USCG Cruising Cutters Built or Acquired Before 1915 ~ Shipbuilding History

USCG Cruising Cutters Built or Acquired Before 1915

Most recent update: February 14, 2016.

This table attempts to list all the gunboats and cruising cutters built or acquired by the various agencies that were brought together as the US Coast Guard in 1915, ordered by the year in which they entered service. It does not include chartered vessels and it does not include vessels that are known to have been less than 50 feet in length, unless they are among the very early, historically significant, vessels. There are many gaps in the historical data and in some cases a vessel's size is not known or it is not clear whether it was built for the Service or acquired from a commercial owner.

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Name	Class	Builder	Location	LDT	LOA	Built	Notes
Active	First Ten	David Stodder	Baltimore MD	58	59	1791	sold 1798
Argus	First Ten		New London CT	49	48	1791	sold 1804
General Green	First Ten		Philadelphia PA			1791	sold 1798
Massachusetts	First Ten		Newburyport MA	70	61	1791	sold 1792
Scammel	First Ten			52	58	1791	sold 1798
Vigilant	First Ten			35	48	1791	sold 1798
Virginia	First Ten			47	56	1791
Diligence	First Ten		Washington NC	40		1792	sold 1798
North Carolina	First Ten					1792	sold 1798
Eagle	First Ten		Savannah GA	56	56	1793	sold 1799
South Carolina	First Ten			35		1793	sold 1798
Massachusetts		Adna Bates	Cohasset MA	50		1793	sold 1804
Diligence		Joshua Humphries	Philadelphia PA	135	58	1797	sold 1802
General Greene		William Price	Baltimore MD	98		1797	sold 1802
Eagle	Second Seven	W. & A. Brown	Philadelphia PA	187	77	1798	sold 1801
Governor Gilman	Second Seven	Hackett	Portsmouth NH	103	72	1798	sold 1801
Governor Jay	Second Seven		New York	187	58	1798
Pickering	Second Seven	Merrill	Newburyport MA	135	77	1798	lost 1800
Pinckney	Second Seven		Charleston SC	195	62	1798	sold 1800
Scammel	Second Seven	Hackett	Portsmouth NH	132	58	1798	sold 1801
South Carolina	Second Seven		Charleston SC	130	58	1798	sold 1803
Bee (ex-Bon Pere)							captured 1799, sold 1801
Patriot			Hampton VA			1800	sold 1805
Massachusetts			Boston MA	62	58	1801	sold 1814
St Marys	Galley		St. Marys GA		52		acquired from USN 1801
Governor Williams	Galley		Wilmington NC		52		acquired from USN 1802, lost 1806
Collector (ex-Kitty)							acquired 1802, sold 1806
General Greene						1802	sold 1808
Jefferson						1802	sold 1817
New Hampshire			Portsmouth NH			1802	sold 1816
Vigilant						1802	sold 1807
Diligence						1803	lost 1806
Argus						1804	sold 1809
Louisiana			Baltimore MD	75	70	1804	sold 1813
Dolly				172		1805	sold 1807
Hornet (ex-Traveller)				71			acquired 1805, sold 1806
Gallatin						1807	lost 1813
Madison			Baltimore MD			1807	captured by Britain 1812
Mercury			Ocracoke NC			1807	sold 1820
Surveyor		Robert Parsons	Baltimore MD	75	68	1807	captured by Britain 1813
Virginia				75		1807
Argus						1809	sold 1812
Eagle				130	60	1809	captured by Britain 1814
