Navy Combat Branches
Navy Combat BranchesNavy Combat Branches: Surface Forces
Until the twentieth century, surface warfare was naturally the focus of the U.S. Navy. The navy's force structure was built around major surface warships: the frigates of the 1794 program, the ships of the line after the War of 1812, the monitors of the Civil War era, and, beginning in the 1880s, the cruisers and the battleships. Missions for these naval vessels included commerce raiding, trade protection, coast defense, and sea control. In the 1890s, a smaller type, the destroyer, emerged to shield larger vessels from enemy torpedo boats; it...
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