Happy 234th birthday, Navy!

Today the Navy celebrates its 234th birthday, marking the day in 1775 when the Continental Congress approved legislation that started the development of the Continental Navy.
Congress agreed to fit out two armed sailing vessels with crews of 80 men each to go on a three-month cruise. The vessels were supposed to intercept transports carrying munitions and supplies to the British army in America.

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In October 1775, the British navy threatened to block the colonies’ trade and destroy seaside settlements. In response, a few states commissioned small fleets for their own defense. Some in Congress worried about pushing the armed struggle with England too far.
While Congress dithered over arming vessels, Gen. George Washington forced its hand by commandeering three schooners to cruise off Massachusetts to intercept enemy ships. Since the colonies already had armed vessels cruising in their name, Congress approved two more.
That modest fleet has grown into today’s Navy, with 285 ships and 329,092 active-duty and 109,006 reserve members.
“We serve in the greatest navy that has ever sailed,” Chief of Naval Operations Adm. Gary Roughead wrote in his birthday message to the fleet. “And in the words of our first commander-in-chief, George Washington, ‘It follows that as certain that night succeeds the day, that without a decisive naval force, we can do nothing definitive and with it, everything honorable and glorious.’ ”
Source navytimes.com