A Virginia State Navy (or Virginia Navy) existed twice. 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 ...

, the provisional government of the

Virginia Colony The Colony of Virginia was a British colonial settlement in North America from 1606 to 1776. The first effort to create an English settlement in the area was chartered in 1584 and established in 1585; the resulting Roanoke Colony lasted for t ...

authorized the purchase, outfitting, and manning of armed vessels to protect the colony's waters from threats posed it by 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 ...

. Early in the

American Civil War The American Civil War (April 12, 1861May 26, 1865; also known by Names of the American Civil War, other names) was a civil war in the United States between the Union (American Civil War), Union ("the North") and the Confederate States of A ...

, after the

state State most commonly refers to: * State (polity), a centralized political organization that regulates law and society within a territory **Sovereign state, a sovereign polity in international law, commonly referred to as a country **Nation state, a ...

Virginia Virginia, officially the Commonwealth of Virginia, is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern and Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States between the East Coast of the United States ...

seceded from the Union on April 17, 1861, it briefly had naval forces of its own known as the Virginia State Navy, which existed in tandem to the Provisional Army of Virginia. Both of these forces had been absorbed by the

Confederate States Navy The Confederate States Navy (CSN) was the Navy, naval branch of the Confederate States Armed Forces, established by an act of the Confederate States Congress on February 21, 1861. It was responsible for Confederate naval operations during the Amer ...

and the

Confederate Army The Confederate States Army (CSA), also called the Confederate army or the Southern army, was the military land force of the Confederate States of America (commonly referred to as the Confederacy) during the American Civil War (1861–1865), fi ...

by the end of 1861.

American Revolutionary War

Virginia, along with the other

Thirteen Colonies The Thirteen Colonies were the British colonies on the Atlantic coast of North America which broke away from the British Crown in the American Revolutionary War (1775–1783), and joined to form the United States of America. The Thirteen C ...

, was increasingly dissatisfied with the actions of Lord Dunmore, the royal governor of the colony. After the

Gunpowder Incident The Gunpowder Incident (or Powder Alarm or Gunpowder Affair) was a conflict early in the American Revolutionary War between John Murray, 4th Earl of Dunmore, Lord Dunmore, the Royal Governor of the Colony of Virginia, and militia led by Patrick ...

in April 1775 and the news of the war's outbreak with the

Battles of Lexington and Concord The Battles of Lexington and Concord on April 19, 1775 were the first major military actions of the American Revolutionary War between the Kingdom of Great Britain and Patriot (American Revolution), Patriot militias from America's Thirteen Co ...

, Dunmore, fearing for his safety, fled with his family to a

ship. There Dunmore tried to organize

Loyalist Loyalism, in the United Kingdom, its overseas territories and its former colonies, refers to the allegiance to the British crown or the United Kingdom. In North America, the most common usage of the term refers to loyalty to the British Cr ...

s in the colony to counter the rebellion. In December 1775, the provisional assembly voted to authorize the Committee of Safety to buy, arm, and man ships to prevent the royal governor from travelling over the waterways. During the next six months, the committee purchased five ships, and ordered the construction of several more. It also commissioned its first captains: James Barron, Richard Barron, Richard Taylor, Thomas Lilly, and Edward Travis. In May 1776, the assembly established a Navy Board to oversee naval affairs, and established an

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, ...

. Its ships were built across the state, but eventually this became the responsibility of the shipyard on the

Chickahominy River The Chickahominy is an U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline dataThe National Map, accessed April 1, 2011 river in eastern Virginia. The river, which serves as the eastern border of Charles City County, Vir ...

and at

Gosport Gosport ( ) is a town and non-metropolitan district with Borough status in the United Kingdom, borough status in Hampshire, England. At the 2021 United Kingdom census, 2021 Census, the town had a population of 70,131 and the district had a pop ...

. In 1779 the Navy Board was superseded by a Board of War, with merchant vessels regulated by a Board of Trade. This lasted only one year, however, and Virginia established a Commissioner of War, a Commercial Agent, and a Commissioner of the Navy to coordinate her military and trade activities. The fleet's first commodore was John Henry Boucher, who was hired from the Maryland State Navy. His service was brief, and he was followed by Walter Brooke, and finally James Barron, who led the fleet until the end of the war. Virginia had difficulty recruiting enough men for her navy, due to the higher pay on

privateer A privateer is a private person or vessel which engages in commerce raiding under a commission of war. Since robbery under arms was a common aspect of seaborne trade, until the early 19th century all merchant ships carried arms. A sovereign o ...

s and also shortage of skilled seamen. (Virginia did not authorize privateering, instead issuing

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 ...

covered by the

Second Continental Congress The Second Continental Congress (1775–1781) was the meetings of delegates from the Thirteen Colonies that united in support of the American Revolution and American Revolutionary War, Revolutionary War, which established American independence ...

Operations

The Virginia fleet primarily patrolled the Chesapeake Bay, and was perpetually undermanned and poorly armed. Some of the ships were used in commerce, sent on voyages to the

West Indies The West Indies is an island subregion of the Americas, surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean and the Caribbean Sea, which comprises 13 independent island country, island countries and 19 dependent territory, dependencies in thr ...

and even

Europe Europe is a continent located entirely in the Northern Hemisphere and mostly in the Eastern Hemisphere. It is bordered by the Arctic Ocean to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the west, the Mediterranean Sea to the south, and Asia to the east ...

