United States Coast Guard Leaders and Missions, 1790 to the Present

The history of the U.S. Coast Guard and its predecessor agencies dates from 1790, with missions in both domestic and international waters. The service has provided aids to navigation, enforcement of maritime laws, environmental protection, search and rescue, immigration and narcotics interdiction, maritime safety assistance, port security, natural disaster response and national defense missions, including overseas with other U.S. armed forces and federal and state public safety agencies.
The Service has operated under the Department of the Treasury, the Department of Transportation and, since 2003, the Department of Homeland Security. Its maritime mission regions have included Arctic and Antarctic waters, inland and coastal U.S. waterways and the seas and oceans of the world. This history describes how the Coast Guard has manifested its legacy and motto, Semper Paratus (Always Ready), in changing conditions under each of its leaders.

A member of the United States Coast Guard Reserve from 1961 to 1969, Thomas P. Ostrom taught anthropology, geography, and history at Rochester Community College in Minnesota before retiring. He is a member of the U.S. Life-Saving Service Heritage Association, U.S. Navy Memorial, Foundation for Coast Guard History, and Naval Historical Foundation.
John J. Galluzzo is a distinguished maritime historian and journal editor. The author of several maritime articles and books, he has particularly studied the history of the Coast Guard and its predecessor agencies. He has been an active member and leader in the U.S. Life-Saving Service Heritage Association (USLSSHA).

Thomas P. Ostrom and John J. Galluzzo
Format: softcover (6 x 9)
Pages: 224
Bibliographic Info: appendix, notes, bibliography, index
Copyright Date: 2015
pISBN: 978-0-7864-9526-9
eISBN: 978-1-4766-1805-0
Imprint: McFarland

Table of Contents


Acknowledgments vii

Foreword by Captain W. Russ Webster 1

Preface 3

Introduction 5

1. U.S. Revenue Marine and U.S. Revenue Cutter Service (1790–1915) 7

2. U.S. Lighthouse Service (1789–1939) 16

3. U.S. ­Life-Saving Service (1878–1915) 26

4. Revenue Marine Chiefs (1843–1889) 39

5. Revenue Cutter Service Chiefs and Commandants

(1889–1915) 51

6. The U.S. Coast Guard Is Born (1911–1919) 61

7. Rum Runners and Depression (1919–1936) 71

8. The Coast Guard in the World War II Era (1936–1946) 82

9. The ­Post-War and Cold War Eras (1946–1962) 96

10. Vietnam, DOT, “Bender’s Blues” and Fisheries Patrols (1962–1982) 107

11. Militarization, Middle East, Interdiction and Ecology (1982–1994) 121

12. Maritime Outreach, Asset Innovation and War on Terror

(1994–2002) 129

13. U.S. Navy and Coast Guard Articulation and

Homeland Security (2002–2006) 137

14. Deep Water Project and Natural Disasters

(2006–2010) 144

15. International Outreach, Security Cutters and Arctic

Expansion (2010–) 153

Epilogue: 2015 and Beyond 176

Appendix: Commandants of the Coast Guard and Chiefs of the Revenue Marine Bureau 191

Chapter Notes 183

Bibliography 195

Index 203

“Recommended”—ARBA; “books about the Coast Guard are few. In this one, the authors present a well-balanced, straight-forward chronological narrative of the Coast Guard from its beginnings in 1790…. The Coast Guard history is placed in perspective with the national events…and the contributions of the service to national defense, safety, navigation and marine protection are well described”—Seapower; “excellent…a wonderful introductory look at the Coast Guard in the last half of the 20th century and the first decade of the 21st century”—Naval Historical Foundation.