Photographs
[Click on the thumb-nail to see full-size image]
| Original photo caption;
description (if any):
|
| USRC Massachusetts
[In service 1791-1792.]
This painting purports to illustrate
the first cutter named Massachusetts but it incorrectly shows
the cutter flying the Revenue ensign and commission pennant, which
were not adopted until 1799, well after the first Massachusetts
had left service. Nevertheless, the illustration does show those
characteristics typical of most of the first few generations of
Revenue cutters: a small sailing vessel steered by a tiller, with low
freeboard, light draft, lightly armed, and usually rigged as a topsail
schooner.
The first Massachusetts was a
60-foot schooner that displaced 70 43/95 tons. She was launched
on 23 July 1791 and sold out of service on 9 October 1792. .
|
| USRC Pickering;
"U.S.R.C. PICKERING (1798-1800); Revenue Service 'Jackass Brig'
which served in the Quasi-War with France. She was permanently
transferred to the Navy in 1800, and was lost at sea later that year.
Print copied from: Naval Documents (of) the Quasi-War. . ., vol. 1, p.
328. U.S. Navy Historical Center Photograph- -Released."; copy of
image in Pickering cutter file, USCG Historian's Office.
The cutter Pickering was a
brig-rigged vessel of about 135 tons and measured 58 feet along her
keel. She entered Revenue service in July, 1798, and ably served
during the Quasi-War with France, capturing five French vessels,
including the privateer L'Egypte Conquise after a nine-hour
battle! She was lost with all hands (US Navy officers and crew)
to unknown causes after her permanent transfer to the Navy on 20 May
1799.
|
| USRC McLane; "U.S.R.C.
McLane. Josiah Sturgis, Lieut--Commandant"; photo of a
paining; oil on canvas; Image No. V4 M25/2; date circa 1835; artist
unknown; copy of image in McLane cutter file, USCG Historian's
Office.
McLane, a 73-foot topsail
schooner that displaced 112 tons, was in service from 1832 through
1840. She was built by Webb and Allen of New York. Her
commanding officer, Josiah Sturgis, gained considerable notoriety
along the coast for his rescue of hundreds of people and dozens of
ships. After assuming command of the cutter Hamilton, a
piano piece was written about him and his ship entitled the
"Hamilton Quick Step."
McLane capsized and was sunk by
a tornado off Hadleys Harbor on 30 August 1837. She was raised,
repaired and returned to service. She was sold on 21 October
1840 in Baltimore, MD.
|
![A photo of a Revenue cutter.](https://webarchive.library.unt.edu/eot2008/20091023011713im_/http://uscg.mil/history/img/USRC_1_sm.jpg) |
USRC Gallatin;
"U.S. Coast Guard survey schooner GALLATIN photographed in 1855
at Newport, R.I. This Revenue Cutter was built at the New York
Navy Yard in 1831. (Original of this photo is in the custody of
the Historical Society, Newport, R.I.)."; photographer unknown;
copy of image in Gallatin cutter file, USCG Historian's Office.
Gallatin was a 73-foot topsail
schooner that displaced 112 tons. She was built by the New York
Navy Yard and entered Revenue service in 1830. She was ordered
to Charleston, SC, on 16 November 1832 to enforce federal tariff law
and suppress the "nullification proceedings" adopted by the
State of South Carolina.
She was transferred to the Coast Survey
in 1840 and returned to Revenue service between 1848 to 1849 and then
returned to the Coast Survey. She was captured by Confederate
forces early in the Civil War and served the South as a privateer.
This is the earliest known photo of a
Revenue cutter although by the time this photo was taken she had
already transferred permanently to the Coast Survey.
|
![A photo of a Revenue cutter.](https://webarchive.library.unt.edu/eot2008/20091023011713im_/http://uscg.mil/history/img/USRC_Jeff_Davis_sm.jpg) |
USRC Jefferson Davis;
"U.S. REVENUE CUTTER JEFFERSON DAVIS (1853-1862): A line
drawing by Donald G. McGibbon, Jr., PA2, USCGR, using as historical
references its official description, and Howard I. Chapelle, The
History of the American Sailing Navy: The Ships and Their Development
(New York: Bonanza Books, 1949)."; G-APA-08-10-76 (01); 1976;
drawn by PA2 Donald G. McGibbon, Jr., USCGR; copy of image in Jefferson
Davis cutter file, USCG Historian's Office.
