U.S. Navy History: From Revolutionary War to Global Superpower

[Music] [Music] no land force can act decisively unless

it is accompanied by a maritime superiority for proof of this we have only to recur

to the instances of the ease and facility with which the British shifted their ground as advantages were to be

obtained at either extremity of the continent and to their late heavy loss the moment they failed in their Naval

superiority it follows then as certain as that night succeeds the day that without a decisive Naval Force we can do

nothing definitive and with it everything honorable and glorious I George Washington was writing to the

Marquee de Lafayette shortly after the Americans victory over the British at Yorktown in

1781 support by the French Navy at that battle and by both the French and Spanish navies earlier in the war had

been critical to winning the American Revolutionary War and securing Independence America had its own Navy

during the war but it was despairing small compared to the Navies of both its allies and its

enemies it's not that America lacked Sailors the former British colonies were stretched out along the coast Goods

shipped from Boston to Charleston were quite literally shipped and Merchant vessels maintained a steady flow of

goods between America and Europe as well as the Caribbean islands and many of the colonial Sailors

would have been experienced in Naval Combat on armed Merchant vessels granted letters of Mark and

reprisal these documents provided by Britain and other European nations gave private parties the authority to attack

enemy vessels do that without a letter of Mark and you're a pirate but with the proper

documentation you're a privateer during Britain's not in frequent Wars with France and Spain

American privateers got plenty of opportunities to learn how to man guns and board a

ship but privateers are not a Navy they lack the discipline coordination command and Firepower of Naval

warships throughout its history America's shipping and Coastal security had been protected by the greatest naval

power in the world the British royal Navy Britain had 131 ships of the line the most most powerful warships of the

day only about a third were battle ready but to combat them the Americans had none nor did they have a

Navy not until on October 13th 1775 when the Continental Congress passed the resolution creating the

Continental Navy they ordered the building of some vessels and the purchase of others by

the end of the year 17 ships were ready for service over the course of the war the Navy would only ever have about 65

ships fewer than a dozen would survive the war the rest being destroyed or captured America would need privateers

to augment the Navy between 1700 and 2,000 Privateer ships sailed on behalf of the new American Nation preying upon

British merchants and trans Port ships throughout the [Music]

war the first Captain given command of a continental Navy warship was John Barry considered by many to be the father of

the American Navy Barry captained the USS Lexington in

1776 capturing numerous enemy ships and he commanded the USS Alliance when it won the final naval battle of the

Revolutionary War in 1783 one of the most famous seen of the American Navy was the Scottish born John

Paul Jones appointed a first lieutenant of the Navy on December 22nd

1775 Jones was the first man to Hoist the American flag on a naval warship Jones had numerous successes at

Sea and it wasn't long before he was made captain during his service he commanded

various ships either as a captain or as a Commodore a senior captain of a naval squadron his most famous battle came

while he commanded a small Squadron of ships off the coast of England the flagship of the Squadron was a French

Merchant vessel which he had converted to a warship with a battery of 40 guns he renamed the ship Bon Hol Richard in

honor of Benjamin Franklin's Poor Richard's Almanac in September 177 9 Jones LED his

Squadron up and down the English Coast hunting Merchant ships Bound for London on September 23rd he spotted a

British Convoy of merchant ships carrying goods to England from the Baltic Sea region and Jones gave chase

the merchants were escorted by two British warships Jones chose the larger of the two the 50 gun sopus for battle

with the bonome Richard the sarus was bigger faster more maneuverable than Jones ship and its crew was much more

disciplined yet Jones threw his ship into the fight bringing the bonome Richard within pistol range of the

sopus things looked bad for the Americans over half the ship's officers had been killed or wounded the starboard

Gunnery was all but gone 18lb shot had pierced the hole of the ship multiple times s and it was

taking on water and so the captain of the cupus called out to Jones asking if Jones ship

had struck its colors meaning surrendered and Jones famously responded I have not even begun to

fight the ships pulled apart and the broadsiding continued but a fortunate wind and Joan

seamanship brought the Richard around and against the sopus bow to stern Jones lashed the ships together

and the Primary Weapons shifted from cannons to muskets the French Marines had lost

their captain and lieutenants so Jones took command of them and took up a musket to fire along with

them the British captain fought to separate the ships knowing that if the battle returned to broadsides from Canon

he was certain to win Jones knew that as well and he directed his French Marines to fire at

any British sailor attempting to Cut the Ropes holding the ships together fires broke out on both ships

multiple times half the men on both ships were killed or disabled one of the ships of Jon's

Squadron actually fired into both the Richard and sopus doing as much damage to Jones's ship as to the enemy

at one point one of the Richard's Gunners believing his ship to be sinking called out to the enemy for

quarter but before the British captain could respond Jones knocked his Gunner down with the butt of his

pistol again and again it seemed that Richard had no chance but then finally the battle turned in Jones's

favor he had ordered men to drop hand grenades into the sarapi main hatch now one

finally landed amid a pile of cartridges setting off a chain of explosions and killing many of the

British Jones's men began to board the sarapis and soon it was the British captain who struck his

colors and none too soon the bonome Richard had fought its last fight and sank into the

Atlantic but with the war Over America quickly determined that it could not afford for even the remnant of the Navy

that had survived it was disbanded in 1790 leaving only a small force of Revenue Cutters the predecessor to the

US Coast Guard to patrol the coast as a result us Merchant ships now had almost no protection from Pirates

prior to the Declaration of Independence American Merchant ships were protected from Pirates both by the Royal Navy and

by British treaties with North Afric ameran States but soon after the war pirates from the barbery coast began

taking American ships in 1784 Moroccan pirates captured an American Merchant vessel Algerian pirates captured more in

1785 and then continued over the next decade America began paying tribute to the

Pirates Congress reacted with the naval Act of 1794 which authorized the building of

six frigs four with 44 guns and two with 36 guns the original six frigs of the new

United States Navy were the USS United States the president the constellation the Chesapeake the

Congress and the Constitution designed by Joshua humph the USS Constellation was the first US

Navy V vessel put out to sea and also the first to defeat an enemy ship Humphrey designed the constellation

to be stronger than other frig class ships but faster than the more powerful ships of the line she was a 164 ft in

length with a 13 1/2t draft and carried 38 24 pounder guns another incentive for the Americans

to take more deliberate steps in developing the military was the increased tension with France in the mid

to late 1790s while America had been busy creating a government of by and for the

people France went through a revolution of its own and as American relations with Britain improved its relations with

now revolutionary France soured Britain was again engaged in hostilities with France the French were

angered by America's apparent siding with Britain and attacked American Merchant

vessels in 1798 Congress created the Navy Department to provide organizational structure to the service

and the US Marine Corps to add to the nation's defense the Navy sailed with dozens of

ships augmented by hundreds of privateers the US Force performed well capturing French ships and freeing some

some captured American Merchant ships in the new Navy's first major Triumph the USS Constellation captured

the French frigate lerant a fast 40 gun ship on February 9th 1799 the prospect of America align with

Britain was enough to calm tensions and bring the parties to the negotiating table war was averted though not in time

to save Adams from losing the 18 100 election to Jefferson and then it was time to deal

with the pirates for years America had been paying tribute to Pirates along the barbery coast but when Jefferson became

president he refused to pay anymore the nation was behind him with the battlecry Millions for defense but

not a penny for tribute quoting South Carolina representative Robert goodlow Harper who had spoken in regard to the

Quasi war with France but the convictions behind his words seemed all the more valid when the

enemies were pirates in response the Pasha of Tripoli in present day Libya declared war on the

United States President Jefferson sent a small Naval Force to the North African Coast to deal with the Pirates

the American ships were initially successful but in 1803 the frigate USS Philadelphia ran

around on an Uncharted Reef off of Tripoli Harbor the ship was captured and her

officers and men were held hostage by the Pasha the loss of the frigate

Philadelphia was bad but the prospect of its use by the enemy was worse the Americans couldn't leave the

