Naval History and Heritage Command

Lt. Robert F. Stockton and Dr. Eli Ayers, a naval surgeon and member of American Colonizing Society, persuade a local African king to sell territory for a colony that becomes the Republic of Liberia.

The Great White Fleet departs Hampton Roads, Va. to circumnavigate the world in 14 months, a journey of 43,000 miles that included 20 port calls across six continents. Fourteen thousand Sailors and Marines participated in the voyage, leaving a lasting legacy at home and abroad.

Lt. Cmdr. Walter A. Edwards, commanding USS Bainbridge (DD 246), leads the rescue of 482 passengers from the burning French transport Vinh-Long by placing his destroyer in dangerous positions to ensure the passengers could disembark, despite a series of explosions. He later brings them to Constantinople. For his leadership and heroism, Edwards receives the Medal of Honor.

USS Swordfish (SS 193) attacks a Japanese convoy south of Hainan Island and sinks Japanese army transport Atsutasan Maru.

In Operation Desert Fox, Navy cruise missiles attack Iraq to degrade Saddam Husseins ability to make and use weapons of mass destruction.

The Freedom variant littoral combat ship USS Little Rock (LCS 9) is commissioned in a ceremony at the Canalside waterfront in Buffalo, New York. It is the second warship named for the Arkansas state capital and is commissioned alongside the first USS Little Rock (CL 92), which serves as a museum at the Buffalo and Erie County Naval and Military Park.