Naval History and Heritage Command

The R.I. delegates press the Continental Congress for creation of a Continental Navy to protect the colonies due to the harassment of shipping by the British.

The brig USS Washington seizes the Spanish slaver Amistad, near Montauk Point, N.Y. The Africans are held on murder charges due to their prior seizure of the ship in July. The case goes to the Supreme Court in Jan. 1841, and former President John Quincy Adams successfully argues the defendants' case.

The day after the steam frigate, USS Missouri, becomes the first steam-powered ship to complete a Trans-Atlantic crossing, she accidently catches on fire, explodes and sinks at Gibraltar, without loss of life.

A detachment of Marines from USS Rainbow lands at Camp Nicholson, near Shanghai, China, to protect American interests from local revolutionaries.

Motor torpedo boats PT-511, PT-514, and PT-520 take part in a night engagement that turns back the last German attempt to reinforce the besieged garrison at La Havre. The PTs sink Germany artillery ferries AFP-98 and AFP-108.

While operating in stormy seas off northern Norway, USS Cochino (SS 345) suffers a series of serious battery explosions that result in her loss. Though Cochino's crew is successfully rescued by USS Tusk (SS 426), the submarine loses seven of her own men during this difficult effort.