Philadelphia to the tropolitan if it couldn't be captured it would have to be

destroyed 25-year-old Navy Lieutenant Steven deer led a small group of volunteers into Tripoli Harbor sneaking

in under the cover of night in a captured tropolitan catch or fishing boat Yale American history professor

Charles Henry Smith described decor's daring Mission the little catch now named the Intrepid with the company of

75 picked men on board entered the harbor of Tripoli on the N of February 16th 1804 and favored by the darkness

and by the very boldness of the undertaking which was enough to disarm suspicion reached the side of the

Philadelphia then the alarm of the americanos was raised and at the same instant deer sprang on board followed by

his company the Philadelphia was fully manned by tripolitan and these came rushing up on Deck From Below but

nothing could resist the impetuosity of decar's attack and in 10 minutes he had swept the enemy off into the water and

was in complete control of the ship but now the mission became even more hazardous the tropolitan

anticipating a possible attempt to destroy the Philadelphia had positioned it within range of over a 100 heavy guns

on Shore and 24 armed ships within the harbor the noise of the conflict on the Philadelphia had of course given the

alarm arm so that not a moment was to be lost quickly the men sprang to the different parts of the ship which they

had been detailed to set on fire and so thoroughly and rapidly was the work done that some of the firing parties had

barely time to reach the deck before being overtaken by Flame and smoke all was done with coolness and

precision even the rescuing of a wounded pirate who cannot Escape unated it from the Flames back on the Intrepid it

remained to get her out a very different matter from getting her in the burning ship lighted up the whole scene and the

retreating boat received the concentrated fire of the batteries and the ships slowly making her way out she

escaped as if by miracle and went out of range decer mustered his men and found that not one was lost and only one was

slightly wounded decor's capture and destruction of the Philadelphia made him a hero both

at home and abroad the Great British vice admiral Lord Horatio Nelson called it the most

bold and daring Act of the age decer was soon promoted to Captain and was later given command of the Naval

Yard at gosport which today is the norick Naval Shipyard and a few years later he

commanded the 44 gun frigate the USS United States in the War of 1812 Britain and France were again at

War and America was insisting in that it was a neutral party but Britain imposed trade

restrictions between America and France which was both a hardship and an insult to American

sovereignty furthermore Britain had captured British born Americans off of merchant sailing vessels and impressed

them into service in the Royal Navy add to that Britain's continued support of the Indian tribes in the

Northwest Territory providing arms to Indians who then raided American settlements and finally in 1812 America

could take no more on June 18th 1812 Congress declared war on Great

Britain less than a month later the frigate USS Constitution one of the original six frig of the US Navy ran

into a squadron of British ships off the coast of New Jersey The Constitution's Captain Isaac

Hall wrote to Secretary of Navy Paul Hamilton describing the encounter and the dramatic 3-day

chase at daylight or a little before it was quite light I saw one frig a Stern within about 5 or 6 miles and a line of

Battleship a frigate a Brig and Schooner about 10 or 12 miles directly a Stern all in Chase of us with a fine Breeze

and coming up very fast at being nearly calm where we were soon after Sunrise the wind and

entirely left us and the ship would not steer it soon appeared that we must be taken and that our Escape was impossible

four heavy ships nearly within gunshot and coming up fast and not the least hope of a breeze to give us a chance of

getting off by outs sailing them the enemy ships were being towed by six or eight boats each with all ores in

the water so that they moved quickly even without a breeze with no wind to move his own Ship

Hall at the suggestion of his Lieutenant Charles Morris used a technique called catching or warping to maneuver his

ship he sent boats out ahead of his ship with ropes hundreds of fathoms long tied to light

anchors when the anchors dropped the ropes pulled the Constitution forward and away from the

enemy but the enemy was soon using that same trick and the con stitution struggled to remain out of gunshot of

the larger Squadron finally after 3 days the Constitution was able to

escape then a month later the Constitution met again with one of its pursuers the HMS

guer Steven dear hero of the wars in Tripoli proved himself again during the War of

1812 it was while he was commanding the frigate USS United States on October 25th

1812 Charles Morris described the event Captain Steven dear while cruising between the azors and the canaries met

the British frigate Macedonian it will suffice to say of this conflict that after an hour's fight the Macedonian was

a helpless wreck while the United States showed little injury from the battle she had lost but 11 men and killed and

wounded while the Macedonian had lost more than 100 of her crew the result as before appears to have been due to the

comparative skill in G the Hall of the British ship being pierced by more than 100 shots while the American ship

received but three in return the HMS Macedonian surrendered and subsequently became the USS

Macedonian Captain dear sent a crew to repair the damage which took two weeks he then brought the prize ship back home

again becoming a national sensation Lieutenant Morris also described a later Triumph in the war

that was followed by a brave defeat Captain James Lawrence who had been one of the volunteers who followed

Steven dear in the burning of the Philadelphia was commanding the Sloop USS

Hornet on February 24 1813 the Sloop of War Hornet encountered the brick peacock off the mouth of the demarara River

South America the vessels were not unfairly matched in size and Armament yet so Swift and sure was the Yankee

fire that in 14 minutes the peacock's flag came down her Hull being so riddled that before all the crew could be taken

off she sank in recognition of his victory Captain Lawrence was given command of

the frigate USS Chesapeake [Music] Teddy Roosevelt who served as assistant

Secretary of the Navy before becoming president wrote of how the chesapeak changed

hands it provides an interesting view of how a ship was crewed in the Navy of 1812 it was very hard to get Sailors

most of the men preferring to ship in some of the numerous privateers where the discipline was less strict and the

chance of prize money much greater a few of the Constitution 's old crew came aboard and these together with

some of the men who had been on the Chesapeake during her former Voyage made an excellent nucleus such men needed

very little training at either guns or sails but the new hands were unpracticed and came on board so late that the last

draft that arrived still had their hammocks and bags lying in the boats stowed over the booms when the ship was

captured so with his unseasoned crew Lauren set sail from Boston Harbor the British frig Shannon under

the command of British captain Philip Brook was patrolling the harbor Captain brke was eager to strike

an American frigate to respond to the humiliating losses the British had taken so

far Teddy Roosevelt summed it all up the lessons taught by all this were the usual ones Lawrence's victory in the

Hornet showed the superiority of a properly trained crew to one that had not been properly trained and his defeat

in the Chesapeake pointed exactly the same way demonstrating in addition the Folly of taking a raw Levy out of

port Lawrence's death hit one of his fellow captains particularly hard Captain Oliver Hazard Perry named his

new ship in memory of his friend the USS Lawrence and he took as his Battle Flag

Lawrence's dying words don't give up the ship on September 10th 1813 Perry commanded a successful Fleet action

against a British Squadron of ships on Lake Erie the War of 1812 continued on

through 1813 and 1814 along the way Washington DC including the White House and capital

building was burned in August 1814 and then in September Baltimore faced Invasion as British warships tried

to enter the harbor for 25 hours the British ships reigned continuous fire on Fort McKenry

attempting to pass it and penetrate into the harbor but they failed to pass the fort

and succeeded instead in inspiring Francis Scott Key to write the poem the defense of Fort McHenry which would

eventually become the Star Spangled Banner but finally both sides grew tired of the costly but unproductive War on

Christmas Eve 1814 the two sides signed the Treaty of gent ending the conflict but the war had demonstrated

the value of a strong Navy with captains like dear and Perry and others becoming National

Heroes the war inspired some to a push for a Naval Academy similar to the US Military Academy at West Point but it

was decades before Navy secretary George boft was able to secure Congressional funding for the school in Annapolis

Maryland the naval school with a class of 50 opened in 1845 in 1850 it was renamed the United

States Naval Academy around this time in 1846 to 48 the United States was at war with