General Greene						1810
Commodore Barry				98		1812	captured by Britain 1812
Vigilant		Benjamin Marble	Newport RI	65	61	1812	sold 1842
Search	Search	Cook & Gyles	Newport RI	65	61	1815	sold 1820
Detector	Search	Cook & Gyles	Newport RI	65	61	1815	sold 1825
Gallatin			Baltimore MD			1815
South Carolina			Baltimore MD			1815
Surprise	Surprise	A & N Brown	New York	51	57	1815	sold 1817
Dallas	Surprise	A & N Brown	New York	51	57	1816	sold 1821
				38		1816	sold 1825
Eagle				79		1816	sold 1829
Monroe		Servant	Norfolk VA			1817	sold 1825
Alert		Christian Berg	New York	75	58	1818	sold 1829
Hornet						1818	sold 1826
Alabama	Alabama	Christian Berg	New York	56	52	1819	sold 1833
Louisiana	Alabama	Christian Berg	New York	56	52	1819	sold 1824
Lookout						1819	sold 1825
Search		John Wade	Boston MA			1820
Crawford			New York			1821	lost 1829
Florida			New York	74	63	1822	sold 1829
Dallas		Andrew Flanigan	Baltimore MD	75		1824	lost 1836
Marion	Marion		Baltimore MD	115	79	1825	to Coast Survey 1850
Pulaski	Marion		Baltimore MD	115	79	1825	sold 1833
Detector	Detector	Fisher & Webster	North Yarmouth ME	62	52	1825	sold 1832
Wasp	Detector	Fisher & Webster	North Yarmouth ME	62	52	1825	sold 1831
Louisiana			New York			1825	sold 1830
Swiftsure			New York	110		1825	later Crawford, sold 1839
Benjamin Rush			Erie PA	39		1828	sold 1833
Alert				120	74	1829	sold 1853
Engineer						1829
Portsmouth				61	60	1829	ex-Hiram, acquired 1829, sold 1833
Campbell			New York	60		1830	sold 1834
Crawford	Morris-Taney	Webb & Allen	Brooklyn NY	112	73	1830	sold 1835
Dexter	Morris-Taney	Webb & Allen	Brooklyn NY	112	73	1830	sold 1841
Richard Rush	Morris-Taney	Webb & Allen	Brooklyn NY	112	73	1831	sold 1848
Wolcott	Morris-Taney	Webb & Allen	Brooklyn NY	112	73	1831	sold 1851
Ingham	Morris-Taney	Webb & Allen	Brooklyn NY	112	73	1832	sold 1836
McLane	Morris-Taney	Webb & Allen	Brooklyn NY	112	73	1832	sold 1840
Washington	Morris-Taney	Webb & Allen	Brooklyn NY	112	73	1832	sold 1837
Jefferson	Morris-Taney	Webb & Allen	Brooklyn NY	112	73	1833	wrecked 1847
Taney	Morris-Taney	Webb & Allen	Brooklyn NY	112	73	1834	sold 1858
Gallatin	Morris-Taney	New York NSY	Brooklyn NY	112	80	1830	to Coast Survey 1849
Hamilton	Morris-Taney	New York NSY	Brooklyn NY	112	80	1830	lost 1853
Morris	Morris-Taney	New York NSY	Brooklyn NY	112	80	1831	sold 1846
Jackson	Morris-Taney	Washington NSY	Washington DC	112	73	1832	sold 1865
Veto			Blue Hill ME		50	1832	sold 1850
Erie		John Justice	Presque Isle PA	60		1833	sold 1849
Campbell		Leonard	Oxford MD	40			acquired 1834, sold 1839
Stoddert				50		1834
Washington		McCullry	Baltimore MD	190	91	1837
Woodbury	Woodbury	L. H. Duncan	Baltimore MD	120	84	1837	sold 1847
Jefferson	Woodbury	McCulley	Baltimore MD	120	84	1839	sold 1843
Van Buren			Baltimore MD	112	80	1839	sold 1847
Ewing			Baltimore MD	170	91	1841	to Coast Survey 1849
Forward		William Easby	Washington DC	139	89	1842	sold 1865
Nautilus			Baltimore MD		76	1838	from Coast Survey 1843, returned 1849
