " Whiting " , " Shark " , and " Crane " , which were outfitted with sloop riggings , were ready for service in July 1776 . In February 1776 , after a presentation by inventor David Bushnell , authorized the payment of £60 so that he could complete the construction of what became the " Turtle " , a small one - man submarine designed to attach a mine to another ship . She was used in an attempted attack on in New York harbor in 1776 ; the attack failed . The " Turtle " was sunk in 1777 , but was supposedly recovered later by Bushnell . Additional ships were authorized but had relatively short service lives . The " Mifflin " and the " Schuyler " were only in active service in 1777 , and " Guilford " in 1779 . Administration . The assembly had vested in the governor considerable authority in naval matters , including the setting of regulations . As the Continental Navy was also organizationally taking shape , the governor and council assembled a set of regulations that harmonized as much as possible with those of the Continental Navy . They also retained Nathaniel Shaw , a wealthy New London merchant , as the state ' s agent for outfitting its ships and disposing of its prizes , and also had an agent in Boston to deal with matters when the state ' s ships or prizes were in Massachusetts ports . Instead of setting up dedicated admiralty court s , the assembly authorized the state ' s courts to act as admiralty courts , adjudicating marine disputes and the distribution of prizes , with a right to appeal decisions to the Continental Congress . The state did not issue its own letters of marque ; instead , the governor was authorized to issue Congressional letters . In 1779 the state established a formal naval administrative structure , but by then most of its ships had been lost . The state authorized the commission of up to twelve armed vessels in 1780 for the purpose of interdicting smuggling ; it retracted the commissions in 1781 after it was established that they had been completely ineffective at stopping illicit trade . Operations . Most of the navy ' s cruising was in Long Island Sound , although some ships , notably the " Spy " and the " Oliver Cromwell " , went further afield , and the three row galleys served in the Hudson River above New York , where all were eventually captured or sunk by the British . " Spy " served the purpose for which it was purchased , and was one of several ships sent to France in 1778 with news that Congress had ratified the Treaty of Alliance . Of the ships sent , she was the first to arrive ; unfortunately she was captured on the return voyage . All told , the Connecticut Navy captured about thirty prizes , but all of her ships were captured or destroyed by July 1779 . " Oliver Cromwell " was captured after an engagement off Sandy Hook , New Jersey , and " Guilford " was captured in July .