Mexico the Navy played a key role in two major actions during the war helping to secure us

victory in 1846 the US Navy's Pacific Squadron under Commodore robbert Stockton helped facilitate the capture

of California and in 1847 the US Navy and army conducted a joint operation the first

large scale amphibious assault conducted by the US military the naval force was commanded

during the landing by Captain Matthew C Perry younger brother to Oliver Perry Charles Morris described the

assault in March 1847 a fleet of 70 ships and transports was gathered before this report conveying the 12,600 men of

General Winfield Scott's Army of invasion it was decided to make the attack by a combined land and Naval

force and land batteries were planted which began the bombardment on March 22 1847 on March 25 the bombardment of

verac Cruz ceased at the request of the Mexicans 3 days afterwards the city was surrendered the war with Mexico would

soon end and as Charles Morris knows not many years afterwards Commodore Perry performed an important work not

only for the United States but for the Civilized world in the opening of Japan to Commerce and friendly intercourse for

several centuries the island Empire of Japan incensed at the behavior of its first Christian visitors had closed its

ports to the world and remained persistently isolated after the beginning of the 19th

century several efforts were made by European nations and particularly by Russia to put an end to this policy of

isolation but in vain Commodore Perry succeeded this mission in 1852 and reached Japan in the following

year with the Steamers Mississippi and cesana and the sailing ships Saratoga and

Plymouth the wall of Japanese isolation thus broken down all attempts at seclusion were soon given up the work of

Commodore Perry has proved of more advantage to Japan than to any other Other Nation since that country has

emerged from the position of an Empire absolutely without influence in the councils of the Nations into that of one

of the leading powers of the world Perry succeeded in his mission to Japan despite the loss of what had been

considered by many an essential tool for maintaining discipline on a ship flogging offenders with the cat nine

Tales the cat was made of nine pieces of cord with three knots tied into the end of each all tied to a short wooden

handle the captain could order offenders flogg with this upon their bare backs there were reports of sailors receiving

12 lashes for offenses as minor as spilling ink in 1850 Congress outlawed flogging

not surprisingly many old hands were not happy an anonymous nav officer wrote an article he titled a plea in favor of

maintaining fogging in the Navy to prepare ships of War for the services that may be desired of them at

any moment they are carefully provided with heavy armaments comprising the most improved inventions for the wholesale

destruction of human life and they are thronged with men who are more zealously taught to wield these instruments of

death than they ever were to fear fear God and obey his Commandments and there is always in

every ship a knot of abandoned and encourageable vagabonds sweepings of the jails and streets the outcasts of the

shore who heard with the vicious portion of the seamen and form a turbulent and unruly gang setting at Defiance all

moderate attempts to govern them and having the fixed purpose of shering Duty and overturning decency order and law on

board laws for the government of men thus banded together for the purpose of War are necessarily arbitrary and severe

the crew cannot be governed like any civil body because there is not nor can there be any parallel between their

different condition this concern was felt by far more than this Anonymous

officer and during the first few years after fogging was outlawed reports of insubordination increased as officers

sought new and more inventive ways to punish offenders but Commodore Perry knowing he

had a long journey with few ports of call chose instead to improve discipline by improving

morale he increased rations encouraged visits between ships and even theatrical Productions to entertain the crew his

trip was a great success which would have been impossible with an unruly crew Perry proved that discipline did not

require excessively harsh sanctions but the Navy's great successes with regard to foreign interests like

Japan and Mexico were not enough to prevent the United States from being ripped apart by domestic

Strife when people think of the Civil War they generally imagine the great armies of the union and Confederacy

blasting away at each other with Cannon and rifle but the Navies played a critical part in

the war indeed the ships created for this war and the battles between them would change Naval Warfare

forever in fact the battle that began the war involved control of a major Harbor 6 days after South Carolina

seceded and under the cover of Darkness Major Robert Anderson moved his regiment out of the indefensible federal

Fort mtry and into Fort Sumpter both forts were in South Carolina's Charleston Harbor but Sumpter

still under construction and previously unoccupied controlled the entrance to the

harbor Anderson was in a better position but he and his 85 men needed supplies arms and

reinforcements President Buchanan ordered civilian Merchant vessel the Star of the West to be used to make the

delivery hoping it would be seen as less antagonistic to the Confederates but as the Star of the West

approached Sumpter on January 9th 1861 cetes from The Citadel who were Manning the artillery battery on Morris

Island opened fire batteries from the now Confederate held Fort mtry joined in and the ship

was forced to withdraw months later South Carolina forces would open fire on Fort SU

capturing the fort and beginning the war in the early days of the war Union general-in-chief Winfield Scott proposed

a naval blockade as a means of subduing the South his Anaconda plan as it became

known involved using the union Navy to cut the Confederacy off from the rest of the

world while the plan was not enacted precisely as proposed the union Navy would maintain a blockade

of the Confederate ports throughout the war and the Confederate Navy once it came into existence would work to help

Smugglers Run the blockade and bring supplies to the southern states the two most famous ships of the

Civil War were the USS Monitor and the CSS Virginia this was the first meeting of

Ironclad warships and the whole world took notice noce on the first day of the battle the

Virginia which had been built from the remains of the US wooden warship the meramac sank two wooden Union ships and

crippled a third on the second day March 9th 1862 the USS monitor arrived and the two ironclads hammered at each other

eventually concluding in a draw Confederate Colonel John Taylor Wood wrote of the reaction to their

confrontation the Battle of Hampton Roads the engagement in Hampton Roads was in some respect the most momentous

Naval conflict ever witnessed no battle was ever more widely discussed or produced a greater sensation it

revolutionize the Navies of the world line of battleships those huge overgrown craft carrying from 80 to 120 guns and

from 500 to 1200 men which from the destruction of the Spanish Armada to our time had done most of the fighting

decided the fate of Empires were at once universally condemned as out ofd Rams and ironclads were in future to

decide all Naval Warfare after the battle of Hampton Roads both sides built more iron clads

the Union in particular was able to build a sizable force of 50 monitor class

ships the following month the union Navy with a small contingent of Marines had a more clear-cut Victory with the capture

of New Orleans Charles Morris described the campaign an attack on New Orleans was

suggested to the Navy Department by Commander David D Porter who proposed his leader of the Expedition David G

faragut mid shipment under his father in the old Essex 50 years before the suggestion was accepted and faragon

appointed flag officer of the fleet and on February 20 18 19 62 he reached Ship Island near the mouth of the Great River

of the West beginning April 18 for 6 days the mortar boats kept up a steady fire while

on the 20th Lieutenant Caldwell in the gunboat atasa made a dash upon the river chain which he succeeded in Breaking at

2:00 on the morning of the 24th of April the advance up the river began the mor boats poured shells into Fort Jackson in

a steady stream the fight with the Confederate vessels was more severe than that with the

Fords the Kuka the first to encounter them was soon reinforced by others and for some time a Brisk battle went on the

Louisiana proved of little service and the Manasses after a vigorous effort to Ram some of the Union ships was run

ashore and abandoned by her crew the battle ended in the Flight of the unheard Confederate craft the union

Fleet following triumphantly up the stream and reaching the levies of New Orleans at 1:00 in the afternoon of

April 25 faragate demanded the surrender of New Orleans the city rejected his demand

at first but finally did surrender on April 28th the capture of New Orleans was a

resounding victory for which Congress honored faragut by promoting him to rear Admiral faragate is perhaps a bit more

famous however for his words at the Battle of Mobile Bay historian Mabel BBE wrote of the action

at Mobile Bay in August 1864 a double line of torpedoes or submarine mines was stretched across the

channel Above This lay the Confederate Fleet one of these vessels the Tennessee was a huge iron ramik the

miramac the Squadron of Admiral faragate was a strong one there were 24 wooden War vessels and

four ironclads like the monor the four iron clouds were sent ahead close to the forts the wooden War

vessels followed lashed together in pairs this was done so that if one vessel became disabled it could be towed

by the other faragut wished to lead the fleet in his Flagship to Hartford but his officers assaded him and the

