Anchors Away

The History 

The U.S. Navy from the Revolutionary War until 1898

Years after the revolutionary war, in 1793, America had no Navy. Federalists pushed for Naval expansion feeling that being without a Navy left them weak and vulnerable to attack. Partisan politics made things difficult, however as the Republicans held the opposite view. They thought that building a Navy would make them appear threatening and other nations would attack, thinking they were acting preemptively.

It wasn’t until Congress passed the Naval Act of 1794 that construction on Naval ships began; even then it was limited to only six Frigates. They were commissioned in order to fight the Algerians but a peace treaty was signed before the vessels saw completion. Congress agreed to let three ships be completed rather than stopping construction altogether. Eventually, Congress agreed to finish the other three ships as well. The Federalists were the driving force to acquire another twenty-four warships. After the XYZ affair and during the Quasi-War, Congress also allowed merchant vessels to equip themselves with arms as protection from the French.
The first Secretary of the Navy was Benjamin Stoddert. He was selected to relieve some of the burden off of James McHenry, the Secretary of War. Stoddert assembled fifty-four warships to escort merchant convoys to the West Indies and to fight French privateers.
When Jefferson took office as President of the United States, funding for the American Navy was

almost cut and the ships sold. However, when the pasha of Tripoli demanded an increase in the protection money the United States had been paying since the 1780’s, Jefferson discovered a new fascination with gunboats and had fifteen constructed in 1803. The boats were useful in shallow water, cheap to make, and easy to operate. By 1807 Congress agreed to build another two hundred and sixty-three of them.The gunboats did not provide much protection for merchants when the British began capturing American vessels and impressing American seamen to help fight the war against Napoleon.
By the War of 1812, the American Navy was made up of only sixteen ships. Seven of those ships were frigates with gun counts ranging from thirty-two guns to forty-four. The British Royal Navy was outfitted with around one thousand ships at this time. Fortunately, with France taking up most of their focus, they could only commit a portion of their Navy to the battle with the United States.
Communication between the branches of the American military was poor at best. Many times it was just plain nonexistent. Though where the land troops had to deal with older commanders and a lack of professional bearing, the Navy had the benefit of younger generals who had cut their teeth during the Quasi-War and the Tripolitan War. Most of these sixteen vessels cruised  like single sharks to prey on enemy war or merchant ships. There were several great single-ship victories this way since the larger American ships picked their targets carefully and often went after less well-armed combatants.
Congress authorized more ships in 1813 but the British had learned their lesson and gave orders to avoid single ship conflicts. Instead, they turned their focus to blockading the coast and trapping American ships in port. This outnumbered the Frigates and took advantage of the Navy’s lack of ships.

In 1816 America finally adopted a peacetime Naval building program. It had an annual budget of one million dollars but this was cut in half by 1821. Many of the ships originally authorized in 1816 were built but it was a slow process. A good portion of them ended up being taken out of active service as the Navy had begun to depend on smaller vessels, rather than seventy-four-gun ships.
The most important goal for the Navy was to protect America’s growing commercial enterprises. Pirates using small fast ships were the greatest threat to American Commerce. Frigates and heavy gun ladened ships were ineffective at fighting this menace because they were so slow and ungraceful. To meet this challenge the Navy Department created a battlefleet and divided it into squadrons. Then it had each squadron patrol or sail to different stations set at different geographical locations. In 1843 the battlefleet had six different squadrons.
Naval technology changed constantly. 1837 saw the completion of the first steam-powered warship, though it wasn’t very popular. The ships Missouri and Mississippi were seagoing paddle-

wheel vessels. Despite the advent of new steam technology, many Navy officers were reluctant to embrace steam powered ships. They didn’t like them. They thought they were clunky, dirty, and awkward to sail. There also wasn’t a lot of room left over for guns.
Screw propellers eventually replaced paddle wheels which made the ships a little more attractive since it reduced vulnerability. Improvements in engine design made steam powered vessels more equaled to their wind-powered counterparts as well. Though many still treated the steam engines as backup propulsion should their sails not be sufficient.
The American Navy had no Ironclads by the 1860’s yet, the use of steam powered engines completely change Navy tactics and strategy as ships were able to travel in straight lines rather than being at the mercy of the wind. Travel speed was increased by steam and it also made maneuvering close to shore easier.
The Naval Academy was opened in 1850 giving the maritime military something similar to West Point for the first time. In 1853-1854 Matthew C. Perry and his infamous black ships made their voyage to Japan and encouraged her to open her ports to American trade. The Navy was beginning to take on a more “commercial-diplomatic” role. This helped bring in revenue that launched the American economic status to one of the top in the world.

When the Civil War had broken out and the Union Navy was fundamental in the grand scheme of things. Without the fleet, General Winfield Scott’s Anaconda plan would not have been successful. The Union Navy blockaded the 3000 miles of Southern coast and prevented the Confederacy from gaining access to many foreign markets. Though there were smaller blockade running ships that evaded the fleet,the majority of Confederate foreign trade was hindered.
Both sides recognized the importance of a Navy and took great steps to ensure that their seafaring military was the best they could devise with the supplies allowed. Many maritime advancements in battle were made during this time as well as new tools for war. Yet it was the Union Navy that choked off the Southern ports, supported the land march inward, and brought victory to the Northern states.

Union Iron Clad

At the end of the Civil War, the United States had the second largest Navy in the world with 700 ships. Funding dwindled away after the war and the Navy ships became obsolete as the rest of the world marched forward with new technological advances. They became a source of amusement for other countries.
Congress finally authorized the Navy’s first new warships in 1883. It had been eleven years since the military branch saw its last new ship. Navy reform was slow. Stephen B. Luce helped prod it along by founding The Naval Institute. This private organization helped bring like skilled men together to discuss strategy, naval policy, and other issues. He also convinced the Naval Secretary to create the Naval War College.
Another advocate for the United States Navy was Alfred Thayer Mahan whose ideas not only influence the Navy but U.S. policy as well. Those who supported Mahan’s vision of the Navy pushed forward until a solid useful protective and offense sea force was formed. By 1898 and the Spanish-American war, the United States Navy was a force to be reckoned with.

The Story

A Sailor's Tale

(true story)

Bud was seventeen when the world went to war. America joined the fray during his second year of high school. The year was 1942 and the draft was coming for all able-bodied men not enrolled in college. Rather than be forced into the army, Bud and some friends, with the help of a lawyer, enlisted in the United States Navy.

Now at the age of 93, the old man still remembers what the young man saw. He remembers the waters churning red at Normandy. He remembers bodies in the water, lifeless floating food for the sharks. He remembers how cold the waters were in Germany were as he swam to plant explosives on wreckage blocking the channels where Allied ships needed to sail.

Bud remembers how cold the nights with no fires were. He remembers marching behind tanks and bedding down in fox holes with the metal behemoths circled around like wagons on the prairie. He remembers watching a man eating a piece of bread sitting on the tracks that propelled those armored tanks. He remembers a boy not more than ten, walking up to that man and shooting him in the head as the soldier offered to share his bread.

The old man remembers the how the young man had to march through the wreckage of towns. He remembers climbing over the rubble left by bombs dropped from the sky to suppress the enemy. And sometimes, even at the age of 93, Bud wakes with the smell of burning human flesh still strong in his nose.

During his life, Bud has held many jobs. He drove a truck for a living once and can remember the various places he visited just as he remembers the six countries he fought in during WWII. He has lived a full life and the past stays with him. Such is the curse of those who make history and the blessing of those fortunate enough to be told the stories.