Early missions Between 1790 and 1798, the Revenue-Marine was the only armed maritime service of the United States, as the Navy had been disbanded. Each cutter master was answerable to and received his sailing orders directly from the Collector of Customs of the port to which his ship was assigned. All crew pay, requests for supplies, arrangements for repairs to the cutter, and mission-specific tasking came directly from the port's
Customs House. After the
Slave Trade Act of 1794 was enacted, the Revenue-Marine began intercepting
slave ships which were illegally
importing slaves into the United States. This was the case from 1791 to 1871, excluding 1843 to 1849, when oversight was vested in the Revenue Marine Division of the Treasury Department. Standing orders for individual cutters were stated in general terms, allowing captains to exercise their discretion and judgment to the fullest. Captains also had far-reaching authority "to seize vessels and goods in the cases in which they are liable to seizure for breaches of the Revenue laws" and to send inspection parties aboard vessels already in port to ensure that cargo intended for export also did not violate revenue laws. Despite this considerable authority,
Alexander Hamilton, in his first letter of instruction to the captains, had specifically directed that they "will always keep in mind that their countrymen are freemen, and, as such, are impatient of everything that bears the least mark of a domineering spirit. ... They will endeavor to overcome difficulties, if any are experienced, by a cool and temperate perseverance in their duty – by address and moderation, rather than by vehemence or violence."
Quasi-War with France During the
Quasi-War with France from 1798 to 1801, the
United States Navy was formed and the Revenue-Marine fought alongside the Navy, capturing or assisting in the capture of 20 French ships. Ten of these were captured by the
USRC Pickering. Revenue cutters were assigned to enforce the very unpopular
Embargo Act of 1807, which outlawed nearly all European trade, import and export, through American ports. The Act was enforced until it was repealed in 1808.
War of 1812 In wartime, the Revenue Marine was placed under the command of the
United States Navy and the cutters themselves were often placed into military service. made the first American capture of a British ship in the
War of 1812, capturing the brig
Patriot in June 1812. On 3 August 1812, the boats of the British
frigates and captured the 6-gun revenue cutter in the Little River,
Bay of Fundy, together with three privateer schooners,
Madison,
Olive, and
Spence (or
Spruce). On 22 August 1812, , under the command of Captain
Thomas Huskisson, captured the USRC
James Madison after a chase of seven hours. The cutter was pierced for fourteen guns but had only ten mounted, two of which she threw overboard to lighten her during the chase. She had a crew of 65 men and was seven days out of Savannah, but had made no captures. Huskisson described her: "[She is] coppered and copper-fastened, is two years old, and sails remarkably fast." On the night of 13 June 1813, the small cutter
Surveyor, with a crew of 16 and an armament of only six
carronades, was anchored in the
York River, when a British boarding party from the frigate attacked her. The attack came from an angle at which
Surveyor could not use her carronades. However, the crew of
Surveyor, under Captain William S. Travis, each was armed with two muskets and held their fire until the British boats were upon them. Lieutenant John Crerie,
first lieutenant of
Narcissus and commander of the boats, returned Travis's sword to him in a gesture of respect for his "gallant defense" of
Surveyor. On 11 October 1814, the cutter
Eagle encountered Narcissus, and the , which was guarding the
Suzan, a captured American merchant ship. The British ship badly outgunned
Eagle, which was pierced for 10
guns but only had two mounted. Captain Frederick Lee beached
Eagle on
Long Island to avoid being sunk. Not yet defeated, the Revenue Marine seamen removed the guns from
Eagle, hoisted them up a 160-foot bluff, dragged them into position, and continued firing at
Dispatch. The British sent in boats to capture
Eagle.
Mexican–American War Revenue-Marine cutters again served under the U.S. Navy in the
Mexican–American War of 1846–1848. The cutters were crucial for shallow-water
amphibious assaults.
