Connecticut State Navy
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The Connecticut State Navy was the state navy of
Connecticut Connecticut ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It borders Rhode Island to the east, Massachusetts to the north, New York (state), New York to the west, and Long Island Sound to the south. ...
during the
American Revolutionary War The American Revolutionary War (April 19, 1775 – September 3, 1783), also known as the Revolutionary War or American War of Independence, was the armed conflict that comprised the final eight years of the broader American Revolution, in which Am ...
. It was established in August 1775 by the
Connecticut General Assembly The Connecticut General Assembly (CGA) is the state legislature of the U.S. state of Connecticut. It is a bicameral body composed of the 151-member House of Representatives and the 36-member Senate. It meets in the state capital, Hartford. The ...
to defend Connecticut's merchant shipping and coastal communities from British attacks, along with interdicting smuggling between Connecticut and
Long Island Long Island is a densely populated continental island in southeastern New York (state), New York state, extending into the Atlantic Ocean. It constitutes a significant share of the New York metropolitan area in both population and land are ...
. In 1776, the state navy commissioned the submersible ''
Turtle Turtles are reptiles of the order (biology), order Testudines, characterized by a special turtle shell, shell developed mainly from their ribs. Modern turtles are divided into two major groups, the Pleurodira (side necked turtles) and Crypt ...
'', which allegedly carried out an attack on the British ship of the line HMS ''Eagle'' in
New York Harbor New York Harbor is a bay that covers all of the Upper Bay. It is at the mouth of the Hudson River near the East River tidal estuary on the East Coast of the United States. New York Harbor is generally synonymous with Upper New York Bay, ...
. Proving unable to counter the overwhelming superiority of the
Royal Navy The Royal Navy (RN) is the naval warfare force of the United Kingdom. It is a component of His Majesty's Naval Service, and its officers hold their commissions from the King of the United Kingdom, King. Although warships were used by Kingdom ...
, all of the state navy's ships were lost by July 1779.


Early acquisitions

After the
American Revolutionary War The American Revolutionary War (April 19, 1775 – September 3, 1783), also known as the Revolutionary War or American War of Independence, was the armed conflict that comprised the final eight years of the broader American Revolution, in which Am ...
began in April 1775, the
Connecticut General Assembly The Connecticut General Assembly (CGA) is the state legislature of the U.S. state of Connecticut. It is a bicameral body composed of the 151-member House of Representatives and the 36-member Senate. It meets in the state capital, Hartford. The ...
in July authorized the
Governor A governor is an politician, administrative leader and head of a polity or Region#Political regions, political region, in some cases, such as governor-general, governors-general, as the head of a state's official representative. Depending on the ...
and
Council of Safety A council is a group of people who come together to consult, deliberate, or make decisions. A council may function as a legislature, especially at a town, city or county/shire level, but most legislative bodies at the state/provincial or nation ...
to procure and outfit two armed vessels. On July 24, Governor
Jonathan Trumbull Jonathan Trumbull Sr. (October 12, 1710August 17, 1785) was an American politician and statesman who served as Governor of Connecticut during the American Revolution. Trumbull and Nicholas Cooke of Rhode Island were the only men to serve as go ...
and the Council appointed a committee to identify potentially useful vessels in the colony's harbors. On August 2, the committee filed its report, and noted that there was some opposition in the colony to attempting to match the
Royal Navy The Royal Navy (RN) is the naval warfare force of the United Kingdom. It is a component of His Majesty's Naval Service, and its officers hold their commissions from the King of the United Kingdom, King. Although warships were used by Kingdom ...
's might. In spite of this, Trumbull and the council decided to outfit William Griswold's 108-ton ship ''Minerva'', and appointed another committee to acquire a "spy vessel, to run and course from place to place, to discover the enemy, and carry intelligence" of about 25 tons, to be captained by Samuel Niles. The next day they hired Giles Hall to be the captain of the ''Minerva'', established a pay scale, and authorized Hall to hire 40 sailors and 40 marines. On August 14, they authorized the purchase of the ''Britannica'', a sloop in Stonington, which was to be renamed ''Spy'', with Robert Niles as its captain. The ''Spy'' began service early in October, and promptly brought in the navy's first
prize A prize is an award to be given to a person or a group of people (such as sporting teams and organizations) to recognize and reward their actions and achievements.
, a British supply ship. ''Minerva'' began service on October 9, with orders to capture transports bound for
Quebec Quebec is Canada's List of Canadian provinces and territories by area, largest province by area. Located in Central Canada, the province shares borders with the provinces of Ontario to the west, Newfoundland and Labrador to the northeast, ...
. However, most of the crew refused to obey Hall's orders, and she returned to port. The mutinous crew was dismissed, and in December Hall was ordered to return the ship to its owner.