The Revenue cutter Jefferson Davis
was named for the man who would become the first and only president of
the Confederacy although at the time of the cutter's launch in 1853,
and the reason for this singular honor, he was President Franklin
Pierce's Secretary of War. In fact all vessels of this
class were named for members of President Pierce's cabinet. She
was a 90-plus foot topsail schooner that displaced about 150 tons.
She was built by J.M. Hood of Bristol, RI. She survived a
hurricane in 1853 with slight damage and put into Charleston for
repairs. After reentering service, she sailed to San Francisco
around Cape Horn to serve on the west coast, arriving in July, 1854.
She participated in the suppression of a Native American uprising in
Olympia, WA in 1855. She was converted to a "Marine
Hospital Boat" in 1862.
|
| The former-USRC McLane;
"Merrill's Shell-Bank Lightship: 1847-, iron boat of 400 tons,
'W' on history sheets; L.S. not numbered, discontinued Aug 10 1860,
replaced with screw-pile lighthouse."; 8th Dist. [7 M.]
Photographs; copy of image in McLane cutter file, USCG
Historian's Office.
Coast Guard Historian Robert Browning
wrote of the McLane and her sister vessels: "In the 1840s,
with steam propulsion increasing in popularity as a method to propel
ships, the U.S. Revenue Marine Service built eight steam vessels.
Most were built with innovative machinery and propulsion systems.
Nonetheless, the building program was a disaster. None of the
ships worked well, the were exorbitantly expensive, and all were
converted, sold, or transferred to other services within several years
of their commissioning. The quest for innovation and progress,
in this case, ended in complete failure."***
Here is McLane as she finished
her "official" life. Although the service failed in
this instance, the quest to develop a safe, efficient and cost
effective steam-powered revenue fleet continued.
|
| USRC Harriet Lane;
engraving; no caption; Image No. V4 L3/2; date/engraver unknown; copy
of image in Harriet Lane cutter file, USCG Historian's Office.
Pressure from public and private
sources from New York persuaded Congress that New York Harbor needed a
modern, fast Revenue steamer. Of particular concern were the
slave vessels illegally outfitting in New York. The result of
this pressure and subsequent Congressional action was Harriet Lane,
an elegant, 180-foot brigantine-rigged, 674-ton side paddlewheel
steamer. She was designed by Samuel Pook and built by William
Webb of New York for $140,000. She was named for
bachelor-President James Buchanan's niece, who served as the
"First Lady" of his administration.
Harriet Lane had a remarkable
career. She participated in the punitive expedition to Paraguay
in 1858, transported dignitaries, including the young Prince of Wales
(later King Edward VII) in 1860, and sailed with the expedition
to resupply Fort Sumter in 1861. She is credited with firing the
first "naval" shot of the Civil War. She was
permanently transferred to the Navy in September, 1861, and was
eventually captured by Confederate forces, converted into a blockade
runner and renamed Lavinia. After the war, Revenue
Captain John Faunce, her first commanding officer, found her in Cuba
and returned her to New York. Here her engines were removed and
she was converted to a barque-rigged sailing vessel. She was
sold to a lumber merchant, Elliot Ritchie, who named her after
himself. She was abandoned off Pernambuco, Brazil,
"water-logged," in the spring of 1884.*
|
| USRC Naugatuck; no
caption; engraving appeared in Harper's Weekly; date/engraver
unknown; copy of image in Naugatuck cutter file, USCG
Historian's Office.
Probably the most unique cutter to have
sailed under the Revenue Service ensign, Naugatuck, also known
as the E.A. Stevens, was a gun battery that could partially
submerge for protection. She displaced 120 tons, was
steam-driven, and mounted a 100-pounder Parrott rifle and two
12-pounders. She was originally built in 1844 and entered
Revenue service in 1862, apparently as something of a gift by her
builder who hoped to generate interest in his novel design.
She took part in the famous battle
between the CSS Virginia and USS Monitor in Hampton
Roads and in the attack on Drewry's Bluff, VA, in 1862. She also
served as a guard vessel in New York Harbor later in the war.
She was removed from service in 1872.
|
| USRC Grant; no
caption; date/photographer unknown.
Grant, a rare three-masted
cutter, was built by Pusey and Jones Corporation of Wilmington, DE.
