Fluyts And The Continental Navy

Ships have always been important for trade and for travel, long before America was even discovered. One of the earlier and more well-known ships in true American history is the Mayflower. The Mayflower was a English “Fluyt”, which is Dutch for three masts and three decks. What once was a merchant cargo ship, deemed unsuitable to be converted to a warship, was then used as a passenger ship. The ship was not very big, only really supported to hold about 60 or 70 people. When the ship left from England to voyage to America, it was over packed with passengers. The gun deck was used to house the pilgrims, and its conditions were very cramped and unpleasant to travel in. (Britannica Mayflower) Fluyts were really the first ocean going ships made

They were first authorized by congress on October 13th, 1775, but conflicts at sea had occurred even before the navy was authorized. (History.com Continental Navy Established) There were many kinds of ships being made during this time. The Continental Navy was made up of ships that were bought, lent by individual state, lent by the French, captured from the enemy, or built. The navy started out very small, and over time started to grow bigger and bigger. Vessels such as the Sloop, this 18th century ship a quite popular type of vessel. This one-masted ship can be built to be small or large, with a big triangular mainsail over connected to the fore and aft of the ship. Between 1775 and about 1783 there were only about eight sloops in the Continental Navy, and all of them were destroyed and sold except one vessel named The Surprise, which had an unknown

During the War of 1812 a key role naval supremacy would be who control the great lakes. The plan was then to build smaller light weight ships such as many gunboats and two frigates. A gunboats purpose is to carry guns, instead of focusing on carrying troops or naval warfare. Gunboats usually were used to bombard coastal areas. The U.S decided to build the fleet of ships in the secluded shores of Lake Erie, the area had an important resource, wood. Wood was becoming a precious resource especially for England. If the English wanted to build new ships it would have to rely on trade or new world resources. When the time came for the British and American to face off on the battle of Lake Erie, the Americans had better numbers in ships. The British on the other hand had better weapons such as cannons. The Americans ships were thinly hulled, due to their quick construction. British cannon fire would destroy these ships with extreme ease, but in the end the US was victories in the battle of Lake Erie due to the leadership of Commander Oliver Hazzard