Our Navy at war

After the Treaty of Paris was signed in 1783 to end the Revolutionary War and establish the United States as a sovereign nation, the Naval Act of 1794 established the first naval force that would eventually become the United States Navy. Its birthday, however, is Oct. 13, 1775, when Congress authorized a plan to equip and man two ships that would operate under the authority of Congress to raid commerce and attack the transports that supplied British forces in North America.

Due to a lack of funds to support the Navy, in 1785 Congress sold its last ship in the Continental Navy, the USS Alliance, noted for firing the last shot of the war. That same year, two American merchant ships were captured by Algiers, prompting Minister to France Thomas Jefferson to urge Congress to establish an American naval force to protect their passage through the Mediterranean. The 1794 Naval Act authorized the construction of six ships, and authorized pay and sustenance for officers and men to man them. Only the USS United States, USS Constellation and USS Constitution (Old Ironsides) were completed.

The Act specified that if a peace accord was announced between Algiers and America that construction would be halted. In March 1796 (there sure a lot of dates to keep track of) the peace accord was announced, construction was halted, and it wasn't until late in 1798 when France began to seize American merchant ships that Congress approved funds for the remaining three frigates, the USS President, USS Congress and the USS Chesapeake.

The USS Constitution is a three-masted, 44-gun frigate, and is the Navy's oldest commissioned warship. It defended sea lanes from 1797 to 1855, and served in the War of 1812. She defeated five British war ships, and the battle with HMS Guerriere earned her the nickname of "Old Ironsides" when Guerriere's cannon balls bounced off her sides. She is berthed at Pier 1 in the Charlestown Navy Yard in Boston, is a fully commissioned U.S. Navy ship, and sailed last Aug. 19 to honor the 200th anniversary of her decisive victory over the Guerriere. On her initial launch in 1797, however, it took three attempts to get underway. She kept getting stuck in the mud due to her heavy weight.

Rich in history and steeped with tradition, our United States Navy for 237 years has served and protected the United States. Naval battles and victories turned the tide of war in our favor. Tradition and dedication demonstrated by the Navy and it's sailors is testimonial to the greatness of the fabric United States.

One of the Navy's numerous battles ensued during the Civil War (1861-1865 in case you were asleep during history class) on March 9, 1862. The ironclad, armored turret gunboat USS Monitor was sent into action against the Confederate ironclad CSS Virginia the day after the Virginia battled the USS Congress and the USS Cumberland, destroying both and killing 240 crewmen in the Southern part of the Chesapeake Bay, in the area known as Hampton Roads, near the cities of Newport News, Hampton and Norfolk (now you know why you had to study geography).

The USS Merrimack, one of the ships in the Gosport Navy Yard in Norfolk after the Commonwealth of Virginia succeeded from the Union and joined the Confederacy, was burned to her waterline by the Confederate States Navy, refitted with a new upper hull, including armored casement and became the CSS Virginia. The battle was a tactical draw. The Monitor stayed near Fort Monroe in the North to protect the federal forces there. The Virginia stood close to Newport News trying to entice Monitor to get close enough to be boarded. Neither ship was boarded or seized.

The Virginia was scuttled May 11 after Confederate forces abandoned Norfolk. The Monitor sank on Dec. 31 in a storm that off Cape Hatteras, N.C. She was well suited as a river boat but was unseaworthy in rough waters.

For those who served, and the families of those who gave it all, watery graves pay silent tribute to heroic sailors and gives meaning to the Navy's motto "Non sibi sed patriae" (Not self but country).

Anchors Aweigh!

Jack Evensizer is a resident of Dalton Gardens.