Aug. 14, 2024

“We pronounce her to be the Non Pareil”: The launching of USS Congress

Editor’s note: On May 10, 2022, Naval History and Heritage Command announced its commemoration of the 225th anniversary of the launch of the first of the U.S. Navy’s six frigates, which began the new United States Navy, including: United States (launched May 10, 1797), Constellation (September 7, 1797), Constitution (October 21, 1797), Congress

Aug. 10, 2022

USS Congress Becomes the First U.S. Navy Ship to Visit China, 1819

In 1819, the frigate Congress became the first American warship to visit China. Although the cruise did little to protect American commerce in the Far East, which was the ship’s mission, showing the U.S. flag in distant places made a symbolic impact and foreshadowed the Navy’s future role in the Western Pacific.

March 27, 2019

The Fates of the Six Frigates Created by the Naval Act of 1794

George Washington gives us perhaps one of the greatest quotes to describe our Navy's important role. In a letter he writes: "It follows then as certain that night succeeds the day, that without a decisive naval force, we can do nothing definitive, and with it, everything honorable and glorious."It should come as no surprise then that on March 27th,