Continental Navy The Continental Navy was the navy of the United States during the American Revolutionary War , and was formed in 1775 . Through the efforts of the Continental Navy ' s patron , John Adams , and vigorous Congressional support in the face of stiff opposition , the fleet cumulatively became relatively substantial when considering the limitations imposed upon the Patriot supply pool . The main goal of the navy was to intercept shipments of British matériel and generally disrupt British maritime commercial operations . Because of the lack of funding , manpower and resources , the initial fleet consisted of converted merchantmen , with exclusively - designed warships being built later in the conflict . Of the vessels that successfully made it to sea , their success was rare and the effort contributed little to the overall outcome of the rebellion . The fleet did serve to highlight a few examples of Continental resolve , notably launching Captain John Paul Jones into the limelight . It provided needed experience for a generation of officers who would later go on to command future conflicts which involved the early American navy . With the war over and the Federal government in need of all available capital , the final vessel of the Continental Navy was auctioned off in 1785 to a private bidder . Congressional oversight of construction . The original intent was to intercept the supply of arms and provisions to British soldiers , who had placed Boston under martial law . George Washington had already informed Congress that he had assumed command of several ships for this purpose , and individual governments of various colonies had outfitted their own warships . The first formal movement for a navy came from Rhode Island , whose State Assembly passed on 26 August 1775 , a resolution instructing its delegates to Congress to introduce legislation calling " " for building at the Continental expense a fleet of sufficient force , for the protection of these colonies , and for employing them in such a manner and places as will most effectively annoy our enemies . . . " " The measure in the Continental Congress was met with much derision , especially on the part of Maryland delegate Samuel Chase who exclaimed it to be " the maddest idea in the world . " John Adams later recalled , " The opposition . . . was very loud and vehement . It was . . . represented as the most wild , visionary , mad project that had ever been imagined . It was an infant taking a mad bull by his horns . " During this time , however , the issue arose of Quebec - bound British supply ships carrying desperately needed provisions that could otherwise benefit the Continental Army . The Continental Congress appointed John Adams , Silas Deane , and John Langdon to draft a plan to seize ships from the convoy in question . Creation . On 12 June 1775 , the Rhode Island General Assembly , meeting at East Greenwich , passed a resolution creating a navy for the colony of Rhode Island . The same day , Governor Nicholas Cooke signed orders addressed to Captain Abraham Whipple , commander of the sloop " Katy " , and commodore of the armed vessels employed by the government . The first formal movement for the creation of a Continental navy came from Rhode Island , because its merchants ' widespread smuggling activities had been severely harassed by British frigates . On 26 August 1775 , Rhode Island General Assembly passed a resolution that there be a single Continental fleet funded by the Continental Congress . The resolution was introduced in the Continental Congress on 3 October 1775 , but was tabled . In the meantime , George Washington had begun to acquire ships , starting with the schooner " Hannah " which was paid for out of Washington ' s own pocket . " Hannah " was commissioned and launched on 5 September 1775 , from the port of Beverly , Massachusetts . The US Navy recognizes 13 October 1775 as the date of its official establishment — the date of the passage of the resolution of the Continental Congress at Philadelphia , Pennsylvania that created the Continental Navy . On this day , Congress authorized the purchase of two vessels to be armed for a cruise against British merchant ships ; these ships became and . The first ship in commission was the which was purchased on 4 November and commissioned on 3 December by Captain Dudley Saltonstall . On 10 November 1775 , the Continental Congress passed a resolution calling for two battalions of Marines to be raised for service with the fleet . John Adams drafted its first governing regulations , which were adopted by Congress on 28 November 1775 and remained in effect throughout the Revolution . The Rhode Island resolution was reconsidered by the Continental Congress and was passed on 13 December 1775 , authorizing the building of thirteen frigates within the next three months , five ships of 32 guns , five with 28 guns and three with 24 guns . When it came to selecting commanders for ships , Congress tended to be split evenly between merit and patronage . Among those who were selected for political reasons were Esek Hopkins , Dudley Saltonstall , and Esek Hopkins ' son , John Burroughs Hopkins . However , Abraham Whipple , Nicholas Biddle , and John Paul Jones managed to be appointed with backgrounds in marine warfare . On 22 December 1775 , Esek Hopkins was appointed the naval commander - in - chief , and officers of the navy were commissioned . Saltonstall , Biddle , Hopkins , and Whipple , were