On 19 April 1775, the opening volley of the American Revolutionary War was fired in Lexington, MA. Memorializing that occasion, Ralph Waldo Emerson penned:

By the rude bridge that arched the flood,

Their flag to April’s breeze unfurled,

Here once the embattled farmers stood

And fired the shot heard round the world.

Colonists, however, were not all farmers. The colonies, which were all located along the eastern seaboard, had a deep-rooted seafaring tradition. As a result, there was a large community of sailors, captains, and shipbuilders whose livelihoods depended on the sea. Wikipedia notes:

“During the Revolution, several states operated their own navies. On 12 June 1775, the Rhode Island General Assembly passed a resolution creating a navy for the colony of Rhode Island. The same day, Governor Nicholas Cooke signed orders addressed to Captain Abraham Whipple, commander of the sloop Katy, and commodore of the armed vessels employed by the government. The first formal movement for the creation of the Continental Navy came from Rhode Island, because the widespread smuggling activities of Rhode Island merchants had been increasingly suppressed by the British Royal Navy. On 26 August 1775, Rhode Island passed a resolution that there be a single Continental fleet funded by the Continental Congress. The resolution was introduced in the Continental Congress on 3 October 1775, but was tabled. In the meantime, George Washington had begun to acquire ships, starting with the schooner USS Hannah that was paid for out of Washington's own pocket. Hannah was commissioned and launched on 5 September 1775, under the command of Captain Nicholson Broughton, from the port of Marblehead, Massachusetts.”

George Washington understood that America’s fate was tied to events on both land and on sea. He created the United States' first naval fleet by converting three Massachusetts schooners, one of which was the Hannah, into warships. The makeshift fleet's purpose was to intercept an unarmed British supply ship. The next day, Washington sent a letter to Congress urging them to establish a naval force. On 13 October 1775, the Continental Congress passed a resolution creating the Continental Navy. This date now represents the official establishment of the U.S. Navy. The resolution passed by the Continental Congress read:

“Resolved, That a swift sailing vessel, to carry ten carriage guns, and a proportionable number of swivels, with eighty men, be fitted, with all possible despatch, for a cruise of three months, and that the commander be instructed to cruize eastward, for intercepting such transports as may be laden with warlike stores and other supplies for our enemies, and for such other purposes as the Congress shall direct. That a Committee of three be appointed to prepare an estimate of the expence, and lay the same before the Congress, and to contract with proper persons to fit out the vessel. Resolved, that another vessel be fitted out for the same purposes, and that the said committee report their opinion of a proper vessel, and also an estimate of the expence.”

This year marks the 250th anniversary those events. Following the end of the Revolutionary War, the founding fathers recognized that the United States was first and foremost a maritime nation. As a result, Article 1, Section 8, Clause 13 of the U.S. Constitution grants Congress the power to provide and maintain a navy. The framers of the Constitution rightfully believed that a strong navy was crucial for protecting the nation's interests and its coastlines. Just as importantly, they believed a Navy was necessary to protect American commerce and navigation on the seas, promoting national economic interests. It is a lesson Congress has relearned time and again.

A few years ago, journalist Kate Bachelder Odell wrote, “The public has grown accustomed to peace, not fighting, on the seas. But that tranquility is an anomaly in world history, won and maintained at a cost.”[1] She worried that American maritime superiority, which has protected global trade since the end of World War Two, was coming to an end. She explained, “American naval superiority is far from what it was a generation ago. At 296 ships it is only about half the size of its Cold War peak. The U.S. simply can no longer be everywhere at once. Aircraft carriers only deter aggression if they’re displacing water. ... On current budget trends, the size of the fleet will shrink, as the Navy retires 35-year-old cruisers and other assets without commensurate replacements. … At the same time, China is ‘launching ships so fast there’s barely enough champagne to smash against the bows.’ The Chinese navy is set to exceed its American competitor in major surface combatants (carriers, destroyers, cruisers, frigates and the like), according to the Office of Naval Intelligence. The Chinese fleet is 11 years old on average, compared with 21 years for the U.S. Navy.”

Her concerns are echoed by Paul Poast, an associate professor at the University of Chicago and a nonresident fellow at the Chicago Council on Global Affairs. He writes, “What is notable about the mounting evidence for the continuing relevance of naval power is that, as the 20th century came to a close, the importance of naval power was largely taken for granted. The U.S. Navy had so internalized its role of maintaining freedom of navigation in the maritime ‘commons’ to ensure the safety of global shipping that it at one point changed its motto to ‘A global force for good.’ But just as there was talk back then about the ‘decline of war’ in general, so too were there claims that naval power was largely becoming passé. Such views are now themselves passé. Just as war itself will remain with us, largely because the earth’s land is finite, naval power will remain critical because the earth is largely covered in water. While we love to speak of a digitally connected global economy, one that is enabled by satellite technology in space, what makes that global economy operate is the quick movement of goods from one location to another. And for all the advances in air and rail transport, large container ships are still the most efficient and effective means of moving goods around the globe. And so long as ocean traffic remains vital to the global economy, the command of the seas, or at least the ability to project interests on and across them, will remain a key pursuit of major powers.”[2]

The reality is that America’s Navy will never again dominate the seas as it did during the Cold War. Federal budgets simply can’t sustain that large of a Navy. That’s why James Holmes, the J. C. Wylie Chair of Maritime Strategy at the Naval War College, insists, “Allies, partners, and friends are crucial to American success on the high seas.”[3] He adds, “So, what are the trendlines? We are trending toward joining China as a Mahanian competitor; we are increasingly joint in our maritime operations; our leadership is sidling toward our first genuinely maritime strategy; and we acknowledge our reliance on allies, partners, and friends in the region. All of which is good. We have our minds right. Now we just need to execute. And fast.”

The Navy’s 250th birthday is a good time to reflect on its importance in keeping sea lanes open, safe, and available for global trade as well as protecting our borders and other national security priorities.

Footnotes

[1] Kate Bachelder Odell, “‘The Blue Age’ Review: Dragging Anchor,” The Wall Street Journal, 30 August 2021.

[2] Paul Poast, “Naval Power Is Only Getting More Important in World Politics,” World Politics Review, 27 June 2025.

[3] James Holmes, “America Is Finally Getting Its Maritime Strategy Right,” The National Interest, 14 June 2025.