WEBVTT

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Yeah , yeah ,

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yeah , yeah . It was a time of wooden

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ships and sail cloths . A time of

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muskets and long swords . It was when

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the young nation of America found

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itself in a second war with Britain and

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the american navy came of age . Yeah ,

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America's legacy as a blue water force

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for good can be traced to the six

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frigates of the fledgling navy and the

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ship drivers who took them into harm's

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way . But the story of those frigates

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began years earlier

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without a decisive naval force . We can

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do nothing definitive and with it

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everything honorable and glorious . In

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the late 1700s , as Europe began to be

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embroiled in what would become the

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Napoleonic wars , more than a dozen

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American merchant ships have been

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seized by the barbary states of the

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Mediterranean , primarily those of

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algiers , sailors and shipowners were

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distressed . The shipowners beseeched

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the nation's leaders for some sort of

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protection . The House of

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Representatives answered with a

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resolution claiming that a naval force

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adequate to the protection of the

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commerce of the United States against

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the Algerian Corsairs ought to be

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provided . Congress formed a committee

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who later recommended that a small

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squadron should be formed . In response

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to the proposal came to a vote in the

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House of Representatives on March 10 ,

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and passed with a 52 , vote . President

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Washington signed the bill into law on

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March 27 . The nation's war office was

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now empowered to purchase or build six

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frigates . These frigates would be

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designed to carry between 32 and 44

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guns , depending on their rating . One

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of the 39 votes that attended to block

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the motion was from a Virginia named

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James Madison , who would be president

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of the United States 16 years later ,

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during a conflict that would be

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affected by the very frigates , he

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opposed the job of acquiring the

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frigates was now on the shoulders of

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secretary of war . Henry Knox , a

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veteran of the American Revolution ,

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Knox returned to a shipbuilder named

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Joshua humphreys , a man who had

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already started design on a new class

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of frigate . The new frigates will play

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a major role in conflicts to come and

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demonstrate a strengthened designing

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ships to be as versatile as possible .

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The innovative and cost effective

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designs of today's navy can be traced

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to the work of Joshua humphreys . Mm

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Congress had approved the measure to

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buyer build six frigates and Secretary

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of War Henry Knox settled upon a

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philadelphia shipbuilder named Joshua

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humphreys to design the ships . It was

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agreed upon by both men that the nation

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required a specific type of ship to

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defend its shores . Yeah , it is

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determined of importance to this

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country to take the lead and class of

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ships not in use in europe , which

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would be the only means of making our

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little navy of any importance Humphries

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had studied everything he could about

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ship design and architecture . His

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designs would seek to combine the

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strength of the ships of the line with

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the speed and maneuverability of

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european frigates . The new frigates

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were to be 175 ft at the waterline ,

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larger than the European frigates

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carrying larger cannon . While not

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sacrificing speed . They are superior

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to any european frigate and if others

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should be in the enemy's company , our

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frigates can always lead ahead and

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never be obliged to go into action .

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But on their own terms , The goal of

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the design of Humphrey's frigates was

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to empower them in single ship on ship

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action , but also to give them the

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ability to outsell any heavily cannon

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ship of the line . While the Congress

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of 1794 only cared about responding to

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Algerian corsairs , Humphries intended

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his ships to be capable of engaging the

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European powers of the time if the need

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arose . President Washington approved

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the proposal for ships sent to him by

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Congress . He was also given a list of

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names to pick from for the ships . The

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first five frigates were the first five

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options on the list . United States

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constellation . Constitution . Congress

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and President . The last was later

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named Chesapeake . In 1797 , the first

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of the frigates , USS , United States

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was launched in Philadelphia . She

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would be followed by the constellation

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and the Constitution . A few months

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later , ships without leaders are just

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wooden or steel shells . Nimitz Halsey

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spruance and burke . These are the

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names of legendary fighting admirals

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that resonate with the fleet , but

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there are men who lead our young navy

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in the war of 18 12 , who also forged

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fighting reputations . Stephen decatur

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began a prolific career with acts of

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daring during the conflict with the

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Barbary Corsairs . Isaac Hull who

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shattered England's feeling of

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invulnerability when he led the crew of

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the USs constitution . In the first

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capture of a british warship in the war

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Oliver hazard . Perry , whose flag bore

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the words of a slain comrade as he

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engaged a british fleet on lake Erie ,

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defending the entire Ohio valley .

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These men lead an Officer Corps of

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exceptional warfighters and forged

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tradition which has continued for 200

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years based on war fighting excellence

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and training that began during the war

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of 1812 . To learn more about the

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emergence of our navy during the war of

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18 12 . Watch the defense media

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activity is broadcast from new Orleans

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Baltimore and boston on direct to

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sailor television or the pentagon

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channel april 18th from New Orleans ,

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june 15th from Fort Mchenry in

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Baltimore and July four from USS

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Kearsarge in Boston And log on to our

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1812 homepage starting April 15 at

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Navy 1812 . Yeah , that's a wrap