The U.S. Navy has the U.S. Naval Construction Force, composed of many Construction Battalions (also known as "C.B."s or “Seabees”.)
As it happens, I’ve been aboard two warships on Lake Erie, one historic (and the vessel from which the aforementioned DONT GIVE UP THE SHIP flag was flown) and one still on active duty at the time.
The Perfect Master speaks: In The Sound of Music, how can Capt. von Trapp be a veteran of landlocked Austria’s navy? - The Straight Dope
That hasn’t stopped the Navy in the past; in Vietnam they had river patrol boats that had drafts of 2 feet and the famous ‘swift boats’ had drafts of 5 feet.
President Lincoln sent a letter to political supporters in Illinois in August 1863, noting the recent victorious efforts of the Federal armies at Gettysburg and Vicksburg. But he went on to write, “Nor must Uncle Sam’s web-feet be forgotten. At all the watery margins [the Navy’s men and ships] have been present. Not only on the deep sea, the broad bay, and the rapid river, but also up the narrow muddy bayou, and wherever the ground was a little damp, they have been, and made their tracks. Thanks to all.”
Not sure if it’s patrolling exactly, but:
https://www.navsea.navy.mil/Home/Warfare-Centers/NUWC-Newport/What-We-Do/Detachments/Seneca-Lake/
The general term for naval operations in inland waters is “brown-water navy”.
Generally, this implies riverine operations but lakes that are embedded in river systems would obviously be included.
There is a reason why the Coast Guard are called puddle pirates.
The US Navy does have a presence on China Lake. Not much of a lake to be honest.
https://www.cnic.navy.mil/regions/cnrsw/installations/naws_china_lake.html
Yes, I own them all, they are quite good.
There are also a few museum ships permanently docked in the Great Lakes. The submarine USS Cod, in Cleveland, is the one I know best.
I’m trying to find a cite, but my understanding is the U.S. and Canada have a defense treaty allowing for passage of warships throughout the Great Lakes system, including Lake Michigan, whose shores are entirely American. Mostly used by the coast guards, rather than navies.
The USS Cobia is moored at Manitowoc, WI as well. The Manitowoc Shipbuilding Company built 28 WWII subs as well as LCTs and cargo ships for the Navy. The subs left Lake Michigan via Chicago and the Illinois River.
ouch.
Hmmm… can you give us a site, please?
ETA: damn. I shoulda known I’d be beaten to the pun ch.
As noted earlier, Russia-v.-Ukraine is being fought on the Black Sea.
But the Caspian Sea is still part of the OP, being a lake (despite the name) and having five nations as part of its shoreline.
And the Soviet Union definitely had a naval presence in the Caspian Sea…
Oddly enough, Wikipedia has nothing about Iranian naval presence on the Caspian Sea, even during the Cold War when there could well have been the occasional clash with the Soviets.
Here’s a cite. It was designated the birthplace of the American Navy by the New York State Legislature. I had an argument with a Whitehall resident about that. My position was that you could do a lot of great things on a land locked lake, but launching a navy wasn’t one of them.
Thank you. Also whoosh.
See post 20, and here: Rush–Bagot Treaty - Wikipedia
Thanks, but those don’t address my specific question: does the Canadian coast guard have freedom of navigation into Lake Michigan?
This suggests not, but I don’t know for sure. I’ll ask my favorite Canadian Doper to take a look: https://greatlakesecho.org/2018/12/19/u-s-canadian-coast-guards-break-ice-on-shared-waters/
If the Rush-Bagot Treaty didn’t make an exception, then Canada could have two armed ships in Lake Michigan. That treaty may still be nominally in effect, but effectively it’s been superseded by other agreements, so that’s not really an answer.
The article Elendil_s_Heir linked to says that the two Coast Guards’ icebreakers will at times do their icebreaking in each other’s territory, so it’s possible a Canadian icebreaker may work in Lake Michigan.