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The Pennsylvania State Navy was formed on July 6, 1775 by the Pennsylvania Committee of Safety for the defense and safety of Philadelphia's waterborne approach - the Delaware.  Thirteen row galley's were ordered built, each to be armed with a single large cannon in the bow.  Amazingly, the first of these was launched on July 19th, and by the August there were six.  Completed and commissioned, they were named:

The armament ranged from 18-pounders up to 32-pounders.  By the close of 1775, ten fire rafts were built.  In 1776 two floating batteries, the  ARNOLD  and  PUTNAM,  were commissioned and crewed by Pennsylvania State Marines.  By August of 1776, the Pennsylvania State Navy totaled twenty-seven vessels crewed by 768 men.¹  Toward the end of 1776, twenty-one smaller vessels were ordered built.  They were called "armed boats" or "guard boats", and each were armed with a 4-pounder cannon in the bow.  They were named:

The Navy saw action for the first time on May 6, 1776 when it engaged the British ships ROEBUCK 44 and LIVERPOOL 28.  After a brief engagement, both enemy ships were forced to withdraw south past Newcastle, Delaware.

On September 26, 1777, British General Sir William Howe took possession of Philadelphia.  Keeping him from receiving needed supplies were the Pennsylvania State Navy (then based at Fort Mifflin), Fort Mifflin, Fort Mercer and other fortified posts along the Delaware River south of the city.  The Royal Navy was intent on forcing its way north up the Delaware to relieve the troops in Philadelphia, and to do so meant fighting their way clear of river obstructions and the State Navy.  To read a description of the Siege of Fort Mifflin and the events of the Delaware River campaign in November of 1777, click here to visit Fort Mifflin on the Delaware.

Other detailed accounts can be found in the following text:

⁽¹⁾ "Ships and Seamen of the American Revolution" by Jack Coggins, Promontory Press, 1969.

"The Pennsylvania State Navy, 1775-1781.  The Defense of the Delaware" by John W. Jackson, Rutgers University Press, 1974.

Although both are out of print, they can regularly be found at www.abebooks.com.

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