Happy 245^th birthday to the United States Navy!

The Continental Congress formally established the Navy on October 13, 1775, which became the traditional birthdate of the U.S. Navy – nine months before the founders signed the Declaration of Independence and formed the United States of America.

American ships captured over 200 British ships during the Revolutionary War.  The Navy launched the USS Constitution, also known as “Old Ironsides,” Oct. 21, 1797. Its captain? The appropriately named Isaac Hull. It remains in active duty as the world’s oldest commissioned warship and is a floating museum in Boston Harbor.

The American Navy has played a role in every conflict involving the United States since the American Revolution, including two wars with the Barbary privateers, defeating the British – again – in the War of 1812, to the American Civil War, the Spanish-American War – remember the Maine!, and World War I.

During World War II, the Navy overcame the decimation of the fleet anchored at Pearl Harbor in1941 to defeat Japan in the Pacific. It has played significant roles in the Korean, Vietnam, and Gulf wars as well.

Today’s Navy consists of 340,000 active personnel, nearly 60,000 reservists, and plans call for expanding the fleet from roughly 290 to 350 or more ships by 2030.

So a happy birthday to the Navy from CalVet!