The birth of the United States Navy was on Friday, 13 October 1775 when the Continental Congress made provisions for purchasing and arming two small ships for a three month campaign of harassing the British Royal Navy and intercepting what ever provisions and war stores they could.  Within days, the Continental Congress saw fit to create the  Naval Committee who were charged with arming more vessels with the intent of challenging the might of the most powerful Navy of the time, the British Royal Navy.  This was the dawn of the Continental Navy, who with their two ships would stand defiant against 600 enemy ships and begin a proud tradition that would later become what we know as the United States Navy.

The first real action of substance that took place involving the Continental Navy was on 3 March 1776 when a fleet of 9 ships, sloops and cutters under the command of Commodore Esek Hopkins (there were no Admirals back then) succeeded in capturing the British colony of New Providence in the Bahamas and taking all their ammunition for the cause of American Independence. (Depicted in image above)

Through the Revolutionary War to today, our Navy has produced men like Captain John Paul Jones, the father of the US Navy; Captain Isaac Hull of the USS Constitution who took the HMS Guerrier in the War of 1812 (see left); Commodore George Dewey who defeated the Spanish Fleet in the Battle of Manila Bay; Admiral Farragut who survived Pearl Harbor and went on to mastermind the destruction of the Japanese Pacific Carrier Fleet in the Battle of Midway, forever cementing the US Navy as the naval power of the planet, and many more.  The tradition continues today and will continue in our cadets.

The birth of the US Naval Sea Cadet Corps may not have been in the face of a Royal Navy 600 vessels strong, but it was with almost as daunting a task in mind.  Since 1958 the Naval Sea Cadet Corps has been committed to providing American youth with a drug and alcohol free environment to foster their leadership abilities, broaden their horizons through hands-on training and guide them to becoming mature young adults.

Sea Cadet organizations exist in most of the maritime nations of the world. Recognizing the value of these organizations in educating youth in maritime matters, the Department of the Navy requested the Navy League of the United States to establish a similar program for American youth. The Navy League agreed to do so and formally established the Naval Sea Cadet Corps (NSCC) and Navy League Cadet Corps (NLCC) in 1958. Recognizing the importance and benefits of the NSCC, Congress on September 10, 1962 federally incorporated the Naval Sea Cadet Corps under Public Law 87-655 (36 USC 1541).

Today, the NSCC has formed partnerships with organizations such as the Foundation for Teaching Economics and the Flying Midshipman Association to offer cadets broader opportunities in areas of leadership and aviation. The NSCC also took an active part in the creation of the International Sea Cadet Association (ISCA). The ISCA is an association of Sea Cadet Corps' from around the world, whose main objective is to facilitate exchanges of cadets between member countries.