SEA HISTORY for kids United States Coast Guard Semper Paratus The United States Coast Guard is the narion's oldesr maririme service. Irs history is a linle confusing because rhe Coasr Guard we know today is really a combinarion of five di ffere nt agencies char were broughr togerher to make chem run more efficiendy. These agencies-rh e Revenue Cutter Service, rhe Lighthouse Service, rhe Life-Saving Service, rhe
''Always Ready''
Bureau of Navigation, and the Steamboat Inspection Service-used to be rheir own organizarions, bur rheir duries ofren overlapped with one another. Eventually, rhe government pulled chem all togerher when ir creared rhe US Coasr G uard. Today's Coast G uard performs multiple missions, which com e from the original groups thar fo rm ed ir.
By law, rhe Coasr G uard has 11 missions:
• Ports, waterways, and coastal security • Drug interdiction •Aids to navigation • Search and rescue • Living marine resources • Marine safety • Defense readiness • Migrant interdiction • Marine environmental protection • Ice operations • other law enforcement duties upon US waters In 1790, rhe Congress au thorized Secretary of the Treasury Alexander H amilton to establish a "system of cutters" to enfo rce customs laws o n sh ips importing-sometimes smuggling-goods into the United States . This "sysrem of cuners" was called rhe Revenue Marine or Revenue Cuner Service. Today, rhe US Coasr G uard srill uses a system of cuners in its wo rk on the hi gh seas .
What is a cutter in the United States Coast Guard? The term "cutrer'' referred to "sm all single-mas ted, sharp-buil t broad" vessels . Their m ases were sec fu rther afr (towards stern) than typical mercham vessels to allow room for double headsails, and they were rigged wirh larger m ainsails to give chem grearer speed. They becam e known as cutrers because they could "cut" through the water fas ter rhan other vessels. The Revenue Marine chose this design because part of their job was to catch smugglers, so rhey needed fasr vessels. W hen steam engines were invented, sails were no longer needed to power ships, but the term cuner remained . Today, a Coast G uard cmter is any ship longer rhan 65 feer. Vessels less than 65 fee t are classified simply as "boars."
These three vessels are all USCG cutters: (le.ft to right) two-masted schooner USR C Massachusetts (1791); side paddlewheel steamer USR C Fessenden (1883); the 4 18-foot diesel and gas powered USCGC Bertholf (2006).
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Today, nearly 42,000 m en and wom en serve on acti ve du ty in rhe US Coas r G uard . Their mono is "Semper Paratus," meaning "Always Ready."
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You can learn more about Unired Stares Coast Guard history by · visiting: www. uscg.mil/history.
SEAIBISTORY 130, SPRING 2010