This Day in Naval History – June 1

1813 - HMS Shannon captures USS Chesapeake, Capt. James Lawrence. As the mortally wounded Captain Lawrence was carried below, he ordered "Tell the men to fire faster! Don't give up the ship!" These words would live on in naval history. Oliver Hazard Perry honored his dead friend Lawrence when he had the motto sewn onto the private battle flag flown during the Battle of Lake Erie, 10 September 1813.

1871 - RADM Rodgers lands in Korea with a party of Sailors and Marines and captures 5 forts to secure protection for U.S. citizens after Americans were fired upon and murdered.

1914 - General Order 99 prohibits alcohol on board naval vessels, or at navy yards or stations

1915 - First contract for lighter-than-air craft for Navy

1939 - Director of the Naval Research Laboratory, Captain Hollis M. Cooley, proposes research in atomic energy for future use in nuclear powered submarine

1944 - ZP-14 Airships complete first crossing of Atlantic by non-rigid lighter-than-air aircraft

1954 - First test of steam catapult from USS Hancock

(Source: Navy News Service)