<P> Privateers had some success, with 1,697 letters of marque being issued by Congress . Individual states, American agents in Europe and in the Caribbean also issued commissions; taking duplications into account more than 2,000 commissions were issued by the various authorities . Over 2,200 British ships were taken by Yankee privateers, amounting to almost $66 million, a significant sum at the time . </P> <P> One particularly notable American naval hero of the Revolution was John Paul Jones, who in his famous voyage around the British Isles defeated the British ship Serapis (1779) in the Battle of Flamborough Head . Partway through the battle, with the rigging of the two ships entangled, and several guns of Jones' ship Bonhomme Richard (1765) out of action, the captain of Serapis asked Jones if he had struck his colors, to which Jones has been quoted as replying, "I have not yet begun to fight!" </P> <P> France officially entered the war on 17 June 1778, and the ships of the French Navy sent to the Western Hemisphere spent most of the year in the West Indies, and only sailed near the Thirteen Colonies during the Caribbean hurricane season from July until November . The first French fleet attempted landings in New York and Rhode Island, but ultimately failed to engage British forces during 1778 . In 1779, a fleet commanded by Vice Admiral Charles Henri, comte d'Estaing assisted American forces attempting to recapture Savvanah, Georgia . </P> <P> In 1780, a fleet with 6,000 troops commanded by Lieutenant General Jean - Baptiste, comte de Rochambeau landed at Newport, Rhode Island, and shortly afterwards the fleet was blockaded by the British . In early 1781, Washington and de Rochambeau planned an attack against the British in the Chesapeake Bay area to coordinate with the arrival of a large fleet commanded by Vice Admiral François, comte de Grasse . Successfully deceiving the British that an attack was planned in New York, Washington and de Rochambeau marched to Virginia, and de Grasse began landing forces near Yorktown, Virginia . On 5 September 1781 a major naval action was fought by de Grasse and the British at the Battle of the Virginia Capes, ending with the French fleet in control of the Chesapeake Bay . The U.S. Navy continued to interdict British supply ships until peace was finally declared in late 1783 . </P>

What events in the world convinced the us it needed a large navy