Introduction to the 19th Century US Navy

From All Bones Considered: Laurel Hill Stories #073, part 1

 

The United States tried very hard to not have a Navy. It wasn't until the early 19th century that congress realized the need for a fighting force on the water. Capture of American merchant ships by the Barbary pirates and corsairs with letters of marque forced congress to release funds to fortify the Navy. Eventually the United States Navy was second only to the Royal Navy of England. 

Commodore Isaac Hull was captain of the USS Constitution when it defeated RMS Guerriere in the War of 1812.

Commodore David Conner worked with Army General Winfield Scott to arrange the massive successful amphibious landing at Veracruz during the Mexican American War, which led directly to the taking of Mexico City a few months later.

Rear Admiral Sylvanus William Godon spent his life in the Navy and while a member of the African Squadron captured the slave ship Erie which led to the hanging of its skipper Nathaniel Gordon, the only man executed by the government for being in the slave trade.

Admiral George Melville was another Navy lifer. After he led a group back to civilization in the aftermath of the wreck of the SS Jeanette, he stayed in long enough to reach the rank of admiral. All four of these men are buried at Laurel Hill East.