. Between 1775 and 1779 the fleet captured 15

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.

s, but also lost several ships the same way. The British raided the shipyard at Gosport in 1779, destroying stores and several unfinished vessels. The arrival of British forces in

South Carolina South Carolina ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders North Carolina to the north and northeast, the Atlantic Ocean to the southeast, and Georgia (U.S. state), Georg ...

in 1780, and increased raiding activities by the British in Chesapeake Bay created increased demand for naval defense, and Virginia had to resort to the

impressment Impressment, colloquially "the press" or the "press gang", is a type of conscription of people into a military force, especially a naval force, via intimidation and physical coercion, conducted by an organized group (hence "gang"). European nav ...

of seamen. After a British fleet landed troops led by turncoat

Benedict Arnold Benedict Arnold (#Brandt, Brandt (1994), p. 4June 14, 1801) was an American-born British military officer who served during the American Revolutionary War. He fought with distinction for the American Continental Army and rose to the rank of ...

in December 1780, Virginia in desperation hired privateers to assist the Navy. Even so, Arnold advanced up the

James River The James River is a river in Virginia that begins in the Appalachian Mountains and flows from the confluence of the Cowpasture and Jackson Rivers in Botetourt County U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowli ...

as far as Richmond. A fleet of over twenty small Virginia ships and privateers pursued him, and in a one-sided engagement in April 1781 (the action at Osborne's), the British captured twelve and the rest were either scuttled or burned. The disaster on the James left the Virginia Navy with a single ship, the ''Liberty''. She supported operations that resulted in the

Siege of Yorktown The siege of Yorktown, also known as the Battle of Yorktown and the surrender at Yorktown, was the final battle of the American Revolutionary War. It was won decisively by the Continental Army, led by George Washington, with support from the Ma ...

later in 1781, as did three additional ships hired by the state. When Cornwallis was forced to surrender at Yorktown, Virginia, citing financial reasons, discharged most of its seamen. A few ships were fitted out in 1782 and 1783, but with the conclusion of the 1783 Treaty of Paris, all but two were sold. The ''Liberty'' and the ''Patriot'' were retained as revenue cutters into 1787. The ''Liberty'' was one of the longest-serving ships of the Patriot cause in the war.

American Civil War

The Provisional Navy of Virginia was established by an ordinance of the Convention of Virginia on April 27, 1861, when

seceded from the Union. The ordinance called for the enlistment of two thousand seamen and marines to serve terms of three and four years respectively. As a result of a shortage of warships, most of these seamen were employed in the construction and manning of harbor and coastal defense batteries. When Virginia joined the

Confederate States of America The Confederate States of America (CSA), also known as the Confederate States (C.S.), the Confederacy, or Dixieland, was an List of historical unrecognized states and dependencies, unrecognized breakaway republic in the Southern United State ...

, Governor John Letcher issued a proclamation on 6 June 1861, transferring "all officers, seamen, and marines of the Provisional Navy of Virginia" and they were absorbed into the

. One of the Virginia's first actions following secession was to appoint

Robert E. Lee Robert Edward Lee (January 19, 1807 – October 12, 1870) was a general officers in the Confederate States Army, Confederate general during the American Civil War, who was appointed the General in Chief of the Armies of the Confederate ...

as commander in chief of the military and naval forces of Virginia. The only flag officer of the second Virginia Navy was Commodore French Forrest, a former officer of the

United States Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the naval warfare, maritime military branch, service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is the world's most powerful navy with the largest Displacement (ship), displacement, at 4.5 millio ...

. Its headquarters were the naval base at

Norfolk, Virginia Norfolk ( ) is an independent city (United States), independent city in the U.S. state of Virginia. It had a population of 238,005 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, making it the List of cities in Virginia, third-most populous city ...

, which had been abandoned by Union forces on April 20, 1861.

Noteworthy officers

Former members of the

who would play a significant role in the

: * Samuel Barron * John Mercer Brooke * Franklin Buchanan (commanded the ironclads and ) * French Forrest *

Catesby ap Roger Jones Catesby ap Roger Jones (April 15, 1821 – June 21, 1877) was an American naval officer who was a commander in the Confederate Navy during the American Civil War. He assumed command of during the Battle of Hampton Roads and engaged in the his ...

* Sydney Smith Lee * William Francis Lynch *

Matthew Fontaine Maury Matthew Fontaine Maury (January 14, 1806February 1, 1873) was an American oceanographer and naval officer, serving the United States and then joining the Confederacy during the American Civil War. He was nicknamed "Pathfinder of the Seas" and ...

* Robert Dabney Minor (flag officer in the 1st attack by the ironclad ) * Thomas J. Page * William Harwar Parker * Robert B. Pegram * Thomas R. Rootes * James H. Rochelle * John Randolph Tucker * William C. Whittle

Ships in service

In order to create a navy to defend Richmond, the Navy Department salvaged the frigate USS ''United States'', which became a receiving ship. Additionally, Virginia purchased several steamers including the ''Empire'', ''Northampton'', ''Thomas Reaney'', ''Jamestown'', and the ''Yorktown'', which was renamed ''Patrick Henry'' as the flagship of the James River Squadron.Historical Information
Library of Virginia. Retrieved 27 December 2016 At the time when it turned over its military to the Confederate States, the Virginia Navy had the following ships: * USS ''United States'', rechristened CSS ''Confederate States'' * CSS ''George Page'' * CSS ''Logan'' * CSS ''Northampton'' * CSS ''Teaser'' * CSS ''Jamestown'' * CSS ''Patrick Henry''

Notes

References

* * This work contains summary information on each of the various state navies in the revolution. {{Authority control

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 ...

Confederate States Navy Military units and formations established in 1861

Military units and formations of the United States in the American Revolutionary War Military units and formations established in 1775 Disbanded navies 1861 establishments in Virginia