Brooklyn went first the Hartford followed during the battle Admiral faragate climbed high up into the

rigging so that he could see past the blinding smoke fearing that the Admiral might fall from the height one of his

men eventually had to tie faragut to the rigging the Ironclad tumsa was now leading the fleet suddenly there was a

muffled explosion a stern of the tumsa rose out of the water and she plunged bow foremost to the bottom of the

channel this was a critical moment of the battle the backing of the Brooklyn caused confusion among the vessels

following so closely upon each other there was tremendous cheering and firing from the Confederates they were sure

that the victory was theirs fargate was unwilling to give them that Victory famously he called out

damn the torpedoes Full Speed [Music] Ahead despite these great Naval battles

most of the water-based combat of the Civil War was not on the Open Seas but along the nation's vast network of

rivers the so-called brownwyk major cities and forts when they captured Vicksburg and Port Hudson they

had complete Command of the Mississippi cutting the Confederacy in half Union rear Admiral Henry walk wrote

of the gunboats that the union used so effectively during the Spring and Summer of 1861 Commander John Rogers purchased

altered equipped and manned for immediate service on the Ohio and Mississippi rivers Three Wooden gunboats

the Tyler of six 8in shell guns and two 32 Pounders the Lexington of four 8in shell guns and 2 32 Pounders and the

conastoga of 4 32 pounder guns this nucleus of the Mississippi flotilla was completed with great skill and Dispatch

they soon had full possession of the western Rivers above Columbus Kentucky and rendered more important service than

as many regiments could have done on October 12th 1861 the St Louis afterward known as deal the first of the

Ironclad gunboats was launched the other ironclads were launched soon after on the evening of the 6th of

November 1861 I received instructions from General Grant to proceed down the Mississippi with the wooden gunboats

Tyler and Lexington on a reconnaissance and as Convoy to some half a dozen transport Steamers but I did not know

the character of the service expected of me until I anchored for the night 7 or 8 mil below Cairo early the next morning

while the troops were being landed near Belmont Missouri I attacked the Confederate batteries as a

diversion soon after we returned to the landing place our troops began to appear the Confederates came on mass through a

corn field and opened with musketry and light artillery upon the transports which were filled or being filled with

our retreating soldiers a well-directed fire from the gunboats made the enemy fly in the greatest

confusion the river gun boats provided critical support to troops in the western theater throughout the

war during the Civil War the Navy which had historically been less racially segregated than the Army had black

Sailors in its ranks even before the Emancipation Proclamation former slaves and free

blacks served with distinction in the union Navy men like Robert

Blake Blake had been a slave in South Carolina until he was freed in 1862 by Union

forces he then volunteered to serve on Navy ships eventually serving as a steward on the gunboat USS

Marblehead on Christmas Day 1863 the Marblehead was shelled by Confederate artillery on John's Island

South Carolina an explosion knocked Blake to the deck and when he rose he saw the

powder boy who had been Manning a gun had been killed although he was not serving in a

combat role Blake took over the powder boy's job carrying gunpowder boxes to the artillery loaders throughout the

battle for his actions Under Fire Robert Blake was awarded the Congressional Medal of

Honor after the Civil War the Navy was rapidly downsized David faragut was made the

nation's first full Admiral before 1862 there was no official rank above Captain despite

complaints as far back as John Paul Jones arguing for the need to clarify the senior most captains during larger

operations the term Admiral seemed to carry a sense of royalty going back to the days of the royal Navy so for

decades Congress refused to create a higher rank then in 1862 with the rapidly growing Navy

during the war Congress finally authorized nine rear Admiral posts in

1864 David Farragut was made the first vice admiral a position above rear Admiral and in 1866 faragate was

promoted to full Admiral an American first farragut's adopted brother David Dixon

Porter was made vice admiral at the same time filling farragut's old position faragate died in 1870 and

Porter eventually became Admiral Porter had been a successful captain and rear Admiral during the war after the war he

was made superintendent of the US Naval Academy where he instituted a number of reforms such as the honor System he also

brought organized Sports to the the academy which would eventually lead to an all new meaning behind The Cry go

Navy and the need for improved training was clear particularly with regard to the advances in weapons

technology but despite the improvements to training and weaponry the Navy was actually in

Decline exhausted by the Civil War focused on reconstruction the nation did not wish to to devote resources to its

Fleet as a result by the late 1870s the US Navy had fallen behind the other nations of the

world legislation in 1883 authorized the construction of new steel warships these ships were sometimes

called the ABCD ships named Atlanta Boston Chicago and dolphin these ships were were hybrids

they were given steel holes and Powerful steam engines but were also able to run under

saale but eventually the masts and sails were removed acknowledging the power of the coal powerered steam

[Music] engines the new steel Navy would prove itself in the Spanish American

war but the war would begin tragically for the Navy with the sinking of the battleship USS

Maine the main was in Havana Harbor sent there to protect us interests during the Cuban

revolt on February 15th 1898 the main exploded without warning killing most of her crew 266

men though today it is believed that the explosion was probably caused by a spontaneous combustion of coal in the

bunker next to the magazine at the time it was widely believed that the ship was sunk by a Spanish

mine America was soon at war with Spain the first battle between us and Spanish forces was at Manila Bay in the

Philippines under then Commodore George dwey on May 1st 1898 Commodore dwey had been with David

faragate when the rear Admiral had exclaimed Damn the Torpedoes Full Speed Ahead

Dewey followed his old Admiral's advice and pressed forward soon The Guns of the batteries

in the Spanish Fleet began to pour a storm of shot and shell at the American Squadron but as yet commodor dwey had

not fired a gun finally Commodore dwey said quietly to the captain of the Olympia you may

fire when ready Gridley the flagship was now within range and suddenly one of the Great Guns sent an answering shot as its

Echoes went rolling across the waters every man in the American Fleet joined in the shout remember the main these

words were the battlecry at Manila Bay slowly the American vessel steamed by the Spanish Squadron in a single file

pouring in deadly broadsides as they passed the Marksmanship of the Americans was wonderful and at the end of two

hours nearly every ship in the Spanish Fleet had either been sunk or was on fire D's Asiatic Squadron had C captured

Manila Bay with only nine of his own men wounded and none killed one of the heroes of the

Spanish-American war was Teddy Roosevelt the former assistant Secretary of the Navy a few years later he was President

of the United States and he was quite willing to demonstrate to the world America's new strong

Navy when he advised speak softly and car a big stick you will go far the stick he had in mind was the US

Navy in 1907 President Roosevelt sent 16 Naval battleships on a mission to circumnavigate the

globe the ships painted white to demonstrate America's commitment to peace through strength became known as

the Great White Fleet these were all modern ships of the the steel Navy built since the end of

the Spanish American war they sailed out in four squadrons manned by 14,000 Sailors and Marines and commanded by

rear Admiral Charles S Sperry they would visit 20 Port of calls on six continents on a 14-month cruise

covering over 43,000 mil the primary purpose was to impress upon Japan the ability of the US Navy to

Pivot from the Atlantic to the Pacific tensions were running high at the time Roosevelt wanted to avoid a war

and believed the Imperial Japanese government needed to see America's strength to be dissuaded from taking

aggressive actions the fleet left Hampton Roads Virginia on December 16th 1907 and

reached San Francisco on May 8 1908 along the way they stopped in Trinidad Brazil Chile Peru and

Mexico at the time most people thought that the Expedition would end there with the fleet having reached the Pacific in

excellent Time In First Class shape but the fleet continued visiting Honolulu New Zealand Australia Japan

China the Philippines Sri Lanka Egypt Gibralter and then back to Hampton Roads on February 22nd

