| History | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Name | Vigilant |
| Operator | Revenue Cutter Service |
| Launched | 1797 |
| Commissioned | 1797 |
| Decommissioned | 1812 |
| General characteristics | |
| Propulsion | Sail |
Vigilant (launched 1801) was the second of twelve cutters of the Revenue Marine, or Revenue Cutter Service, later the United States Coast Guard, to bear the name, Vigilant.
Vigilant was commanded by Jno. W. Leonard who was commissioned as a captain in the Revenue Marine on May 31, 1798 in New York. W.S. Jno. Squire was commissioned as first mate on Dec 31, 1797 in New York. N. Harriott was commissioned as third mate on Mar 1, 1797 in New York. W. Oliver was commissioned as third mate on Dec 31, 1798 in New York.
The United States Revenue Cutter Service was established by an act of Congress on 4 August 1790 as the Revenue-Marine upon the recommendation of Secretary of the Treasury Alexander Hamilton to serve as an armed customs enforcement service. As time passed, the service gradually gained missions either voluntarily or by legislation, including those of a military nature. It was generally referred to as the Revenue-Marine until 31 July 1894, when it was officially renamed the Revenue Cutter Service. The Revenue Cutter Service operated under the authority of the U.S. Department of the Treasury. On 28 January 1915, the service was merged by an act of Congress with the United States Life-Saving Service to form the United States Coast Guard.
USS Pickering was a topsail schooner in the United States Revenue Cutter Service and then the United States Navy during the Quasi-War with France. She was named for Timothy Pickering, then the Secretary of State.
Vigilant was one of the original ten cutters employed by the Federal government of the United States which made up the Revenue Marine, or Revenue Cutter Service, later to become the United States Coast Guard.
The history of the United States Coast Guard goes back to the United States Revenue Cutter Service, which was founded on 4 August 1790 as part of the Department of the Treasury. The Revenue Cutter Service and the United States Life-Saving Service were merged to become the Coast Guard per 14 U.S.C. § 1 which states: "The Coast Guard as established January 28, 1915, shall be a military service and a branch of the armed forces of the United States at all times." In 1939, the United States Lighthouse Service was merged into the Coast Guard. The Coast Guard itself was moved to the Department of Transportation in 1967, and on 01 March 2003 it became part of the Department of Homeland Security. However, under 14 U.S.C. § 3 as amended by section 211 of the Coast Guard and Maritime Transportation Act of 2006, upon the declaration of war and when Congress so directs in the declaration, or when the President directs, the Coast Guard operates as a service in the Department of the Navy.
One of the first ten revenue cutters, Active may have been the second of the ten cutters to enter service. The Columbian Centinel on 30 April 1791 noted:
A Revenue Cutter, was launched at Baltimore the 9th inst. at Captain Stodder's Ship Yard, and is considered by good judges, a beautiful vessel. She is to be commanded, we hear, by Capt. Gross, formerly First-Lieutenant of the Continental Frigate CONFEDERACY.
USRC General Green was one of the first ten cutters operated by the US Revenue Cutter Service. She was named for the Revolutionary War hero Major General Nathanael Greene. Her name was misspelled, probably by the man who oversaw her construction, the Collector of Customs in Philadelphia, Sharp Delany. Apparently the cutter was to have been originally named for the Secretary of the Treasury, Alexander Hamilton, but Delany changed the name for reasons unknown.
USRC Massachusetts was one of the first ten cutters operated by the Revenue-Marine. She was built in Newburyport, Massachusetts and served out of Boston. Massachusetts by tradition is held to be the first revenue cutter to enter active service. She was also the first to be decommissioned, having a very short service life of only about 15 months before being sold.
USRC Argus was one of the first ten cutters operated by the United States' Revenue Cutter Service. Of the ten cutters, she was the longest to serve in this role.
USRC South Carolina was one of the first ten cutters operated by the United States' Revenue Cutter Service.
USRC Eagle was one of the first ten cutters operated by the United States' Revenue Cutter Service.
Leonard G. Shepard, was a captain in the United States Revenue Cutter Service and was appointed in 1889 by Secretary of the Treasury William Windom as the first military head of the service since 1869. His formal title was that of Chief of the Revenue Marine Division of the Department of the Treasury. Although he was never formally known as Commandant, he is recognized today as the first Commandant of the Coast Guard.
Charles Frederick Shoemaker was a captain in the United States Revenue Cutter Service and was appointed in 1895 by Secretary of the Treasury John G. Carlisle to be Chief of the Revenue Marine Division of the Department of the Treasury.
USRC Mohawk, was a steel steam powered revenue cutter built for the U.S. Revenue Cutter Service by William R. Trigg Company at Richmond, Virginia. Her primary duties in the Revenue Cutter Service and Coast Guard were assisting vessels in distress and enforcing navigational laws as well as a derelict destroyer. Mohawk was sunk after a collision with another vessel in October 1917.
The Thomas Corwin was a United States revenue cutter and subsequently a merchant vessel. These two very different roles both centered on Alaska and the Bering Sea. In 1912, Frank Willard Kimball wrote: "The Corwin has probably had a more varied and interesting career than any other vessel which plies the Alaskan waters."
USS Vigilant may refer to several ships of the United States Navy:
USRC Virginia was a schooner built in 1797 for the United States Revenue Cutter Service at Portsmouth, Virginia. At the outset of the Quasi-War in 1798, the only ships available to the Navy were the 10 ships of the Revenue cutter service, the largest of which was the Virginia. She was transferred to the Navy in 1798 and served in the Quasi War until 1800, when she was returned to the Revenue Cutter Service, recommissioned in 1802 and sold in 1807.
USRC Kewanee was a Pawtuxet-class screw steam revenue cutter built for the United States Revenue Marine during the American Civil War.
USRC Vigilant may refer to various ships of the United States Revenue-Marine (1790–1894) and United States Revenue Cutter Service (1894–1915):
Gilbert G. Knapp was an American sailor and land speculator. He was the founder of Racine, Wisconsin, and was instrumental in establishing the city and county of Racine. For many years before and after the establishment of Racine, he was a captain in the United States Revenue Cutter Service, commanding several ships in the Great Lakes.
Captain Alexander V. Fraser, U. S. Revenue Marine, was an American seaman, who served as the first Chief of the Revenue Marine Bureau, Department of the Treasury, one of the predecessor agencies of the United States Coast Guard.