She was a barque-rigged, iron-hulled, 163-foot steamer that displaced
350 tons. She entered service in 1871 and served on both coasts
during her career, including sailing with the Bering Sea Fleet.
She assisted vessels in distress, protected the seal rookeries,
patrolled during the salmon fishing season, transported dignitaries,
was ordered to search for the British man-of-war HMS Condor in
1902, participated in regional celebrations, and recovered bodies
after the sinking of the Valencia near Cape Beale in 1906.
She was sold in 1906 to Mr. A. A.
Cragin of Seattle, WA for $16,300.
|
| USRC Colfax; no
caption; date/photographer unknown.
Colfax, commissioned in 1871,
was a 140-foot, 250-ton, side paddlewheel steamer. She was built
with a composite hull (iron frames planked with wood) by Dialogue and
Wood of Camden, NJ.
She spent her career in the waters of
the southeast coast, from Baltimore to Savannah. She enforced
quarantine restrictions at Fort Monroe in 1893, operated with the USS Vesuvius,
the Navy's unique dynamite gun cruiser, in April, 1897, assisted the
disabled cutter Morrill in 1898, and hosted President William
McKinley in 1899 and was decommissioned in September of that year.
She was then used as a station ship in the Coast Guard Depot at Curtis
Bay, MD until she was sold in 1924 to Mr. Charles A. Jording of
Baltimore, MD, for $1,440.
|
| USRC Fessenden;
"Former Revenue-Cutter FESSENDEN. Side-wheel type of Cutter
in use in the early days of the Coast Guard"; date/photographer
unknown.
Retaining the powerplant machinery of
the original Fessenden constructed in 1865, this cutter entered
service in 1883. She was a 192-foot, 330-ton iron-hulled side
paddlewheel steamer that served on the Great Lakes. Her cruising
grounds were from "the mouth of the Detroit River through Lakes
St. Clair and Huron to Straits of Mackinac." Her area of
responsibility increased to include Lake Superior and then through
Lake Erie to the Niagara River.
She would go to "winter
quarters," i.e. lay up, usually in late-November when the lakes
and waterways became icebound, and then return to duty in early May.
While in service on the Great Lakes, she participated in numerous
civic events, including Milwaukee's 1899 "Carnival Week,"
Chicago's 1900 "Naval Parade of G. A. R.," and Cleveland's
1901 celebration of Commodore Oliver Hazzard Perry's victory on Lake
Erie over a British fleet in 1813.
She sailed to Baltimore for repairs in
1903 and returned to service in 1905. She was then stationed at
Key West, FL. Here she assisted vessels in distress, inspected
sponge fishing vessels, conferred "with State officers. . .and
assist them in protection of sponge industry" in 1905, was
detained at Mullet Key Quarantine Station when smallpox broke out
among some of the crew in 1906, towed a disinfecting barge from Key
West to Boca Grande Quarantine Station in Charlotte Harbor, FL that
same year, among other duties. She was decommissioned in 1907
and sold to the Craig Shipbuilding Company of Toledo, OH, for $9,100
in 1908.
|
| USRC Boutwell; no
caption; 12 July 1892; photo by J.N. Wilson.
Boutwell, commissioned in
1873, was an iron-hulled, twin-screw 138-foot steamer built by David
Bell of Buffalo at a cost of $70,000. She was 138 feet in length
and displaced 198 tons. Her primary cruising ground was between
Charleston, SC to Jacksonville, FL, and her homeport was Savannah, GA.
She was sold in 1907.
|
| USRC Boutwell; no
caption; date/photographer unknown.
Note differing paint scheme from above
photo. She was forced hard aground on McQueens Island in
the Savannah River by a hurricane in 1881 but was refloated and
repaired. She was ordered to cooperate with the USS Vesuvius,
the Navy's unique dynamite gun cruiser, in April, 1897. She
protected New Bern, NC, during the Spanish American War and was
ordered to render aid to the Sapito Quarantine Station. She also
transported the Governor of North Carolina and his entourage "to
such points as they may desire to visit" in 1906, typical of the
political patronage and public relations-type duties assigned to most
cutters during this period.
She was sold to a Mr. Leo Kimball of
Mobile, AL for $2,010 on 23 October 1907 after a 34-year career.
|
| USRC [Samuel] Dexter;
no caption; date/photographer unknown.
