Rum Patrol

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Rum Patrol
Rum Patrol ships Tucker and Cassin.jpg
Rum Patrol ships USCGD Tucker and USCGD Cassin, circa 1930
ObjectiveEnforce prohibition in United States waters
Date1920–1933
Executed byFlag of the United States.svg  United States

The Rum Patrol was an operation of the United States Coast Guard to interdict liquor smuggling vessels, known as "rum runners" in order to enforce prohibition in American waters. On 18 December 1917, the 18th Amendment to the Constitution was submitted to the states by Congress. On 16 January 1919, the amendment was ratified and the Liquor Prohibition Amendment, which prohibited the manufacture, sale, transportation, importation, or exportation of intoxicating liquors, came into effect on 16 January 1920.

Contents

History

Origin

The establishment of prohibition gave rise to smuggling of illicit liquor into the United States overland from Canada and from ships moored just outside the three-mile limit along the Atlantic seaboard. By 1921, "Rum Row" existed off New York City and the New Jersey shore as well as near Boston, and the Chesapeake and Delaware bays. The Florida coast and New Orleans were also points of entry used by rum runners. Smaller boats were used to transfer the cargos from the mother ships on Rum Row under cover of darkness to the shore. In February 1922, the Commandant of the Coast Guard, Rear Admiral William E. Reynolds, informed the Assistant Secretary of the Treasury, Roy Asa Haynes that although the Coast Guard was tasked with the enforcement of prohibition, Congress had not included any funding for the additional maintenance and operation of vessels. Since there was no funding, enforcement by Coast Guard vessels was in connection with other enforcement duties. The first important seizure was the British-registered schooner Henry L. Marshall by USCGC Seneca in 1921. [1]

Funding problems

Since the Coast Guard was tasked with prohibiting the importation of liquor through U.S. waters and it didn't have the resources to do so, Commandant Reynolds submitted a plan to Treasury Secretary Andrew Mellon that called for 20 new cutters, 200 coastal patrol cutters and 90 fast picket boats. He also asked for 20 million dollars to fund new construction and an additional 3,500 personnel to man the new vessels. [2]

Congress acts

To deal with this problem, twenty-five destroyers were transferred by the United States Navy to the Treasury Department for service with the Coast Guard. Some began to show signs of wear and tear after the often arduous pace of operations on the Rum Patrol and required replacement. Accordingly, six of the newer flush deck destroyers were transferred to the Treasury Department in 1930–1932.

It was thought that adapting these older vessels for Coast Guard service would be less costly than building new ships. In the end, however, the rehabilitation of the vessels was costly because of the exceedingly poor condition of many of these war-weary ships. In many instances, it took nearly a year to bring the vessels up to seaworthiness. Additionally, these were by far the largest and most sophisticated vessels ever operated by the service, and trained personnel were nearly nonexistent. As a result, Congress authorized hundreds of new enlistees. These inexperienced men generally made up the destroyer crews. [3]

Some of the destroyers were pre-World War I 742-ton "flivvers", capable of over 25  kn (29 mph; 46 km/h) – an advantage in the rum-chasing business. They were, however, easily outmaneuvered by smaller vessels. The destroyers’ mission, therefore, was to picket the larger mother ships and prevent them from off-loading their cargo onto the smaller, speedier contact boats that ran the liquor into shore. [3]

On 20 February 1933, the 21st Amendment to the Constitution, the repeal of Amendment 18, was proposed by Congress and ratification was completed on 5 December 1933. This eliminated prohibition, and therefore the need for the Rum Patrol. The remaining destroyers were returned to the Navy and sold for scrap.

Ships of the patrol

Coast Guard designationNavy designationShip ClassUSCG AcquiredUSCG CommissioningUSCG Decommissioning
Cassin class 28 April 192430 August 19245 June 1933
Tucker class 7 June 19248 March 19255 June 1933
Cassin class 7 June 192415 May 192530 April 1932
Cassin class 28 April 192414 October 192418 November 1930
O'Brien class 7 June 192428 May 192530 April 1932
O'Brien class 7 June 192413 May 192526 May 1933
Tucker class 7 June 192420 February 19255 June 1933
Paulding class 28 April 192422 January 192518 May 1931
Paulding class 28 April 192426 October 19241 June 1930
Paulding class 7 June 192430 June 192514 February 1931
Paulding class 7 June 192430 May 192512 August 1930
Paulding class 16 May 192414 November 192430 January 1931
Paulding class 28 April 192423 August 192416 May 1931
Paulding class 7 June 192417 June 192512 August 1930
Paulding class 7 June 192430 June 192529 January 1931
Clemson class 5 November 193012 January 193121 May 1934
Paulding class 28 April 192424 November 19241 April 1930
Clemson class 1 October 193020 March 193121 May 1934
Paulding class 28 April 192423 January 192512 August 1930
Clemson class 13 September 19307 March 193128 May 1934
Paulding class 7 June 192430 May 19254 March 1930
Clemson class 13 September 19305 February 193128 May 1934
Paulding class 7 June 192430 June 192512 August 1930
Clemson class 1 October 193015 April 193121 May 1934
Paulding class 7 June 192424 June 192415 April 1931
Clemson class 25 April 193225 April 193220 April 1934
Sampson class 25 March 19264 September 19265 June 1933
Sampson class 25 March 192613 July 19265 June 1933
Tucker class 25 March 192629 September 19265 June 1933
Tucker class 2 April 192630 July 192629 March 1934
Sampson class 25 March 192623 August 192629 March 1934

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References

Citations

  1. ↑ Johnson, p 80
  2. ↑ Thiessen, p 44
  3. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 Canney, p 92
  4. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 Canney, p 93
  5. 1 2 3 4 5 6 Canney, p 106

Sources

  • Canney, Donald L. (1995). U.S. Coast Guard and Revenue Cutters, 1790–1935. Naval Institute Press, Annapolis, Maryland. ISBN   978-1-55750-101-1.
  • Johnson, Robert Irwin (1987). Guardians of the Sea, History of the United States Coast Guard, 1915 to the Present . Naval Institute Press, Annapolis, Maryland. ISBN   978-0-87021-720-3.
  • Thiessen, William H. (February 2020). "Busting Smugglers & Breaking Codes". Naval History. 34 (1).
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