Expansion

In December 1775 the General Assembly authorized the acquisition of more ships, specifically another armed vessel and four
row galley A row galley was a term used by the early United States Navy for an armed watercraft that used oars rather than sails as a means of propulsion. During the age of sail, row galleys had the advantage of propulsion while sail boats might be stopped or ...
s, "for the defence of this and the neighboring colonies."Paullin, p. 358 A
brigantine A brigantine is a two-masted sailing vessel with a fully square-rigged foremast and at least two sails on the main mast: a square topsail and a gaff sail mainsail (behind the mast). The main mast is the second and taller of the two masts. Ol ...
was purchased, named ''Defence'', and
Seth Harding Seth Harding (April 17, 1734 – November 20, 1814) was a Continental Navy officer, sea captain and politician who served in the American Revolutionary War. In 1776, he was the captain of the ''Defence''. Life Seth Harding was born in Eastham, ...
was given her command; she entered service in April 1776. The governor and council decided to order the construction of a vessel as the third of the authorized ships. This resulted in the June 1776 launch of the 300-ton ''Oliver Cromwell'', with William Coit as its captain. ''Oliver Cromwell'' was the first purpose-built warship commissioned by the Connecticut General Assembly--''Minerva'', ''Spy'', and ''Defence'' were all already under construction or launched when purchased. Of the four row galleys, only three were built: ''Whiting'', ''Shark'', and ''Crane'', which were outfitted with sloop riggings, were ready for service in July 1776. In February 1776, after a presentation by inventor
David Bushnell David Bushnell may refer to: * David Bushnell (inventor) (1740 – 1824), American inventor, inventor of the ''Turtle'' submersible * David Bushnell (historian) (1923 – 2010), American historian * David P. Bushnell (1913 – 2005), American en ...
, authorized the payment of £60 so that he could complete the construction of what became ''
Turtle Turtles are reptiles of the order (biology), order Testudines, characterized by a special turtle shell, shell developed mainly from their ribs. Modern turtles are divided into two major groups, the Pleurodira (side necked turtles) and Crypt ...
'', a small one-man submersible designed to attach a
mine Mine, mines, miners or mining may refer to: Extraction or digging *Miner, a person engaged in mining or digging *Mining, extraction of mineral resources from the ground through a mine Grammar *Mine, a first-person English possessive pronoun M ...
to another ship. She was allgedly used in an attempted attack on in New York harbor in 1776; the attack failed. ''Turtle'' was sunk in 1777, but was supposedly recovered later by Bushnell. Additional ships were authorized but had relatively short service lives. The ''Mifflin'' and the ''Schuyler'' were only in active service in 1777, and ''Guilford'' in 1779.


