USRC Vigilant (1791)

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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]

Thumb
painting of an early Revenue Marine cutter

History

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]

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Notes

  1. 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]
  2. 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]
  3. 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

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