HCR 147

R-178  Page 1 of 2
2025
No. R-178. House concurrent resolution commemorating the 250th anniversary of
the establishment of the U.S. Navy.
                                         (H.C.R.147)
   Offered by Representatives Morrissey of Bennington, Corcoran of Bennington, Greer
of Bennington, and Nigro of Bennington
   Offered by Senators Bongartz and Plunkett
   Whereas, in 1884, the General Assembly adopted Act 180 incorporating “The Trustees
of the Soldiers’ Home in Vermont” and establishing the legal foundation for the
contemporary Vermont Veterans’ Home, providing a dignified residence for all those
who had served in our nation’s military, including the Vermonters who bravely served in
the U.S. Navy, and
   Whereas, the origins of the U.S. Navy predate the nation’s independence and can be
traced to a 1775 action of the Rhode Island General Assembly, which directed its
delegates to the Continental Congress in Philadelphia to request that “a fleet of sufficient
force for the protection of these colonies” be formed to protect American ports and
waters, and
   Whereas, after deliberations, on October 13, 1775, considered the U.S. Navy’s
founding date, the Continental Congress created a naval advisory committee of which
future president John Adams was a member, and
   Whereas, accepting the Committee’s recommendations that defensive and offensive
naval capabilities be developed, the Continental Congress directed that Massachusetts
supply George Washington, then stationed in that colony, with an armed schooner and a
sloop for the purpose of seizing British supply vessels, and
   Whereas, by the end of 1775, the Continental Congress had authorized the purchase of
ships and created an organizational structure formalizing the Continental Navy, and
   Whereas, after serving a vital role in the American War of Independence, the U.S.
Navy was shuttered, but new maritime dangers such as the Barbary pirates emerged,
prompting the U.S. Congress on January 2, 1794 to resolve to create “a naval force,
adequate to the protection of the United States against the Algerine corsairs,” and on
March 27, 1794, Congress adopted an “Act to provide a Naval Armament,” officially
forming today’s U.S. Navy, and
   Whereas, the U.S. Navy veterans who reside at the Vermont Veterans’ Home are
observing this special anniversary with pride and memories of their years in naval
uniform on land and sea, and the nation is marking the occasion with, among other
recognitions, the issuance of commemorative U.S. postage stamps, now therefore be it
   Resolved by the Senate and House of Representatives:
   That the General Assembly commemorates the 250th anniversary of the establishment
of the U.S. Navy, and be it further
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2025
   Resolved: That the Secretary of State be directed to send a copy of this resolution to
the Vermont Veterans’ Home.
                                                                            VT LEG #383768 v.1