1909 the trip was successful in its goal of easing tensions with Japan that visit had gone extremely well thanks in large

part to Admiral Perry's diplomatic skill it also demonstrated the capabilities of the Navy which made the

journey without serious incident and it succeeded in raising the morale of the

nation but the trip also gave the Navy information about design defects and areas of

improvement and it demonstrated the need for bases overseas for refueling and Supply these lessons would strengthen

the Navy even further and adjust the right time for in less than a decade American

Sailors soldiers and Marines would cross the Atlantic on route to World War I in less than a century and a half

America's Navy went from non-existent to one of the greatest sea powers in the world but the Growing Power of America's

Navy was only just beginning and America's Sailors would continue to prove the truth of George

Washington's words that with a decisive Naval Force America can do everything honorable and

glorious in every corner of the globe and located in any of the seven oceans of our world you will find

representatives from the United States Navy recurrent in the history of the United States Navy are attempts to

dismantle and discard the wrongly maligned seagoing force from the disbandment of the Navy after the

American Revolution to efforts after World War II when a few short-sighted individuals thought that armed conflict

could be resolved by an airplane or a single bomb alone in the last two centuries the

United States Navy has more than proven its worth and secured its place among our armed forces and its place is

everywhere and anywhere as President Bill Clinton once said the word of Crisis breaks out in

Washington it's though ask that the first question that comes to everyone's lips is where is your deest

parent using the most advanced technology and maintaining a presence as a first responder to natural

disasters and a first line of defense should Any Nation seek to attack the United States or any of her allies is

the mission of the United States Navy join us in our continued look at the history battles and the men and

women of the United States Navy a good Navy is not a provocation to war it is the shest guarantee of

Peace notice Travelers intending to embark on the Atlantic Voyage are reminded that a state of War exists

between Germany and her allies and Great Britain and her allies that the zone of War includes the waters adjacent to the

British Isles that in accordance with formal notice given by the the Imperial German government vessels flying the

flag of Great Britain or any of her allies are liable to destruction in those Waters and that Travelers Sailing

In The War Zone on the ships of Great Britain or her allies do so at their own risk Imperial German Embassy Washington

DC 22nd April 1915 in April of 1915 German submarine forces known to

most of the world as OTS had begun in Earnest a trade blockade of the United Kingdom and other allies in

Europe This essentially meant that German submarine crews assumed that any ships passing through or near the area

of blockade would be a threat either directly as warships or indirectly through secretly stowing military

ordinance or other supplies the ocean liner RM M Lusitania had operated for the kunard

line since 1907 at the outbreak of World War I she took precautions to avoid enemy ships

such as painting the hull a slate gray but still operated as a passenger liner by the time of German exclusion

Lucitania had returned to civilian colors and was no longer as cautious as she had been at the outp break of the

hostilities indeed the Lucitania patronage had dwindled somewhat and in spite of warnings placed in New York

newspapers by the German Embassy in the weeks before launch on May 1st 1915 with nearly 2,000 passengers and

crew the ocean liner set sail from New York City in route to Liverpool the ship's Home

Port 7 Days Later the ship was identified and shot by Torpedoes from the German uboat

u20 the liner sank in 20 minutes 11 M off the old head of kinale Ireland the Lucitania was not equipped

with enough lifeboats for the scrambling passengers and crew and the attack killed

1,198 people including many American citizens the attack would prove instrumental in

the decision at long last for the United States of America to enter into World War

I in 1913 President woodro Wilson assigned future President Franklin Delano

Roosevelt to serve as assistant Secretary of the Navy under Secretary of the Navy Josephus

Daniels Daniels himself was an Ardent supporter of the Navy and measures taken by Daniels such as barring liquor from

Navy ships and forbidding prostitution within 5 miles of any navy installation served to create a strong and efficient

fighting force Roosevelt backed these measures wholeheartedly and was just as adamant

in his negotiations with Congress and other government departments when it came to budgets and with ship Builders

and other contractors that sought to undermine union ship Builders during FDR's time as assistant

secretary not a single ship Builder strike occurred Roosevelt's measures helped

expand the Navy exponentially including the founding and development of the United States Navy Reserve as well as

acting as an early proponent of submarine warfare to combat the German ubot

Fleet shortly before the sinking of the Lucitania when it had become clear that Germany was engaged in allout submarine

war Roosevelt urged President Wilson to allow the Navy to outfit for war Wilson

refused by the following year the United States Navy had been mobilized into action on the Seas surrounding the

United Kingdom as World War I drew to a close Roosevelt oversaw the demobilization effort but

outright opposed the emerging ideas about dismantling the Navy altogether Roosevelt later said our

security is not a matter of weapons alone the arm that wields them must be strong the eye that guides them clear

the will that directs them indomitable Germany's Fleet of OTS

numbered only 29 however in the beginning 10 weeks of World War I the submarine Force had sunk

or disabled five British Cruisers the Germans practiced unrestricted Warfare meaning that their

Torpedoes fired indiscriminately at Merchant and passenger ships as well as military

vessels President Wilson repeatedly warned and scolded the Germans who ignored the president's threat of United

States entry into the war finally on November 17th 1917 the United States Navy destroyers

the US Fanning and the USS Nicholson became involved in the first victory over the ubot

the German sub u58 moved to attack the British merchant ship SS Welshman when the Fanning and

Nicholson dropped depth charges and opened fire on the ubot when she surfaced the battle ended in German

surrender it would be the first of only a handful of Victories over the nigh Unstoppable enemy Subs in World War I

after the Continental Navy was disbanded in 1790 the United States Revenue cutter

service was formed for the 8 years that the United States operated without a Navy the

Cutters were the only seagoing Armed Force in operation founded by then treasury

secretary Alexander Hamilton Revenue Cutters saw action in the Quasi War with France as well as in the War of 1812

alongside the recently formed United States Navy in 1848 a combination of state and local humanitarian efforts led

to the formation of the United States life saving service its mission was the search and

rescue of Shipwrecked merchant seamen and passengers aiding in natural disasters such as the great Carolina

hurricane of 1854 in 1915 these two Services officially

merged to form the United States Coast Guard it was from the life saving Services 1899 regulation manual that the

Coast Guard's unofficial motto came you have to go out but you don't have to come

back the manual outlined the never give up Never Say Die attitude that must be the way of life for all who serve in the

Coast Guard in attempting a rescue the keeper will select either the boat breaches

buoy or life car as in his judgment is best suited to effectively cope with the existing conditions if the device first

selected fails after such trial as satisfies him that no further attempt with it is feasible he will resort to

one of the others and if that fails then to the remaining one and he will not assist from his efforts until by actual

trial the impossibility of affecting a rescue is demonstrated the statement of the keeper that he did not try to use

the boat because the sea or surf was too heavy will not be accepted unless attempts to launch it were actually made

and failed or unless the confirmation of the coast as Bluffs precipitous Banks Etc is such as to unquestionably

preclude the use of a boat the Coast Guard began to prepare for World War I prior to the official US

declaration of war on April 6th 1917 the year prior was spent updating Telephone and Telegraph Communications

and improving upon lighthouses and Aid and rescue stations after the official declaration

came the Coast Guard was placed under the operational control of of the US Navy with the Coast Guard's 4,000

officers and men and 44 vessels working in tandem with the Navy in search and rescue as well as combat operations

during the Great War during the War of 1812 the United States Navy suffered

from an enormous lack of enlisted men as such they placed no restriction on the enlistment of black men during

that time and it soon came to be that 25% of the squadrons fighting at the Battle of Lake Erie were

African-Americans during the Mexican war African-American men served on the USS treasure and the USS Columbus and during

the Civil War more than 100,000 of these former slaves served as part of the Union

Navy however the employment of black men in the Navy was abruptly curtailed after 1900 paralleling the rise of Jim Crow

and legalized segregation in much of America was the cutback in the number of black Sailors who by 1909 were mostly in

the galley and the engine room it is hereby declared to be the policy of the president that there shall be equality

of treatment and opportunity for all persons in the armed service without regard to race color religion or

national origin on July 26th 1948 President Harry S Truman issued executive order