Vigilant		Webb & Curtis	New York	50	56	1843	lost 1844
Spencer	Spencer	West Point Foundry	West Point NY	400	160	1844	lightship 1848
Legare	Spencer	Henry R. Dunham	New York NY	400	160	1844	to Coast Survey 1847
Tyler	Spencer	Fort Pitt Foundry	Pittsburgh PA	409	160	1845	to Coast Survey 1847
Jefferson	Spencer	Fort Pitt Foundry	Pittsburgh PA	343	160	1845	to Coast Survey 1849
Dallas	Spencer	Fort Pitt Foundry	Pittsburgh PA	391	160	1846	to Coast Survey 1849
Walker	Spencer	Fort Pitt Foundry	Pittsburgh PA	400	160	1847	to Coast Survey 1847
McLane	Spencer	Cyrus Alger	Boston MA	368	160	1845	sold 1847
Polk	Spencer	Cyrus Alger	Boston MA	409	160	1845	sold 1847
Lawrence		William Easby	Washington DC	144	96	1848	lost 1851
Morris	Morris	Brown & Cottrell	Baltimore MD	155	102	1848	sold 1868
Campbell	Morris	Graves & Ferrebee	Portsmouth VA	155	102	1849	sold 1869
Crawford	Morris	Jacob Tees	Philadelphia PA	155	102	1849	sold 1869
Duane	Morris	Jacob Tees	Philadelphia PA	155	102	1849	captured by CSA 1861
Harrison	Harrison	John Carrick	Erie PA	115		1849	sold 1856
Ingham	Harrison	John Carrick	Erie PA	115		1849	sold 1856
Cushing	Cushing	J. M. Hood	Somerset MA	136	86	1853	captured by CSA 1863
Campbell	Cushing	J. M. Hood	Somerset MA	152	81	1853	lost 1916
Dobbin	Cushing	J. M. Hood	Somerset MA	174	94	1853	sold 1881
Jefferson Davis	Cushing	J. M. Hood	Somerset MA	174	94	1853	to USPHS 1861
Marcy	Cushing	J. M. Hood	Somerset MA	174	94	1853	to Coast Survey 1862
McClelland	Cushing	J. M. Hood	Somerset MA	174	94	1853	captured by CSA 1861
Dodge	Allen	Page & Allen	Portsmouth VA	93	80	1855	captured by CSA 1861
Cass	Allen	Page & Allen	Portsmouth VA	93	80	1855	captured by CSA 1861
Allen	Allen	Page & Allen	Portsmouth VA	93	80	1855
Black	Black	Merry & Gay	Milan OH	50	57	1857	captured by CSA 1861
Brown	Black	Merry & Gay	Milan OH	50	57	1857	sold 1864
Cobb	Black	Merry & Gay	Milan OH	50	57	1857	lost 1861
Floyd	Black	Merry & Gay	Milan OH	50	57	1857	sold 1864
Thompson	Black	Merry & Gay	Milan OH	50	57	1857	sold 1870
Toucey	Black	Merry & Gay	Milan OH	50	57	1857	sold 1859
Harriet Lane		William Webb	New York	674	180	1858	captured by CSA 1863
Aaron V. Brown						1861	sold 1864
Agassiz			Baltimore MD	62	58		from Coast Survey 1861, returned 1865
Arago				90			from Coast Survey 1861, returned 1861
Bibb		Boston NSY	Charlestown MA	366	150	1847	from Coast Survey 1861, returned 1861
Hercules	Hercules				100	1861	sold 1864
Reliance	Hercules				100	1861	sold 1865
Tiger	Hercules				100	1861	sold 1865
Varina							from Coast Survey 1861, returned 1865
Flora		B. C. Terry	Keyport NJ	281	162	1854	acquired 1854, renamed Nemaha 1864, lost 1868
Miami			Scotland	213	115		ex-Lady LeMarchand, acquired 1862, sold 1871
Naugatuck		Henry R. Dunham	New York	120	101	1844	acquired 1862
Bronx			Brooklyn NY	220	119	1863	ex-Andrews, acquired 1863, foundered 1873
Cuyahoga			Westervelt NY	536	139	1854	ex-Santa Anna, acquired 1863, sold 1867
Ashuelot	Pawtuxet	Englis	New York	350	138	1863	sold 1876
Kewanee	Pawtuxet	J. A. Robb	Baltimore MD	350	138	1863	sold 1867