commissioned as captains of the " Alfred " , " Andrew Doria " , " Cabot " , and , respectively . With this small fleet , complemented by the ( 12 ) , and ( 8 ) , and ( 10 ) , Hopkins led the first major naval action of the Continental Navy , in early March 1776 , against Nassau , Bahamas , where stores of much - needed gunpowder were seized for the use of the Continental Army . However , success was diluted with the appearance of disease spreading from ship to ship . On 6 April 1776 , the squadron , with the addition of the ( 8 ) unsuccessfully encountered the 20 - gun in the first major sea battle of the Continental Navy . Hopkins failed to give any substantive orders other than the order to recall the fleet from the engagement , a move which Captain Nicholas Biddle described as , " away we all went helter , skelter , one flying here , another there . " On Lake Champlain , Benedict Arnold ordered the construction of 12 Navy vessels to slow down the British fleet that was invading New York from Canada . The British fleet did destroy Arnold ' s fleet , but the US fleet managed to slow down the British after a two - day battle , known as the Battle of Valcour Island , and managed to slow the progression of the British Army . The Thirteen Frigates . By 13 December 1775 , Congress had authorized the construction of 13 new frigate s , rather than refitting merchantmen to increase the fleet . Five ships ( " Hancock " , " Raleigh " , " Randolph " , " Warren " , and " Washington " ) were to be rated 32 guns , five ( " Effingham " , " Montgomery " , " Providence " , " Trumble " , and " Virginia " ) 28 guns , and three ( " Boston " , " Congress " , and " Delaware " ) 24 guns . Only eight frigates made it to sea and their effectiveness was limited ; they were completely outmatched by the mighty Royal Navy , and nearly all were captured or sunk by 1781 . " Washington " , " Effingham " , " Congress " , and " Montgomery " were scuttled or burned in October and November 1777 before going to sea to prevent their capture by the British . , commanded by Captain James Nicholson , made a number of unsuccessful attempts to break through the blockade of Chesapeake Bay . On 31 March 1778 , in another attempt , she ran aground near Hampton Roads , where her captain went ashore . Shortly after , and appeared on the scene to accept her surrender . Guarding American commerce and raiding British commerce and supply were the principal duties of the Continental Navy . Privateer s had some success , with 1 , 697 letters of marque being issued by Congress . Individual states , American agents in Europe and in the Caribbean also issued commissions ; taking duplications into account more than 2 , 000 commissions were issued by the various authorities . Lloyd ' s of London estimated that 2 , 208 British ships were taken by Yankee privateers , amounting to almost $ 66 million , a significant sum at the time . Most of the eight frigates that went to sea took multiple prizes and had semi - successful cruises before their captures , however there were exceptions . On 27 September 1777 , participated in a delaying action on the Delaware River against the British army pursuing George Washington ' s forces . The ebb tide arrived and left the " Delaware " stranded , leading to her capture . was blockaded in Providence , Rhode Island , shortly after her completion , and did not break out of the blockade until 8 March 1778 . After a successful cruise under Captain John Burroughs Hopkins , she was assigned to the ill - fated Penobscot Expedition under Captain Dudley Saltonstall , where she was trapped by the British and burned on 15 August 1779 to prevent her capture . , captained by John Manley , managed to capture two merchantmen as well as the Royal Navy vessel . Later on 8 July 1777 , however , the " Hancock " was captured by HMS " Rainbow " of a pursuing squadron , and became the British man of war " Iris " . , under the command of Captain John Barry , captured three prizes before being run aground in action on 27 September 1778 . Her crew scuttled her , but she was raised by the British who refloated her for further use in the name of the Crown . , under the command of Captains Hector McNeill and Samuel Tucker , had captured 17 prizes in earlier cruises , and had carried John Adams to France in February and March 1778 . She was captured ( along with the frigate who had taken 14 prizes in her own service under Captain Abraham Whipple ) in the fall of Charleston , South Carolina on 12 May 1780 . The final frigate to meet her end of Continental service was the . " Trumbull " , which had not gone to sea until September 1779 under James Nicholson , had gained acclaim in bloody action against the Letter of Marque " Watt " . On 28 August 1781 , she met HMS " Iris " and " General Monk " and engaged . In the action , " Trumbull " was forced to surrender to the former American naval vessels ( the " General Monk " was the captured Rhode Island privateer " General Washington " , itself recaptured in April 1782 and placed in service with the Continental Navy ) . French naval collaboration . < / small > Before the Franco - American Alliance , the royalist French government attempted to maintain a state of respectful neutrality during the Revolutionary War . That being said , the nation maintained neutrality at face value , often openly harboring Continental vessels and supplying to their needs . With the presence of American diplomats Benjamin Franklin and Silas Deane , the Continental Navy gained a permanent link to French affairs . Through Franklin and like - minded agents , Continental officers were afforded the ability to receive commissions , survey , and purchase prospective ships for military use . Early in the conflict , Captains Lambert Wickes and Gustavus Conyngham operated out of various French ports for the purpose of commerce raiding . The French did attempt to enforce her neutrality by seizing and . However , with the commencement of the official alliance in 1778 , ports were officially open to Continental ships . The most prominent Continental officer to operate out of France was Captain John Paul Jones . Jones had been preying upon British commerce aboard the but only now saw the opportunity for higher command . The French loaned Jones the merchantman , " Duc de Duras " , which Jones refitted and renamed as a more powerful replacement for the " Ranger " . In August 1779 , Jones was given command of a squadron of vessels of both American and French ownership . The goal was not only to harass British commerce but also to prospectively land 1500 French regulars in the lightly guarded western regions of Britain . Unfortunately for the ambitious Jones , the French pulled out of the agreement pertaining to an invasion force , but the French did manage to uphold the plan regarding his command of the naval squadron . Sailing in a clockwise fashion around Ireland and down the east coast of Britain , the squadron captured a number of merchantmen . The French commander Landais decided early on in the expedition to retain control of the French ships , thereby often leaving and rejoining the effort when he felt it was fortuitous . On 23 September 1779 , Jones ' squadron was off Flamborough Head when the British man - of - war and HM hired ship " Countess of Scarborough " bore down on the Franco - American force . The lone Continental frigate , " Bonhomme Richard " engaged the " Serapis " . Partway through the battle , with the rigging of the two ships entangled , and several guns of Jones ' ship out of action , the captain of " Serapis " asked Jones if he had struck his colors , to which Jones has been quoted as replying , " I have not yet begun to fight ! " Upon raking the " Serapis " , the crew of the " Bonhomme Richard " led by Jones boarded the British ship and captured her . Likewise , the French frigate " Pallas " captured her prize the " Countess of Scarborough " . Two days later , the " Bonhomme Richard " sank from the overwhelming amount of shock she took from the struggle . The action stuck out as an embarrassing defeat for the Royal Navy , who suffered the capture of two of her vessels in her own home waters . In a like fashion , the French loaned the Continental Navy the use of the corvette . The one ship of the line built for service in the Continental Navy , the 74 - gun , was instead offered as a gift to France on 3 September 1782 in compensation for the loss of " Le Magnifique " in service to the American Revolution . France officially entered the war on 17 June 1778 , and the ships of the French Navy sent to the Western Hemisphere spent most of the year in the West Indies , and only sailed near the Thirteen Colonies during the Caribbean hurricane season from July until November . The first French fleet attempted landings in New York and Rhode Island , but ultimately failed to engage British forces during 1778 . In 1779 , a fleet commanded by Vice Admiral Charles Henri , comte d ' Estaing assisted American forces attempting to recapture Savannah , Georgia . In 1780 , a fleet with 6 , 000 troops commanded by Lieutenant General Jean - Baptiste , comte de Rochambeau landed at Newport , Rhode Island , and shortly afterwards the fleet was blockaded by the British . In early 1781 , Washington and de Rochambeau planned an attack against the British in the Chesapeake Bay area to coordinate with the arrival of a large fleet commanded by Vice Admiral François , comte de Grasse . Successfully deceiving the British that an attack was planned in New York , Washington and de Rochambeau marched to Virginia , and de Grasse began landing forces near Yorktown , Virginia . On 5 September 1781 a major naval action was fought by de Grasse and the British at the Battle of the Virginia Capes , ending with the French fleet in control of the Chesapeake bay . Protected from the sea by the French fleet , American and French forces surrounded , besieged and forced the surrender of British forces commanded by Lord Corwallis , effectively winning the war and leading to peace two years later . End of the Continental Navy . Of the approximately 65 vessels ( new , converted , chartered , loaned , and captured ) that served at one time or another with the Continental Navy , only 11 survived the war without having been destroyed , sunk , or captured . The Revolutionary War was ended by the Treaty of Paris in 1783 , and by 1785 the Continental Navy was disbanded and the remaining ships were sold . The frigate " Alliance " , which had fired the last shots of the American Revolutionary War , was also the last ship in the Navy . A faction within Congress wanted to keep the ship , but the new nation did not have the funds to keep her in service , and she was auctioned off for $ 26 , 000 . Other than a general lack of money , other factors for the disarmament of the navy were the loose confederation of the states , a change of goals from war to peace , and more domestic and fewer foreign interests .