Dexter was one of three cutters
of the Dexter Class, all of which entered service in 1874.
Typical of cutters of this period, they were schooner-rigged steamers
of shallow draft, less than 150-feet in length and displacing less
than 200 tons. They were capable of sailing in most coastal
waters under either sail, steam, or both modes of propulsion. Dexter,
constructed by the Atlantic Works Company of East Boston for $71,000,
was commissioned on 18 June 1874. She served out of Newport, RI,
Boston and New Bedford, MA, during her Revenue career.
She conducted winter cruises along the
coast of New England each winter, usually from late November or early
December through April. During the Spanish-American War she was
assigned the protection of the port of Narragansett Bay. In 1906
she was ordered to support efforts to intercept vessels attempting to
smuggle Chinese immigrants. She also transported
dignitaries, patrolled regattas, attended local celebrations, and
assisted vessels in distress. She was sold in 1908 to Mr. Lee
Kimball of Mobile, AL for $2,775.
Note the lightship tied up to the pier
on the right of the photograph.
|
![A photo of a Revenue cutter.](https://webarchive.library.unt.edu/eot2008/20091023011713im_/http://uscg.mil/history/img/USRC_21_sm.jpg) |
USRC Commodore Perry;
no caption; date/photographer unknown.
Perry, a 165-foot, 282-ton,
iron-hulled, single-screw, steam-powered brigantine entered service in
1884. She was built by the Union Drydock Company of Buffalo for
$83,000. Her original station was on Lake Erie where she was
laid up during the winter months but she sailed for San Francisco,
around Cape Horn, in 1894. There she served off the west coast
and in Alaskan waters for the remainder of her career. She was
lost on Tonki Point off St. Paul Island in 1910, although all hands on
board were saved.
|
| USRC Richard Rush;
"Sitka, 7-4-1901"; photographer unknown.
The original Rush, a 140-foot,
180-ton, steam-powered topsail schooner, was built by the Atlantic
Works of East Boston for $79,800. She entered service in July,
1874 and set sail for California soon thereafter. She arrived at
San Francisco after a nearly four month voyage around Cape Horn.
She cruised the waters off California, Oregon, and Washington and made
three cruises to Alaskan waters before undergoing a major refit in
1885, when her original hull was sold and replaced with a new and
lengthened 175-foot hull.
This "new" Rush also
served in the Pacific for her entire career, including one cruise to
the Hawaiian Islands in 1893. She continued cruising to Alaskan
waters, as depicted in the photo here, where she is celebrating
Independence Day in 1901. She was detached for duty with the
Navy during the Spanish-American War but saw no action. She too
carried the "floating federal district courts," as did most
Revenue cutters that sailed to Alaska since there were no federal
courts in place in Alaska at that time, searched for survivors of
wrecked ships, assisted vessels in distress, enforced fisheries laws,
participated in local celebrations, and transported dignitaries
(local, federal, and international).
She was decommissioned in 1912 and sold
to the Alaskan Junk Company for $8,500.
|
| USRC Bear;
"Revenue Cutter 'Bear' jammed in the ice off Point Barrow Aug
[18]98"; photo by F. D. Fujiwara.
Probably the most famous cutter of all,
the Bear was originally built by Alexander Stephen & Son in
Scotland for sailing in northern waters as a whaler and sealer.
She was a 198-foot, 703-ton barquentine-rigged steamer. Although
she was not a true icebreaker, her hull was reinforced for operations
in light ice and is therefore a forebear of today's icebreakers.
She was purchased by the U.S. Navy for the Greely Arctic rescue
mission in 1884 and was turned over to the Revenue Cutter Service in
1885. Here she served valiantly in Alaskan waters for over 40
years under the command of many famous captains, including the
indomitable Michael Healy. She was taken back into naval service
during World War II and served on the Greenland Patrol.
Ultimately she sank while under tow in 1963.
|
| USRC Winona; no
caption; date/photographer unknown.
Winona, a 149-foot, 321-ton,
iron-hulled, twin-screw steamer, was built by Pusey & Jones of
Wilmington, DE for $60,740. She entered service in 1890 and
served her entire career along the southern coast. During the
Spanish-American War she patrolled in defense of Mobile, AL.
