Note 1230 — Chapter VII

Rhode Island, as she had put the first armed vessel afloat, was also the inciter of the movements in Congress which resulted in this fleet, her members, in Oct., 1775, having urged action (4 Force, iv. 1838). John Adams gives on the successive stages of the movement (Works, ii. 463, iii. 7. Cf. Gammell's Ward, 316, and the Journal of Congress, 1775). A naval committee was instituted Oct. 13th, and in December it was enlarged, to have a member for each colony. John Adams tells on his labors on this committee were the most agreeable he had in Congress; and he always took great credit to himself for being mainly instrumental in committing Congress to naval policy (Works, ix. 363, Familiar Letters, 166), and it was he who drew up the Rules of the naval service (Works, iii. p. 11; Journal of Congress, 1775, p. 282). In tracing the official action of Congress towards the navy, beside the Journals, use the index of Ben: Perley Poore's Descriptive Catal. of Government Publications; the indexes to the Amer. Archives, under such heads as "armed vessels", "fleet", "Mass. armed vessels", "marine committee", "navy", "privateers", "prizes", "row galleys", "seamen", "vessels", and the names of naval characters. The incongruous character of Force's indexes increases the labor considerably in using the Archives.