9981 abolishing segregation in the military the United States Navy had a varying history with enlisted black men

dating back to the War of 1812 and the Spanish American war where The Fleets were made up of anywhere from 20 to 40%

African-Americans to World War I where black men were almost excluded from enlistment allog

together serving in only such roles as mess Duty and coal passing they made up only around 1% of the Navy's

enlistment after the Great War from 1922 through 1932 policy prohibited African-Americans

from enlisting at all with Truman's order segregated

fleets and units were to be a thing of the past although the last all black units saw combat in Korea in

1950 after the attack on Pearl Harbor during World War II Dory Miller became the first African-American to be honored

with the Navy cross for his actions during the attack a cook third class Miller operated a

machine gun on the deck of the USS West Virginia Miller had no training on the weapon but held off enemy fire and is

credited with shooting down at least one Japanese fighter plane for distinguished Devotion to duty extraordinary courage

and disregard for his own personal safety during the attack on the fleet in Pearl Harbor territory of Hawaii by

Japanese forces on December 7th 1941 while at the side of his captain on the bridge Miller despite enemy strafing

and bombing and in the face of a serious fire assisted in moving his captain who had been mortally wounded to a place of

Greater safety and later manned and operated a machine gun directed at enemy Japanese attacking aircraft until

ordered to leave the bridge should hostilities once break out between Japan and the United States it

would not be enough that we take Guam and the Philippines nor even Hawaii and San Francisco to make Victory certain we

would have to March into Washington DC and dictate the terms of Peace in the White House I wonder if our politicians

who speak so lightly of a Japanese American war have confidence as to the final outcome and are prepared to make

the necessary sacrifices in 5 hours on December 7th 1941 the Japanese sank or severely

damaged eight battleships 10 smaller warships and over 200 American aircraft

24,000 us Soldiers and Sailors lost their lives in what was essentially a surprise

attack there was no formal declaration of war but sure enough the attack itself one of the worst defeats in US Naval

History brought the United States armed forces into World War II 10 days after the Pearl Harbor

attacks the US Pacific Fleet received a new commander-in-chief Admiral Chester

Nemitz his swearing in ceremony was on the deck of the submarine USS gring protocol dictated that this

ceremony take place on board a battleship however all available battleships

stationed at Pearl Harbor had been sunk or badly damaged Nimitz who had commanded

battleships Cruisers and destroyers between the wars and served on destroyers in World War I was quick to

mobilize Navy forces in an effort to drive the Japanese from their recently occupied territories in the

Pacific in spite of the devastating loss of vessels supplies and Manpower Nimitz was able to use all available forces to

Halt the Japanese advance in the Pacific as more men and warships became available the fleet commander went on

the offensive with successful Naval campaigns such as the battle of the Coral Sea and the Solomon Islands

campaign including the Battle of Midway he led successful amphibious attacks on Japanese stations in iojima

and okanawa the latter operation was later called the last great battle of the

war the ferocity of the combat actions left 12,000 Americans dead but the Japanese lost over

100,000 it was this battle that cemented the Navy's decision not to invade the Japanese Mainland and instead suggest

the use of the atomic bomb to incur Japan's surrender when the Japanese officially

surrendered on September 2nd 1945 Admiral Chester Nimitz signed the instrument of surrender as the official

representative of the United States President Franklin Roosevelt needed a senior military officer to

advise him as the US entered World War II his Choice was Fleet Admiral William Ley in the Navy since

1897 Ley served in the Spanish American War as well as the Philippine American War and the first world

war Lei had formerly served as governor of Puerto Rico from 1939 through 1940 establishing military bases and

initiating various Public Works projects on the island he had also served as an

ambassador to France shortly after that Nation had come under German occupation in

1941 where his job as Ley himself put it was to keep the French on our side in so far as

possible he was recalled to the United States in May of 1942 and two months later he was the

highest ranking member of the United States military taking orders only from the president

in effect he was the first chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff his knowledge of foreign policy

was of great use to Admiral Lei who became the first naval officer to ever hold a five-star Rank and was a conduit

for all major military decisions of World War II when the atomic bomb was first developed Le he strongly opposed

its use on the enemy [Music] once it had been tested President Truman

faced the decision as to whether to use it he did not like the idea but he was persuaded that it would shorten the war

against Japan and save American lives it is my opinion that the use of this barbarous weapon at Hiroshima and

Nagasaki was of no material assistance in our war against Japan the Japanese were already defeated and ready to

surrender because of the effective sea blockade and the successful bombing with Conventional

Weapons my own feeling was that in being the first to use it we had adopted an ethical standard common to The

Barbarians of the Dark Ages I was not taught to make Wars in that fashion and that Wars cannot be won

by destroying women and children 6 months after the attack on Pearl Harbor the United States Navy

entered into 3 days of fighting that would prove pivotal in the Pacific Theater of

operations thanks to American code Breakers the Navy learned the date and location of a planned Imperial Japanese

Navy attack on Midway atal located at the Northwestern end of Hawaii Admiral Nimitz mobilized every

available aircraft carrier and a total of 41 planes including Grumman tbf1 Avengers the force was enough to

surprise the complacent Japanese attackers the battle at Midway saw four Japanese

aircraft carriers sunk as well as a Heavy Cruiser the United States Navy lost one

carrier and one Destroyer along with 307 Soldiers and Sailors the Japanese lost almost 10

times that number this decisively defeated the Japanese and served as a Tipping Point

in the favor of US forces in the Pacific there are no great men just great challenges which ordinary men out of

necessity are forced by circumstances to meet a 1904 graduate of the Naval Academy William bull Hy became one of

the few officers to ever be promoted to Lieutenant directly from ensen skipping over the lieutenant

Junior grade rank entirely in 1909 Hy began his career on the USS Dupont a

torpedo boat Torpedoes and torpedo boats would become a specialty of his and from 1912

through 1913 he commanded the first group of the Atlantic fleet's torpedo

flotilla as the Navy evolved so did Hy he began to see the aircraft carrier as a crucial offensive weapon system

rather as a mere defense mechanism to which some would relegate the vessels if anything gets in my way we'll

shoot first and argue afterwards Hy was not hesitant to strike and strike

hard his Flagship the USS Enterprise was at Sea returning to his home base Pearl Harbor when it was attacked on December

7th 1941 later his carrier took part in raids on Japanese controlled Islands as

well as the doitt raid which dropped bombs on Japan's mainland in direct response to the Pearl Harbor

attack illness kept Hy from commanding his ship at the Battle of Midway but in October of

1942 Hy returned to command his ship for the actions at Grotle Canal where Navy Air Force and Marine Personnel were able

to sink a total of two two Japanese battleships three destroyers 11 transports and downed 64 aircraft

effectively blocking supply routes from Japan that were key in taking the Solomon

Islands Naro Island Commander native knows position he can pilot 11 alive need small boat

Kennedy that mess Mage was carved on a coconut and was to be the savior of 11 men in the Pacific Theater of World War

II on August 2nd 1943 between Arundel and colum bangara in the Solomon Islands the Japanese

destroyer ship amagiri moving swiftly in the night to avoid United States detection ran down the motor torpedo

boat PT 109 it is unknown whether the Destroyer meant this course of action or if they

simply did not see the United States Navy vessel in the dark Waters in any event the crew of PT 109

had only 10 seconds to respond to the impending enemy vessel 109 as well as PT 162 and PT 169 were patrolling the area

in search of enemy ships when the amagiri surprised them after the boat struck PT 109

cutting it in half PT 169 fired upon the amagiri missing it assuming the crew of PT 109 lost 169

and 162 returned to base in fact only two crew members aboard PT 109 were killed the rest were led to the safety

of a nearby Island by their Commander a Harvard varsity swim team alumnus Lieutenant Junior ior grade John F