After the war she participated in numerous local events, including
annual Mardi Gras celebrations, patrolled yacht club regattas,
transported dignitaries and politicians, searched for derelicts,
boarded foreign merchant vessels, established quarantines, and
assisted with flood relief efforts.
She was decommissioned in 1915 and sold
to Mr. W. M. Evans of Mobile for $12,697.
|
![A photo of a Revenue cutter.](https://webarchive.library.unt.edu/eot2008/20091023011713im_/http://uscg.mil/history/img/USRC_3_sm.jpg) |
USRC Apache; no
caption; date/photographer unknown.
Apache, originally launched as Galveston
but renamed in 1904, was a 190-foot, 416-ton, iron-hulled, twin screw
steamer built by Reeder & Sons of Baltimore for $95,650. She
entered service in 1891 and was decommissioned in 1937. The
photo depicts her after extensive modifications carried out in 1904.
Prior to this time she served along the gulf coast out of Galveston
and patrolled in defense of New Orleans during the Spanish American
War. Afterwards, she assisted in flood relief efforts, was
placed at the disposal of the governor of Texas, participated in Mardi
Gras celebrations, transported local students "for educational
purposes to study Galveston Harbor," patrolled regattas, sailed
on winter cruises on the Chesapeake Bay, participated in fleet drills
with the Navy, transported politicians and dignitaries, and
investigated the conditions of local oyster beds.
As of 1914 she was stationed at the
mouth of the Chesapeake, boarding all departing foreign vessels for
compliance with US neutrality laws. She continued for the rest
of her Coast Guard career on the Chesapeake and surrounding waters and
continued to carry out "VIP" duties, transporting various
government officials on cruises around the Bay. The Army
acquired her during World War II where she was outfitted as a radio
transmitting vessel that later broadcasted General Douglas MacArthur's
"I have returned" speech.**
|
![A photo of a Revenue cutter.](https://webarchive.library.unt.edu/eot2008/20091023011713im_/http://uscg.mil/history/img/USRC_9_sm.jpg) |
USRC Hudson;
"Revenue Cutter 'HUDSON.' Navy Yard, Norfolk, VA., April 21st,
1898." photographer unknown.
Hudson, a 95-foot, 128-ton steel
hulled steamer, was built by John H. Dialogue of Camden, NJ, for
$36,500. She entered service in 1893 and was decommissioned in
1935. She served out of New York and during the Spanish-American
war was transferred to naval service. She subsequently was sent
to Cuban waters to serve as a dispatch vessel. On 12 May 1898,
she towed a disabled Navy gunboat, the Winslow, to safety while
under fire. She returned to New York where she served until once
again being pressed into naval service during World War I. After
the war, she again returned to duty in New York.
Here she is being outfitted for service
in the Spanish-American War, which included adding additional
armament, armor plating, and a new coat of "war paint." |
![A photo of a Revenue cutter.](https://webarchive.library.unt.edu/eot2008/20091023011713im_/http://uscg.mil/history/img/USRC_12_sm.jpg) |
USRC Windom;
"Revenue Cutter 'WINDOM.' Navy Yard, Norfolk, VA., April
9th 1898."; photographer unknown.
Considered to be the Revenue Cutter
Service's "first attempt at modern ship construction,"
this 171-foot, 670-ton, twin screw steamer was the first cutter to be
powered by a triple-expansion steam engine and have a fully watertight
hull. Her top speed was 13 knots.** She was built by the
Iowa Iron Works of Dubuque, IA, for $98,500. She was taken,
partially finished, to Cairo, IL, and then on to New Orleans, LA where
she was accepted by the Treasury Department. She then sailed to
Baltimore where she was "finished by the Government" and
entered service in 1896.*
Windom served along the
mid-Atlantic coast, saw service during the Spanish-American War in the
waters off Cuba, and then transferred to Galveston, TX, in 1906.
She enforced neutrality laws after the start of World War I, was
renamed Comanche in December, 1915, underwent a year-long refit
during 1916, and then was transferred to the Navy on 6 April 1917.
She continued to patrol the waters of the Gulf of Mexico out of Key
West and Galveston during the war and for the remainder of her Coast
Guard service. She was decommissioned and sold to Weiss Motor
Lines in Baltimore in 1930 for $4,501.
