On November 15, 1776, Congress established the relative rank between officers of the army and navy as follows: Admirals to rank with gen erabk, vice-admirals with lieutenant-generals, rear-admirals with major-generals, commodores with brigadier-generals, captains of ships of 40 guns and upward with colonels, captains of ships of 20 to 40 with lieutenant-colonels, captains of ships of 10 to 20 guns with majors, lieutenants with captains, and officers of marines with offi cers holding similar commissions in the land service. Notwithstanding this act, no rank higher than that of captain was created by law until 1S62, though the title of admiral (q.v.) was given to John Paul Jones in the official corre spondence of the State Department in 1792, a short time previous to his death.
From the close of the Revolution until 1795 the country was practically without a navy, largely from lack of money to support one. The cause of its reestablishment was the depreda tions of the Barbary pirates. On March 3, 1794, President Washington sent a message to Congress communicating the facts in regard to the Algerian outrages, and Congress promptly passed an act, which was approved on March 27th, authorizing the purchase or construction of six frigates. It was provided that no vessel should mount less than 32 guns. An additional provision was that all proceedings under the act should cease in case the Algerian difficulty should be settled. Measures were home d la tely taken for the construction of the vessels, which consisted of the Constitution (q.v.), Pres ident. and United states of 44 guns, and the Chesapeake (q.v.), Constellation, and Congress of 3S.
In November, 1795, a treaty was signed with the Dey of Algiers, and all work on the vessels was suspended. The President immediately called thq attention of Congress to the subject, and an act was passed without delay ordering the completion and equipment of two of the 44's and one of the 38's. The treaty of peace with the Dey of Algiers cost nearly a million dollars, the price of three frigates, and the President, in his annual address to Congress in December, 1796, strongly reeommended laws for the grad ual increase of the navy. The outrageous pro ceedings of the French cruisers on the United States coast did what no representations of the Government could achieve, and in April, 1798, Congress grudgingly authorized the President to build, purchase. or hire twelve vessels, none of which was to exceed 22 guns, and see that they were regularly manned and equipped. This act
was pasted on April 27th, and on the 30th a reg ular Navy Department was created separate from the Department of War, of which it had previously formed a part. Benjamin Stoddert of Georgetown, D. C.. was the first Secretary, and he entered on his duties in June. On June 11th new marine corps was established, and during the year a number of additional small vessels were authorized.
The quasi-war with France soon terminated with eredit to the newly born service; neverthe less, it is probable that Congress was so deeply imbued with false ideas of economy that the navy would have been reduced to comparative uselessness had not the Barbary powers repeated their acts of aggression. At the close of the operations against Tripoli, which were highly creditable to the navy, the service was in ex cellent condition. The spirit of economy shown by our Government now took a new turn. President Jefferson, whose knowledge of military affairs was very slight and of naval affairs practically nil, brought forth his gun boat policy. While this system was being de veloped the incident of the Chesapeake and Le yard occurred and saved the navy from ab solute disorganization, though that incident itself was discreditable to the country and the naval service. Neither the aggressions of England and France nor the danger of war with Spain were sufficient, however, to cause Congress to appro priate money for ships of the line, and the navy at the beginning of the War of 1812 was pos sessed of nothing larger than a frigate, while the price of several line-of-battle ships had been squandered in building more than 200 worthless gunboats. The operations of the War of 1812 were so extensive and important that they can not here even be separately mentioned. Suffice it to say that the nary achieved world-wide re nown and won the respect of the country.
Immediately after the close of the war with Great Britain a squadron under the command of Commodore Decatur was sent to punish the Barbary powers, partieularly Algiers, for wanton aggressions upon our commerce during the war, which prevented action being taken at the time. In sixty days after his arrival in the Mediter ranean Decatur had eaptnred the principal vessels of the Algerian navy and bad forced treaties on Algiers and Tunis which compelled these faith less pirates to a recognition of maritime right.