WHEREAS, the United States Navy was founded in Pennsylvania on October 13, 1775, when the Second Continental Congress at Independence Hall in Philadelphia authorized its first ships; and
WHEREAS, later that year in Pennsylvania, the Continental Navy commissioned its first ship and granted its first commission to John Barry, the father of the American Navy; and
WHEREAS, the Second Continental Congress in Pennsylvania commissioned Lieutenant John Paul Jones, who, on the Delaware, was the first to raise an American national flag, the Grand Union Flag, on a naval vessel; and
WHEREAS, the first ship to be commissioned as the U.S.S. Delaware was built under the order of the Continental Congress in Philadelphia on December 13, 1775 and launched in July 1776 and was commanded for a time by Captain John Barry; and
WHEREAS, the United States Marine Corps was founded in Pennsylvania on November 10, 1775, when the Second Continental Congress at Independence Hall in Philadelphia authorized the recruitment of two battalions; and
WHEREAS, the United States Marine Corps was born later that year after its first commissioned officer Captain Samuel Nicholas held a recruiting drive in Tun Tavern in Philadelphia; and
WHEREAS, the first United States Marine Corps amphibious operation, mounted from Pennsylvania, seized sorely needed gunpowder for the Continental Army; and
WHEREAS, the State of Delaware, at the port of Wilmington, played an important role in designing and building ships at the shipyards of Harlan and Hollingsworth and Pusey and Jones in the 19
th
century and added the shipyard of Dravo in the 20
th
century; and
WHEREAS, the State of Delaware has contributed sons and daughters to lead the United States Navy and the United States Marine Corps since their birth, including Commodore Jacob Jones, Commodore Thomas Macdonough, and Admiral Samuel Francis DuPont; and
WHEREAS, the United States Navy commissioned the seventh ship to be named the U.S.S. Delaware, on April 4, 2020, which is the SSN-791, as a Virginia Class Attack Submarine and which was also the first ship in the history of the United States Navy to be commissioned underwater; and
WHEREAS, the United States Navy's 250-year history should be celebrated by assembling ships, including the Pennsylvania State Flagship
Niagara
, from every major war the United States Navy has fought and the newest U.S.S. Delaware; and
WHEREAS, this assemblage would be possible only in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania because Philadelphia has preserved the
U.S.S. Olympia
, the sole surviving naval vessel of the Spanish-American War; and
WHEREAS, the United States Marine Corps' 250th birthday should be celebrated by rebuilding Tun Tavern in Philadelphia, drawing United States Marines from the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania and beyond.
NOW, THEREFORE:
BE IT RESOLVED by the Senate of the 151st General Assembly of the State of Delaware, the House of Representatives concurring therein, that the General Assembly urges the Secretary of the Navy to designate Philadelphia and both banks of the Delaware River as the site of the main celebration of the 250th birthdays of the United States Navy and the United States Marine Corps in October and November 2025.
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the General Assembly urges the United States Navy and the United States Marine Corps to participate by bringing active-duty ships, including the U.S.S. Delaware; aircraft; equipment; and personnel that represent the United States Navy and the United States Marine Corps.
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that after final passage the Secretary of the Senate send copies of this resolution to the President of the United States, the United States Secretary of Defense, the Secretary of the Navy, the Commandant of the Marine Corps, and each member of the Delaware Congressional Delegation.