Here she is being outfitted for service
in the Spanish American War; note the armor plating over her bridge
windows and the various types of uniforms worn by her crew.
|
![A photo of a Revenue cutter.](https://webarchive.library.unt.edu/eot2008/20091023011713im_/http://uscg.mil/history/img/USRC_6_sm.jpg) |
USCGC Comanche; no
caption; date/photographer/unknown.
See Windom gallery above for
details of her Revenue Cutter Service and Coast Guard career.
|
![A photo of a Revenue cutter.](https://webarchive.library.unt.edu/eot2008/20091023011713im_/http://uscg.mil/history/img/USRC_17_sm.jpg) |
USRC Levi Woodbury;
"U.S. Revenue Cutter 'Woodbury.' Navy Yard, Norfolk, VA.,
April 30th 1898."; photographer unknown.
Woodbury, formerly Mahoning
(her name was changed in 1873), was a 130-foot, 350-ton steamer rigged
as a topsail schooner. She was built by J. W. Lynn and Son of
Philadelphia, PA, for $92,000. She entered service in 1863 and
served until 1915, a span of 52 years! She underwent some
modifications during her career, including having her hull lengthened
and machinery replaced. Here she is outfitted for naval service
during the Spanish-American War. She rendered assistance to the
British schooner Effie May in 1905, for which she and her crew
received the thanks of the Canadian Government, enforced neutrality
laws in 1914, and sailed on winter cruises along the northeast coast.
She was sold in 1915 to Thomas Butler
and Company of Boston for $4,286.
|
| USRC McCulloch;
"Coast Guard Cutter 'McCULLOCH.' Photo taken before she was
reconditioned."; no date; photographer unknown.
McCulloch, originally a
barquentine-rigged, composite-hulled, 219-foot, 1,280-ton
steamer built by William Cramp and Sons of Philadelphia for $196,000.
She was the largest cutter acquired by the service to date and she
entered service in 1897. This photo shows her after her main
mast was removed. In recognition of the cutters' increasing
important role as a naval auxiliary, she was built with a bow torpedo
tube and carried four 3-inch guns.
She served with Commodore George
Dewey's squadron during the Spanish American War and took part in the
assault on Manila after being the first cutter to transit the Suez
Canal. After the war she was stationed at San Francisco and
patrolled the coast of California. McCulloch also sailed
on the Bering Sea Patrol. She sailed to the assistance of
numerous vessels, participated in local celebrations, transported
officials, sailed with a "floating court" through Alaskan
waters, enforced immigration laws, among other tasks. She was
transferred to naval control on 6 April 1917 and was lost that June
when she collided with the Pacific Steamship Company's SS Governor
northwest of Point Conception, CA. All hands were saved.
See the painting of McCulloch in
the final gallery.
|
| USRC Gresham; no
caption; date/photographer unknown [12 September 1896?].
Gresham, shown here at her
launching on 12 September 1896, was a brigantine-rigged 206-foot,
1,090-ton steel-hulled steamer built by the Globe Iron Works Company
of Cleveland, OH for $147,800. She was commissioned the
following year and was stationed at Milwaukee. Her cruising
grounds included Lake Michigan and adjacent waters although her rather
heavy armament for a cutter, in particular her torpedo tube, caught
the attention of the Canadian government as that armament violated the
1817 Rush-Bagot Convention. The Convention limited, on the Great
Lakes, the number of naval vessels and the armament those vessels were
permitted to carry. Perhaps in part to meet the Convention's
requirements and to calm Canadian concerns, the Revenue Cutter Service
decided, during the Spanish American War, to transfer Gresham
away from the Great Lakes. The only problem to overcome,
however, was how to get her there. It was decided to sail her to
Ogdensburg, NY, where she was cut in half for transport to the
Atlantic.
By the time she was
"reconnected" the war had ended. Gresham then
remained along the Atlantic coast, patrolling regattas, including the
annual Harvard-Yale races, cruised the waters off Newfoundland under
the direction of the Bureau of Fisheries, destroyed derelicts,
transported dignitaries and government officials, conducted winter
cruises, assisted vessels in distress, enforced neutrality laws before
the US entered World War I, served as a convoy escort after the US
entered the war, and returned to cruise the Atlantic seaboard after
1919.
|
| USRC Gresham;
"705. U.S.S. Gresham"; 1902; photo by A. Loeffler,
Tompkinsville, N.Y.