Mahoning	Pawtuxet	J. W. Lynn	Philadelphia PA	350	138	1863	sold 1915
Pawtuxet	Pawtuxet	Thomas Stark	New York	350	138	1863	sold 1867
Wayanda	Pawtuxet	Fardy & Bro.	Baltimore MD	350	138	1863	sold 1874
Antietam	Pawtuxet	Fardy & Bro.	Baltimore MD	350	138	1864	sold 1867
Kankakee	Pawtuxet	Gray	Westervelt NY	350	138	1864	sold 1867
Northerner			Newburgh NY	320	135		acquired 1864, Ewing, to USPHS 1892
Seward			Wilmington DE	240	137	1864	sold 1901
Commodore Perry		Wright & Whitaker	Buffalo NY	404	166	1865	sold 1883
Delaware		Harlan & Hollingsworth	Wilmington DE	350	153	1861	ex-Virginia Dare, acquired 1865, McLane, sold 1903
Dix		J. Murphy	Newburgh NY	290	144	1865	sold 1872
Lincoln		Fardy & Bro.	Baltimore MD	550	165	1865	sold 1874
Moccasin (ex-Hero)			Philadelphia PA	182	104	1864	acquired from USN 1865, sold 1890
Nansemond (ex-Freeborn)			New York	325	146	1862	acquired from USN 1865, Crawford, sold 1897
Uno (ex-Juniper)			Camden NJ	116	79		acquired from USN 1865, sold 1906
Wilderness (ex-Creary)				390	137	1863	acquired from USN 1865, Dix, sold 1891
Chase	Chase	James Murphy	Brooklyn NY	500	170	1865	sold 1875
Johnson	Chase	J, & R. Gray	Buffalo NY	500	172	1865	sold 1897
Fessenden	Chase	Peck & Kirby	Cleveland OH	500	172	1865	sold 1907
McCulloch	Chase	Fardy & Bro.	Baltimore MD	500	178	1865	sold 1876
Sherman	Chase	Peck & Kirby	Cleveland OH	500	172	1866	sold 1872
Hamlin (ex-Mills)			Boston MA	65	85	1864	acquired 1866, sold 1899
Jasmine (ex-Van Houten)			Brooklyn NY	120	79	1866	acquired from USN 1866, Chandler, sold 1903
Mosswood				140	123		acquired from USA 1866, McCulloch, sold 1888
		J. W. Lynn	Philadelphia PA	120	90	1867	sold 1875
Resolute		J. W. Lynn	Philadelphia PA	120	90	1867	sold 1872
Petrel	Petrel	W. H. Hathord	Williamsburg NY	120	85	1867	sold 1873
racer	Petrel	W. H. Hathord	Williamsburg NY	120	85	1867	sold 1873
Reliance	Reliance	Fardy & Bro.	Baltimore MD	227	110	1867	sold 1875
Vigilant	Reliance	Fardy & Bro.	Baltimore MD	227	110	1867
Relief	Relief	Birely, Hillman	Philadelphia PA	120	92	1867
rescue	Relief	Birely, Hillman	Philadelphia PA	120	92	1867	sold 1874
Guthrie (ex-Loane)				69	85		acquired 1868, sold 1882
Colfax		Dialogue & Wood	Philadelphia PA	250	140	1864	acquired 1871, sold 1924
Fern		Delamater	New York	548	160	1871	to USN 1891
Gallatin		David Bell	Buffalo NY	250	137	1871	sank 1892
Grant		Pusey & Jones	Wilmington DE	350	163	1871	sold 1906
Hamilton		David Bell	Buffalo NY	250	133	1871	sold 1906
Stevens							sold 1890
Boutwell		David Bell	Buffalo NY	198	138	1873	sold 1907
Manhattan		Chas. Widener	Chester PA	147	102	1873	later Arundel, sold 1928
Wolcott		Risdon IW	San Francisco CA	235	155	1873	sold 1897
Dallas	Dexter	W. Fessenden	Portland ME	179	140	1874	sold 1908
Dexter	Dexter	Atlantic IW	Boston MA	179	140	1874	sold 1908
Rush	Dexter	Atlantic IW	Boston MA	179	140	1874	rebuilt 1885
Hartley		Risdon IW	San Francisco CA	65	64	1875	sold 1919
Corwin		Oregon IW	Portland OR	227	141	1876	sold 1900
