USRC Vigilant (1791)
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Vigilant was one of the original ten cutters[a] built and used by the United States Revenue Cutter Service.[b][3] Her name meant: On the alert; watchful.[4] Vigilant was launched in 1791 in New York and was used to patrol New York waters.[3]
History[change | change source]
Her design was that of a schooner.[5] She was rigged with fore-and-aft sails on two masts. She was 48 feet (15 m) long and had a shallow draft of only 6 feet (1.8 m).[6] Vigilant, launched in March 1791, it was probably the first cutter in the water.[7] She was not, however, the first to enter into active service.[c] Her first patrol was in December 1791.[7] Her first master was Patrick Dennis, appointed on 6 October 1790.[4] He also supervised the construction.[4] Dennis served as master until his death on February 9, 1798.[4]
Her assigned waters included New York Harbor, the coast of New York and New Jersey, Long Island Sound and the Hudson River as far as Albany, New York.[4] On November 14, 1798 Vigilant was sold for £348.[4] The Revenue Cutter Service decided the Vigilant was not large enough to carry out her duties.[4] Nothing further is known of the cutter after that date.[4]
Related pages[change | change source]
- USRC Scammel (1791)
- USRC Active (1791)
- USRC General Green (1791)
- USRC Massachusetts (1791)
- USRC Argus (1791)
- USRC Virginia (1791)
- USRC Diligence (1791)
- USRC South Carolina (1791)
- USRC Eagle (1791)
Notes[change | change source]
- ↑ The term cutter came from the boats used by Great Britain's Royal Customs Service.[1] Modern Coast Guard cutters are any larger ship no matter what the type.[1]
- ↑ Also called the Revenue Marine. Together with the United States Life-Saving Service, the United States Revenue Cutter Service formed the United States Coast Guard on 28 January 1915.[2]
- ↑ According to Coast Guard tradition, the cutter USRC Massachusetts, launched in July 1791, was the first to be commissioned as a USRS cutter.[3]
References[change | change source]
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 "Eighteenth, Nineteenth & Early Twentieth Century Revenue Cutters". United States Coast Guard, U.S. Department of Homeland Security. Retrieved 14 October 2016.
- ↑ Robert Scheina. "The Coast Guard At War". United States Coast Guard, U.S. Department of Homeland Security. Retrieved 16 October 2016.
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 "The First Ten Cutters; The first commissioned U.S. Revenue cutters". United States Coast Guard, U.S. Department of Homeland Security. Retrieved 17 October 2016.
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 4.3 4.4 4.5 4.6 4.7 "Vigilant, 1791". United States Coast Guard, U.S. Department of Homeland Security. Retrieved 17 October 2016.
- ↑ Horatio Davis Smith, Early History of the United States Revenue Marine Service, ed. Elliot Snow (Washington, DC: Coast Guard Bicentennial Publication, 1989), p. 34
- ↑ Ryan White, Monday (August 5, 2009). "Then and Now Part 1 – From Sails to Turbines". Coast Guard Compass. United States Coast Guard. Archived from the original on 8 January 2017. Retrieved 13 October 2016.
- ↑ 7.0 7.1 "1790 - 1915: Revenue Cutters, The First Ten". Coast Guard Modeling. Archived from the original on 24 April 2017. Retrieved 17 October 2016.