On 13th of October 1775 the Continental Congress in Philadelphia passed a resolution creating the Continental Navy . Today that date is celebrated as the birth of the U.S. navy.
The Navy was to protect American trade from blockade by the ships of the British Empire and would also make it possible to intercept ships laden with supplies for the king’s forces in North America.
On 9 November 1775, word arrived that George III of Great Britain had refused the Olive Branch Petition, the Congress’s last-ditch effort to preserve peace with the mother country, and that the king had declared the colonies to be in a state of open rebellion. The Continental Congress now geared itself up for a protracted struggle on the seas. Birth of the US Navy
Born in Kirkcudbright, Scotland, John Paul Jones, served in the Continental Navy.
He was commissioned a lieutenant on the first American flagship, Alfred. Jones was quickly promoted to captain in 1776, and was given command of the sloop Providence. While on his first cruise aboard Providence, he destroyed British fisheries in Nova Scotia and captured sixteen prize British ships.
In command of Ranger in 1777 and 1778, he operated in British home waters and made audacious raids on England’s shore. In recognition of his exploits, he was placed in command of five French and American vessels. Aboard his flagship, Bonhomme Richard, Jones led his small squadron in the capture of seven merchantmen off the Scottish coast. On 23 September 1779, Jones fought one of the bloodiest engagements in naval history with the 44-gun Royal Navy frigate Serapis. Although his own vessel was burning and sinking, Jones would not accept the British demand for surrender, replying, “I have not yet begun to fight.” More than three hours later, Serapis surrendered and Jones took command. John Paul Jones
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.
After his great success in the Continental Navy, Jones was appointed rear admiral in the Russian navy in 1788 by Empress Catherine the Great. He served for a year and was to take up the post of U.S. Consul to Algiers but died before the commission arrived. His body was buried in Paris. Later it was reinterred in an ornate tomb at the Naval Academy Chapel at Annapolis, Maryland, in 1913.