Kennedy the crew placed their shoes and non-swimmers on a Timber used as a gun mount and kicked their feet for 4 hours

Landing 3 and a half miles away on the deserted Plum Pudding Island one of the few islands in the area not home to a

Japanese installation when the island was found to be without food or drinkable water

Kennedy then swam another 2 miles to find a habitable Island after relocating to a nearby

island with fresh water and coconuts for food the men were discovered by two natives who had been dispatched by an

Australian coast Watcher Kennedy then carved his message on a coconut shell and sent the natives

to the nearest US Navy base at Renova and the PT 157 rescued Kennedy's beleaguered

crew country I can imagine no more rewarding at Korea and any man who may be asked in this Century what he did to

make his life worthwhile I think can respond with a good deal of pride of satisfaction I served in the United

States Navy like many Americans the attack on Pearl Harbor inspired George Herbert

Walker Bush to enlist in the United States military he became a Naval aviator at 18

as part of the US Navy Reserve at the time the youngest Aviator in Navy history as a part of the torpedo

Squadron VT 51 his lanky physique earned him the nickname skin and his unit was victorious in one of the largest air

battles of the war the battle of the Philippine Sea on August 1st

1944 Bush was promoted to Lieutenant Junior grade and was stationed on the carrier USS San

jinto as his Squadron commenced attacks on Japanese installations on Chichi gima in the Bonine Islands Bush's Grumman TBM

Avenger aircraft was shot and even though one of the engines caught fire bush and his crew completed the mission

releasing bombs over their targets Bush was forced to bail out of the Avenger and the other three crew

members were lost he survived in an inflatable raft for 4 hours with Japanese Fighters

flying overhead until his Rescue by the USS finback this Mission earned him the

distinguished flying cross for heroism and extraordinary achievement in aerial flight as pilot of

a torpedo plane in torpedo Squadron 51 attached to the USS San jinto in action against enemy Japanese forces in the

vicinity of the Bonine Islands on September 2nd 1944 leading one section of a four plane

division in a strike against a radio station Lieutenant Junior grade Bush pressed home in an attack in the face of

intense anti-aircraft fire although his plan was hit and set a fire at the beginning of his dive he

continued his plunge toward the target and succeeded in scoring damaging bomb hits before bailing out of the craft his

courage and Devotion to duty were in keeping with the highest traditions of the United States naval

Reserve to the superb officers and Men on land on sea in the air and undersea who have performed such magnificent

Feats for our country in the past few days you have written your names in Golden letters on the pages of history

and won the undying gratitude of your countrymen my pride in you is beyond expression no honor for you could be too

great magnificently done God bless each and every one of you to the Glorious dead hail Heroes rest with

God during World War I the United States Navy became the first branch of the American Military to allow women to

enlist in a non- nursing capacity yman or yanets served largely in clerical

capacities however many enlisted women went on to become radio operators electricians draftsmen pharmacists

photographers telegraphers fingerprint experts chemists torpedo assemblers and

camouflage designers World War II also saw a need for expanded Personnel this time

recruiting women into a special auxiliary women appointed for voluntary emergency service or waves serving on

the continental United States and Hawaii after both World War I and two US Navy enlisted women were either

discharged or less commonly held in reserve status however with the passage of the women's armed services

integration Act of 1948 women were made a permanent part of the United States armed

forces reservist and inactive Duty women were called back into duty along with the men for service in Korea in

1950 today women can enlist and apply for any job in the Navy except for Navy SEAL units and in 2012

the first women Sailors began serving on ballistic and cruise missile nuclear submarines today the United States Navy

employs a wide range of the most technologically advanced ships on the water aircraft carriers and amphibious

assault ships and transport docks Place most Nations within striking distance of US Air and Marine forces and as such are

essential in forward deployment and deterrence strategies Cruisers destroyers and

combat ships are equipped with guided missiles and anti-air and anti-submarine missiles while frigs Patrol ships and

mine countermeasure ships provide protection for both Navy and Merchant ships moving through hostile Waters

modern aircraft carriers and submarines are powered by nuclear reactors all of the US Navy's

battleships and submarines in operation today are nuclear powerered the submarines in the Los Angeles Seawolf

and Virginia class are attack submarines used in specific tactical missions including war or

defense the Ohio class however ever act as ballistic submarines with the sole purpose of nuclear

deterrence ballistic Subs are capable of serving as a hidden launching platform for intercontinental ballistic

missiles the end of World War II saw the scrapping and mothballing of many of the United States Navy ships and by 1948

there remain just over 250 vessels in service this large-scale decommissioning of

ships ended with the rising tensions between the United States and the Soviet Union while the Korean War brought these

tensions to a head the US Navy did not often have direct involvement in the conflicts that took place instead the

Navy assisted with large-scale Landings at enchong where Navy and Marine Core amphibious forces succeeded in driving

back North Korean forces and at the Battle of chosen Reservoir where the evacuation of over 100,000 un troops

required US Navy assistance Korea made it clear to the United States government that our Navy

would have to be ever ready to react to threats especially during the Cold War where all eyes were on the Soviets the

United States Navy needed to be ready to respond in the the event of aggressive communist

threats fleets of ships were assigned to every corner of the globe and as the ships were dispatched Navy scientists

and technicians developed new technologies in Communications and defense as well as new missiles and jet

propelled aircraft under the guidance of Admiral Heyman rickover the Navy received his

first nuclear powerered aircraft carrier the USS Enterprise rickover was a longtime proponent of the

nuclear Marine propulsion program however he regarded nuclear power and the atomic bomb as necessary

evils on May 5th 1961 a redstone rocket launched the first American to travel in space Alan

Shepard Shepard was a graduate of the United States Naval Academy and the US Naval test pilot school he had served on

the Destroyer USS cogwell in the Pacific during World War II and was one of 110 test pilots selected to volunteer as

part of the famous Mercury 7 NASA's first US man Space Program he was the only member of that

initial class of astronauts who would walk on the moon when he commanded the Apollo 14

Miss mission in 1971 astronaut Jim Lovel was another graduate of the US Naval Academy and was

selected as part of the initial group of volunteers medical reasons kept leville out of the Mercury program but he was

selected in 1962 as part of NASA astronaut group 2 leville went on to serve in both the

Gemini and Apollo programs he piloted the Gemini 7 and 12 the latter Mission flown with Buzz

Aldren he became one of the first men to travel to the Moon on Apollo 9 completing 10 orbits on Christmas Eve

1968 before returning to the Earth safely 3 days later leville is perhaps best known as

the commander of the Apollo 13 mission when the Odyssey Command Module that carried Lovel and Pilots Jack

Swagger and Fred Haze became crippled due to an oxygen tank explosion level's leadership brought the crew back to

Earth safely after using the lunar module as a kind of Lifeboat and manually adjusting the Craft's

trajectory only using his wristwatch for timing the mission had intended to land on the moon however in the resulting

survival Mission the crew of the Apollo 13 became the record holders for farthest distance ever traveled from the

planet Earth after two unsuccessful CIA Le attempts to quash communist leadership

in Cuba Soviet Premier Nikita kusf and Cuban leader Fidel Castro agreed that Soviet nuclear missiles based on the

island nation would prevent any future US invasion attempts when on October 14th

1962 the United States U2 aircraft returned with photographs showing definite evidence of sites for medium-

range and intermediate range ballistic nuclear missiles what came to be known as the Cuban Missile Crisis was

underway immediately President Kennedy and The Joint Chiefs as well as other top military advisers began to plan for

and stop what could have been the kickoff of allout nuclear war without a formal

declaration of war on Cuba international law and Convention would prohibit a naval blockade against the island a

system of quarantine was initiated whereby US Navy aircraft carriers destroyers and other vessels would not

permit any Transit of Munitions or ordinance of any type to enter the country

Merchant ships and food and Supply ships were allowed to pass after inspection with the quarantine came the

demand from the United States remove and disassemble the missile bases on Cuba and send all offensive weapons back to

the Soviet Union Kennedy expected military retaliation from the Soviets but 13 days

later the Soviet Union and Kennedy's cabinet reached an agreement ment sending all of the Cuban missiles back

to the USSR in exchange for the United States nuclear disarmament in Italy and turkey the crisis was perhaps the most

tense moment of the Cold War and the closest we might have come to World War I it is one thing for politicians here

at home to safen the security of their political offices to vote to send Young American cfes to die in an UNC conable

war in Vietnam but it is another thing to be one of those boys I do not intend to put

their blood on my hands Vietnam was almost never a popular war its very beginning sparked

controversy and continued American involvement in the conflict led to one of the lowest points for the United