American Civil War On 11 April 1861, the
USRC Harriet Lane fired the first shot of the maritime conflict in the
American Civil War of 1861–1865. The cutter fired a shot across the bow of the civilian mail steamship
Nashville as it tried to enter
Charleston Harbor during the
bombardment of Fort Sumter because
Nashville was flying no identifying flag. The ship then promptly raised the U.S. standard, and
Harriet Lane broke off. Captain
John Faunce, skipper of
Harriet Lane, gave permission for
Nashville to proceed to Charleston harbor and she was promptly seized by the
Confederate Navy. President
Abraham Lincoln issued the following order to Secretary of the Treasury
Salmon P. Chase on 14 June 1863: "You will co-operate by the revenue cutters under your direction with the navy in arresting rebel depredations on American commerce and transportation and in capturing rebels engaged therein." Revenue cutters assisted U.S. Navy operations throughout the war.
Harriet Lane joined a federal naval squadron to capture
Fort Clark and Fort Hatteras, which served as bases for Confederate blockade runners.
USRC E.A. Stevens, a prototype 110-foot semi-submersible ironclad gunboat, in company with
USS Monitor,
USS Galena, and two other gunboats, participated in the unsuccessful sortie up the
James River to
Drewry's Bluff to attack the Confederate capital at Richmond. After carrying President Lincoln from Washington on 9 May 1862,
USRC Miami assisted navy transports in landing federal troops at
Ocean View, Virginia. In June 1863, in an incident known as the "
Battle of Portland Harbor", the revenue cutter
Caleb Cushing was captured by Confederate raiders, commanded by Lieutenant
Charles Read, CSN, from the
CSS Tacony. The
Cushing was pursued by two civilian ships carrying a detachment of soldiers from
Fort Preble and a number of civilian volunteers. Seeing that capture was imminent, the Confederates abandoned the
Cushing in a lifeboat after setting her on fire. The Confederates were captured but the
Cushing was destroyed when the gunpowder on the ship detonated. After President Lincoln was
assassinated on 15 April 1865, revenue cutters were ordered to search all ships for any conspirators who might be trying to escape.
Post–Civil War operations The increase in coastal trade along the Atlantic seaboard after the civil war and the purchase of
Alaska in 1867 had a significant impact on the development of the Revenue Cutter Service. Demands by the public to do something about losses in lives and property at sea prompted Secretary of the Treasury
George S. Boutwell, under President
Ulysses S. Grant, to reorganize the service. He appointed
N. Broughton Devereux on 1 July 1869 as chief of an interim Revenue Marine Bureau that included the Revenue Cutter Service, the Steamboat Inspection Service, the
Marine Hospital Service and the Life-Saving Service. Devereaux appointed two boards to study the problems facing the service; one investigated personnel requirements, the other analyzed the requirements for the cutter fleet. The personnel who boarded the Devereaux convened found that the Revenue Cutter Service was rife with abuses through the political control by customs collectors in the ports where the cutters were assigned. It was possible under the structure in place at the time to be appointed by the customs collector to the captaincy of a cutter without having ever served aboard a ship. Although the Department of the Treasury remained in charge of the service throughout the 19th century, its conventional organization was resumed after the war, with cutters reporting to local customs officials. A new Revenue Marine Division was established in 1871, which became the United States Revenue Cutter Service by an act of 31 July 1894 (28 Stat. 171). During the harsh winter of 1897–1898, Lieutenant
David H. Jarvis of
USRC Bear led a relief party to 265 whalers whose ships had been stranded in the ice off the northern coast of Alaska.
Spanish–American War in 1906 With the outbreak of the
Spanish–American War in 1898, the Revenue Cutter Service saw plenty of action in both the Cuban and Philippine theaters. Many revenue cutters were assigned to the
blockade of
Havana Harbor. During the
Battle of Manila Bay on 1 May 1898, USRC
Hugh McCulloch fought with the American squadron under Commodore
George Dewey. On 11 May 1898, , equipped with two 6-pounder (3 kg) guns and a
machine gun, took part in the
Battle of Cárdenas off the coast of
Cárdenas,
Cuba. Together with Navy
torpedo boat ,
Hudson fought against a Spanish
gunboat and coastal batteries until forced to withdraw. Under extremely heavy fire,
Hudson towed the disabled
Winslow away from the battle. Congress awarded
Frank H. Newcomb, the captain of
Hudson, a
Congressional Gold Medal for his bravery. Each of the officers assigned to
Hudson received a silver medal and the enlisted crew received a bronze medal. ==Officer rank structure==