Tench Coxe		William T. Maister	Baltimore MD	39	71	1876	sold 1893
Salmon P. Chase		Thomas Brown	Philadelphia PA	142	115	1878	to USPHS 1907
Forward		Pusey & Jones	Wilmington DE	267	155	1882	sold 1912
Guthrie		Ramsey, H. A.	Baltimore MD	126	85	1882	sold 1894
Fessenden		Union Drydock	Buffalo NY	330	192	1883	sold 1907
Penrose (ex-Josie R)			Tottenville NY	38	67		acquired 1883, sold 1924
Perry		Union Drydock	Buffalo NY	282	165	1884	lost 1910
Bear		Alex. Stephen	Dundee, Scotland	703	198	1874	acquired 1885, museum 1929
Rush		Hall Brothers	San Francisco CA	300	175	1885	sold 1913
Morrill		Pusey & Jones	Wilmington DE	288	145	1889	sold 1928
Winona		Pusey & Jones	Wilmington DE	321	148	1890	sold 1915
Galveston		Reeder & Sons	Baltimore MD	416	190	1891	later Apache, scrapped 1950
Sperry							sold 1905
Hudson		John H. Dialogue	Camden NJ	128	95	1893	sold 1935
Guthrie		Spedden Sbldg.	Baltimore MD	149	87	1895	sold 1942
Tybee		John H. Dialogue	Camden NJ	28	67	1895	sold 1930
Guard				22	65	1896	sold 1912
Scout			Port Townsend WA	22	65	1896	sold 1915
Windom		Iowa IW	Dubuque IA	670	171	1896	later Comanche, sold 1930
McCulloch	McCulloch	Cramp Shipbuilding	Philadelphia PA	1,280	219	1897	sank 1917
Gresham	McCulloch	Globe Iron Works	Cleveland OH	1,090	205	1897	later WPG-85, sold 1944 as T. V. McAllister, Trade Winds 1947, Hatikva 1949, scrapped 1951
Algonquin	McCulloch	Globe Iron Works	Cleveland OH	1,090	205	1898	sold 1930
Onondaga	McCulloch	Globe Iron Works	Cleveland OH	1,090	205	1898	sold 1924
Manning	McCulloch	Atlantic Iron Works	East Boston MA	1,150	205	1898	sold 1930
Nunivak		William H. Birch	San Francisco CA	486	209	1899	sold 1901
Thetis		Alex. Stephen	Dundee, Scotland	1,250	188	1881	acquired 1899, sold 1916
Seminole		Columbian Iron Works	Baltimore MD	845	188	3 Sep 1900	sold 1934
Tuscarora		Trigg, William R.	Richmond VA	620	178	27 Dec 1902	sold 1936
Mohawk		Trigg, William R.	Richmond VA	980	205	10 May 1904	sank off NJ 1917
McCulloch		Cramp Shipbuilding	Philadelphia PA	1,280	219	1897	later WPG-3, sank 1917
Androscroggin		Rodermond SB	Tompkins Cove NY	1,200	185	8 Jul 1908	later WPG-14, sold 1922
Pamlico		Pusey & Jones	Wilmington DE	455	158	26 Jul 1907	later WPG-15, sold 1947
Snohomish		Pusey & Jones	Wilmington DE	800	138	15 Nov 1908	later WPG-16, sold 1934
Seneca		Newport News Sbldg.	Newport News VA	1,445	202	12 Nov 1908	later WPG-17, sold 1936
Acushnet		Newport News Sbldg.	Newport News VA	800	138	6 Nov 1908	later WPG-18, to USN as AT-63
Tahoma		New York ship	Camden NJ	1,215	192	28 Oct 1908	later WPG-20, ran aground and sank 1914
Yamacraw		New York ship	Camden NJ	1,215	192	15 Jan 1909	later WPG-21, sold 1937
Miami		Newport News Sbldg.	Newport News VA	1,180	190	19 Aug 1912	later WPG-51, Tampa, lost 1918
Unalga		Newport News Sbldg.	Newport News VA	1,180	190	23 May 1912	later WPG-53, scrapped 1946
Ossipee		Newport News Sbldg.	Newport News VA	964	165	28 Jul 1915	later WPG-50, scrapped 1949
Tallapoosa		Newport News Sbldg.	Newport News VA	912	165	12 Aug 1915	later WPG-52, scrapped 1946