States armed forces on August 2nd 1964 the United States Destroyer USS

Maddox was conducting a secret intelligence mission in the Gulf of tonen off the coast of North Vietnam

when it came under attack from three North Vietnamese Navy P4 torpedo boats 28 Mi away from the North Vietnamese

Coast in international waters the MX suffered minor damage from only a 145 mm machine gun bullet also heading to the

contention was an alleged second Attack 2 days later on the Maddox and the USS Turner Joy which has since been chocked

up to a radar glitch and overzealous Communications officers making incorrect reports nonetheless President Johnson

used the evidence presented to petition Congress to pass the Gulf of tonan resolution giving Johnson authority to

use conventional military force in any Southeast Asian country that displayed signs of communist aggression or

expansion that I shall immediately request the Congress to pass a

resolution making it clear that our government is united in its

determination to take all necessary measures in support of freedom and in defense of Peace in Southeast Asia

for the first time since the American Civil War US Navy forces found themselves engaged in operations on

rivers and other tributaries in Vietnam the river patrols or brown waterer Navy consisted of river Patrol boats or

Patrol air cushion Vehicles also known as hovercraft that would Patrol areas unable to be reached by their larger

Mothership also at play on the rivers was the Patrol craft also known as Swift boats the Swift Boats were largely

responsible for intercepting movements of Viet Kong Munitions and arms as well as transportation of Vietnamese allies

and SEAL Teams there to quash insurgencies working in cooperation with the Navy was the United States Coast

Guard which operated 26 point class Cutters on the rivers as well as US forces were scaled back

these vessels were all donated to the South Vietnamese Navy as part of the United States effort to hand the Reigns

of the war over to the Vietnamese people in the same speech that John F Kennedy promised a man on the moon he also

outlined a proposal to form what would eventually become the United States Navy Seals

program the allocated funds over $100 million went into developing the Navy C air and land team or Navy

Seals the force traces its beginning back to the closing years of World War II when the US Navy Scouts and Raiders

school was founded the teams were utilized in secret anti-communist operations in Cuba

and by 1962 the Navy Seals were at work in Vietnam the men with green faces as the

Viet Kong called them because of camouflage face paint became a force to be reckoned with extremely effective in

anti-g gorilla and gorilla operations and taking from the Viet Kong what was previously safe territory for the

enemy the Navy Seals still operate today under extreme secrecy and on more dangerous missions than ever on May 2nd

2011 Seal Team 6 successfully completed its mission to kill AMA Bin Laden the terrorist leader and head of al-Qaeda

responsible for planning the attacks on the United States of September 11th 2001 after a decade long Manhunt as part of

the war on terror since the Vietnam War and the fall of the USSR United States Navy has

continued develop newer faster and more efficient warships and weapons the US Navy in response response

to the lessened threat of nuclear strike began to position its fleets in order to better serve Special Operations and

strike missions in regional conflict rather than preparing them for fullscale nuclear war with the

Soviets today the Navy is an integral part of the war on terror participating in actions during operations Iraqi

freedom and enduring freedom and in operation Odyssey Dawn in 2011 launching cruise missiles into military Targets in

Libya in order to enforce un resolutions and rid the country of its oppressive regime our action in the Gulf is about

fighting aggression and preserving the sovereignty of Nations it is about keeping our word our solemn word of

honor and standing by old friends it is about our own National Security interests and ensuring the peace and

stability of the entire world just after 10:00 a.m. on the morning of May 17th

1987 an Iraqi Mirage F1 fighter jet descended on the USS stalk sailing off the coast of Saudi Arabia near the

exclusion boundary of the Iran Iraq war the jet fired two 1500lb exos set missiles upon the frigate killing 29 in

the explosion and resulting fire and eight more after the incident from Burns it remains unclear as to whether

the pilot of the Mirage was acting under orders or if it truly was as Saddam Hussein later called it an unintentional

accident however the attack Remains the only successful anti-ship missile strike on any American

warship Operation Desert Storm in 1991 saw hundreds of Tomah two cruise missiles launched from Naval warships in

the Persian Gulf and the battleships USS Missouri and USS Wisconsin firing their 16-in guns for the first time since the

Korean War Targets in Kuwait were struck meant to drive out invading Iraqi forces and the unending barrage from US Navy

weapons defeated and sent back the Iraqi Army after only 100 hours prior to these bombings Operation Desert

Shield saw more than 240 ships carrying 18.3 billion pounds of supplies and equipment into Saudi Arabia to sustain

the US and Allied troops in the impending campaigns the United States Navy's

superiority on the Seas also helped enforce United Nations trade sanctions against Iraq crippling leader Saddam

Hussein's economic lifeline when a crisis confronts the nation the first question often asked by policy

makers is what Naval forces are available and how fast can they be on station the terrorist organization

Al-Qaeda has long professed to be an enemy of the United States before the Attacks of September 11th 2001 there

were the US Embassy bombings of 1998 and the suicide attack on the USS Cole in 2000

the US Navy guided missile destroyer was docked in Aiden Harbor yamen when a small boat sidled up to the destroyer's

port side and exploded the concussion created a 40x 40t hole in the side of the ship killing

17 and injuring another 39 Rules of Engagement kept the crew from firing upon the small boat which

approached without answering radio calls or requesting permission in fact petty officer John

wack was ready to fire upon another suspicious craft nearby when he was told by a Senior Chief Petty Officer no

shooting unless we're shot at in the wake of the USS coal attack and the ongoing war on terror the US

Navy has begun to re-evaluate The Rules of Engagement 11 carriers 22 Cruisers 61

Destroyers 26 frig two combat ships 53 submarines 122 surface warships there are currently 10 fleets

or commands controlled by the United States Navy today with a wide range of specializations and strategic positions

across the globe the naval Reserve force is represented in each of the United States and Puerto Rico and Guam by at

least one Navy Operational Support Center where the selective reservist Sailors perform their monthly

drills the United States Navy today maintains facilities in North America Europe Asia the Mediterranean and the

Pacific Rim the largest base overseas is located in Yokosuka Japan in 2007 the United States reached

its smallest Fleet size since World War I with 27 74 active ships the small number however is more

than made up for in the amount of Firepower and the sheer size of some vessels compared to earlier ships the

technological advances propelled by the Navy have ensured that our Sailors are an unparalleled nautical

Force the men and women who serve in the United States Navy help in preserving peace every single day in many corners

of the globe unofficial mottos for the Navy include honor courage commitment and not

for self but for Country they are our first line of defense on either of our coasts and

First Responders to remote Regional crises the battle Fleet tonnage of our Navy ships is larger than the next 13

largest navies combined while in the past the Navy's fate seemed uncertain there should

remain no question that the United States Navy is an entirely integral and some might say the most important part

of the United States armed forces [Music] [Music]

e [Music] [Music]

[Music] [Music] thanks for watching if you'd like to

help us produce more compelling historical content like this please like comment below and share this video with

fellow history Buffs and of course be sure to subscribe to help keep history happening