John A. Henriques

Henriques started a career in carpentry in the 1840s and after finishing an apprenticeship in carpentry he began working on coastal vessels to earn a living. By 1850 he was a journeyman carpenter but he abandoned carpentry to become a merchant seaman, eventually working his way up the crew ranks to first mate. After the beginning of the Civil War he petitioned for a commission with the Revenue Cutter Service at age 37. He was commissioned a third lieutenant on March 27, 1863, and was assigned to . ==U.S. Revenue Cutter Service==

Early service During subsequent assignments aboard cutters , and John Sherman, Henriques was promoted to first lieutenant, July 11, 1864, skipping the normal promotion to second lieutenant. His promotion to captain came less than two years later on June 6, 1866. On August 10, 1868, Henriques set sail from Baltimore, Maryland as captain of the newly commissioned cutter bound for San Francisco, California. The passage around Cape Horn included eight days of gale-force winds at the cape with arrival in San Francisco on January 29, 1868. With Henriques as captain, Reliance was transferred to Sitka, Alaska on August 29, 1868, arriving on November 28. While commanding Rush on an Alaska patrol he received orders to report to Washington, DC for special duty to form a new Revenue–Marine school of instruction for cadets entering the service as new officers. Congress passed legislation to provide for an officer's training school on July 31, 1876 The Revenue Service School of Instruction eventually became the Revenue Service Academy in 1914 and when the U.S. Revenue Cutter Service was merged with the United States Life–Saving Service on January 28, 1915, it was then known as the United States Coast Guard Academy. Later service After his service at the School of Instruction ended in 1883, Henriques served on several examining boards for prospective cadets and superintended the construction of the cutter . He served as commanding officer of the cutters USRC Louis McLane, Commodore Perry, and . He served as an inspector for the U.S. Life–Saving Service before retiring in 1902. ==Retirement==

In retirement Henriques moved to Waterford, Connecticut where he died at the age of 79 on March 29, 1906. Henriques was survived by his wife, Ellen Stoddard Henriques and his son, John Philip Henriques. He was buried at Cedar Grove Cemetery, New London, Connecticut. ==Footnotes==