Gresham after commissioning.
As is apparent in their photos, Gresham, McCulloch, and Manning
were designed as naval auxiliaries. As such they were built with
a rather significant armament that included bow mounted torpedo tubes,
a first for any cutter.
Interestingly, in 1933 Gresham
was again assigned to the Navy and was sent to Cuban waters to monitor
the situation there. She was then decommissioned in 1935.
The Coast Guard reacquired her in 1943 due to a shortage of available
escort vessels for coastal convoys. She was in such poor
condition, however, that she saw little service and was again
decommissioned, this time in 1945, and sold. Gresham was
still active as a barge on the Chesapeake Bay, according to some
reports, as late as 1980.**
|
| USRC Manning;
"U.S. Revenue Steamer Manning"; date unknown; photo by C. B.
Webster & Co., Boston.
Manning, a brigantine-rigged
205-foot, 1,150-ton steamer, was built by the Atlantic Works Company
of East Boston, MA, for a cost of $159,951. She was commissioned
in 1898 and saw immediate service during the Spanish American War as a
blockader and escort vessel. She then transferred to the Pacific
coast where she was assigned to the Bering Sea fleet.
|
| USRC Manning;
"Older type cutter, the U.S.S. 'Manning' C.G.";
date/photographer unknown.
During World War I she served under the
Navy as a convoy escort based out of Gibraltar and then returned to
duty out of Norfolk, VA after the war.
She was decommissioned in May, 1930 and
sold in December of that same year to Mr. Charles A. Jording of
Baltimore for the princely sum of $2,200.02.
|
| USRC Thetis; no
caption; date unknown; photo by "Bugler."
Thetis, a 189-foot, 1,250-ton
barquentine-rigged sealer and whaler constructed with a reinforced
hull for operations in ice, was purchased by the Navy for the Greeley
relief expedition. Transferred to the Revenue Cutter Service in
1899, she served out of Seattle where she sailed on the Bering Sea
Patrol along with Bear. While stationed there, she
transported reindeer from the coast of Siberia to Alaska, cruised the
Bering Sea for the "protection of seal fisheries," assisted
vessels in distress, and carried officials from a U.S. District Court
to become a "floating court."
She transferred to Hawaiian waters in
1909 where she investigated poaching by Japanese fishermen and
transported officials of the Department of Agriculture who were
studying bird populations. For the remainder of her career she
transferred between Hawaii and Alaska, continuing duty as a floating
court and investigating bird reservations throughout the Pacific,
including making voyages to Midway Island.
She was decommissioned and sold in
1916. Note the location of her stack.
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| USRC Seminole; no
caption; Photo No. 130254-6a; date/photographer unknown.
Seminole, a 188-foot, 845-ton
steamer, was constructed by the Columbian Iron Works in Baltimore, MD
for $141,000. She was commissioned in 1900 and saw service
through 1934, when she was transferred to the Federal Emergency Relief
Administration.
She was first based out of Boston and
transferred to Wilmington, NC, in late 1904. She then patrolled
along the southeastern coast, including winter cruises from Cape
Hatteras, NC to Charleston, SC and even down through Key West, FL.
Her duties included derelict destruction, attending local ceremonies,
patrolling regattas, and rendering assistance when needed. With
the outbreak of World War I, she enforced the neutrality laws of the
US until the US entered the war. She then served under the Navy
and patrolled off the Carolinas. In 1923 she was detached to
Puerto Rico where she served as an independent unit and returned to
her permanent station of Wilmington later that year. In 1929
transferred for service on the Great Lakes where she was stationed at
Sault Ste. Marie, MI until she was decommissioned in 1934.
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| USRC McCulloch;
painting, Coast Guard Academy Museum Art Collection.
Onward to a new century. . .the elegant
lines of a turn of the century cutter made a fitting nautical subject
for this painter. Here McCulloch, with her while hull and
buff superstructure and stack, makes way under steam and full sail.
In the first years of the twentieth century the masts and sails (with
a few exceptions), coal-fired boilers, and iron hulls gave way to
steel, oil and diesel fuels, and turbine propulsion, closely emulating
the maritime technological advancement of the US Navy.
Nevertheless, the cutters remained distinctive vessels, easily
recognizable from their Navy counterparts due to their "form
following function" designs as well as the colors adorning their
hulls.
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