On November 2, 1775, $100,000 was voted for ships, and the committee was authorized to select officers and seamen. On November 10th were authorized two battalions of marines. The first intention was to take them from the army, but Washington objecting to such weakening of his force, they were to be raised independently and, with a curious misunderstanding of their use, it was provided that they should be “such as are good seamen.” Rules for the government of the navy were passed November 28th, and the offices of Captain, Lieutenant, Master, Master’s Mate, Surgeon, Chaplain, and Warrant Officer established. The monthly pay of captain was $32; of able seaman $6.67, later raised to $8. A prize court was established. The rules, naturally, were taken from those of the British service, and throughout the whole existence of our navy there has run a strong similarity, until of late years when there have been many changes in the nomenclature of the ratings of the enlisted men. Both services had the “Banyan day,” when no meat was served,[1] though in the American navy this soon ceased to be an actuality. Such phrases as “Chips” (the carpenter) and “Jimmy Legs” (the master-at-arms) were among the many common to both services; but one, “Jack-of-the-Dust” (an adjunct of the paymaster’s department), which is to-day a rating in the American navy, is no longer a part of British ratings. On December 13, 1775, Congress authorized the building of thirteen frigates, and next day, December 14th, a committee of thirteen was chosen by ballot to superintend their construction and equipment; five of these were to be of 32 guns; five of 28; and three of 24. The _Raleigh_, of 32 guns, was built at Portsmouth, New Hampshire; the _Hancock_, 32, and _Boston_, 24, at Salisbury and Newburyport, Massachusetts; the _Warren_, 32, and _Providence_, 28, at Providence, Rhode Island; the _Trumbull_, 28, at Chatham, on the Connecticut River; the _Montgomery_, 24, and _Congress_, 28, at Poughkeepsie, New York; the _Randolph_, 32, _Washington_, 32, _Effingham_, 28, and _Delaware_, 24, at Philadelphia; the _Virginia_, 28, at Baltimore. Six of these--the _Montgomery_, _Congress_, _Washington_, _Effingham_, _Delaware_, and _Virginia_--never got to sea, all being destroyed to prevent capture except the _Virginia_ which, having grounded and lost her rudder in the Chesapeake, was taken by a British force in the bay.