Administration

The assembly had vested in the governor considerable authority in naval matters, including the setting of regulations. As the
Continental Navy The Continental Navy was the navy of the United Colonies and United States from 1775 to 1785. It was founded on October 13, 1775 by the Continental Congress to fight against British forces and their allies as part of the American Revolutionary ...
was also organizationally taking shape, the governor and council assembled a set of regulations that harmonized as much as possible with those of the Continental Navy. They also retained
Nathaniel Shaw Nathaniel Shaw Jr. (17031778) was a Connecticut Patriot, and an American Revolutionary War soldier. He is frequently referred to as "Captain Nathaniel Shaw, Jr." Life and career Nathaniel Shaw was a successful merchant who came to live in New ...
, a wealthy New London merchant, as the state's agent for outfitting its ships and disposing of its prizes, and also had an agent in
Boston Boston is the capital and most populous city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Massachusetts in the United States. The city serves as the cultural and Financial centre, financial center of New England, a region of the Northeas ...
to deal with matters when the state's ships or prizes were in Massachusetts ports. Instead of setting up dedicated
admiralty court Admiralty courts, also known as maritime courts, are courts exercising jurisdiction over all admiralty law, maritime contracts, torts, injuries, and offenses. United Kingdom England and Wales Scotland The Scottish court's earliest records, ...
s, the assembly authorized the state's courts to act as admiralty courts, adjudicating marine disputes and the distribution of prizes, with a right to appeal decisions to the Continental Congress. The state did not issue its own
letters of marque A letter of marque and reprisal () was a government license in the Age of Sail that authorized a private person, known as a privateer or corsair, to attack and capture vessels of a foreign state at war with the issuer, licensing internationa ...
; instead, the governor was authorized to issue Congressional letters. In 1779, the state established a formal naval administrative structure, but by then most of its ships had been lost. The state authorized the commission of up to twelve armed vessels in 1780 for the purpose of interdicting smuggling; it retracted the commissions in 1781 after it was established that they had been completely ineffective at stopping illicit trade.


Operations

Most of the navy's cruising was in
Long Island Sound Long Island Sound is a sound (geography), marine sound and tidal estuary of the Atlantic Ocean. It lies predominantly between the U.S. state of Connecticut to the north and Long Island in New York (state), New York to the south. From west to east, ...
, although some ships, notably ''Spy'' and ''Oliver Cromwell'', went further afield; further, the three row galleys served in the
Hudson River The Hudson River, historically the North River, is a river that flows from north to south largely through eastern New York (state), New York state. It originates in the Adirondack Mountains at Henderson Lake (New York), Henderson Lake in the ...
above New York, where the British eventually captured or sank them. ''Spy'' served the purpose for which it was purchased, and was one of several ships sent to
France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...
in 1778 with news that Congress had ratified the
Treaty of Alliance The Treaty of Alliance (), also known as the Franco-American Treaty, was a defensive alliance between the Kingdom of France and the United States formed amid the American Revolutionary War with Great Britain. It was signed by delegates of King L ...
. Of the ships sent, she was the first to arrive; the British captured her on the return voyage. All told, the Connecticut Navy captured about 30 prizes, but all of her ships were captured or destroyed by July 1779. ''Oliver Cromwell'' was captured after an engagement off
Sandy Hook, New Jersey Sandy Hook is a barrier spit in Middletown Township, Monmouth County, New Jersey, United States. The barrier spit, approximately in length and varying from wide, is located at the north end of the Jersey Shore. It encloses the southern en ...
, and ''Guilford'' was captured in July.


See also

*
Connecticut Naval Militia The Connecticut Naval Militia was a class of militia of the Armed Forces of the State of Connecticut along with the Connecticut National Guard, the Connecticut State Guard, and the Connecticut State Guard Reserve. The Governor of Connecticut is au ...
*
Oliver Cromwell (ship) ''Oliver Cromwell'' was a 20-gun frigate of the Connecticut State Navy launched on 13 June 1776. British ships captured her in a battle off the coast of Sandy Hook, New Jersey, on 6 June 1779, renaming her ''Restoration''. She was purchased by t ...


References


Sources

*{{cite book, title=The navy of the American Revolution: its administration, its policy and its achievements, first=Charles Oscar, last=Paullin, publisher=The Burrows Brothers Co, year=1906, isbn=9780722277096, url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Ws5EAAAAIAAJ&dq=inauthor%3Apaullin+massachusetts+navy&pg=PA315, ref=Paullin This work contains summary information on each of the various state navies.
Navy A navy, naval force, military maritime fleet, war navy, or maritime force is the military branch, branch of a nation's armed forces principally designated for naval warfare, naval and amphibious warfare; namely, lake-borne, riverine, littoral z ...
Military units and formations of the United States in the American Revolutionary War Disbanded navies 1775 establishments in Connecticut Maritime history of the United States