USLHT ''Cedar'' was a lighthouse tender in commission in the fleet of the United States Lighthouse Service in 1917 and from 1919 to 1939, and – as USCGC ''Cedar'' (WAGL-207) – in the fleet of the

United States Coast Guard The United States Coast Guard (USCG) is the maritime security, search and rescue, and Admiralty law, law enforcement military branch, service branch of the armed forces of the United States. It is one of the country's eight Uniformed services ...

from 1939 to 1950. She was in commissioned service in the

United States Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the naval warfare, maritime military branch, service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is the world's most powerful navy with the largest Displacement (ship), displacement, at 4.5 millio ...

as the patrol vessel USS ''Cedar'' from 1917 to 1919 during and in the immediate aftermath of

World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

. She also saw service in

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

under U.S. Navy control while in the Coast Guard fleet. She spent her career in the

Pacific Northwest The Pacific Northwest (PNW; ) is a geographic region in Western North America bounded by its coastal waters of the Pacific Ocean to the west and, loosely, by the Rocky Mountains to the east. Though no official boundary exists, the most common ...

and the

Territory of Alaska The Territory of Alaska or Alaska Territory was an Organized incorporated territories of the United States, organized incorporated territory of the United States from August 24, 1912, until Alaska was granted statehood on January 3, 1959. The ...

Construction and commissioning

''Cedar'' was constructed in 1916–1917 by the Craig Shipbuilding Company in

Long Beach Long Beach is a coastal city in southeastern Los Angeles County, California, United States. It is the list of United States cities by population, 44th-most populous city in the United States, with a population of 451,307 as of 2022. A charter ci ...

California California () is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States that lies on the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. It borders Oregon to the north, Nevada and Arizona to the east, and shares Mexico–United States border, an ...

, for the United States Lighthouse Service.Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships: Cedar
/ref>
/ref>"Light House Tender Cedar (WAGL-207)," unattributed text at NavSource
/ref> Designed for extended cruises in the waters of the

, she was the largest lighthouse tender built for the Lighthouse Service. She had a steel hull with a

double bottom A double hull is a ship hull design and construction method where the bottom and sides of the ship have two complete layers of watertight hull surface: one outer layer forming the normal hull of the ship, and a second inner hull which is some di ...

and a wooden

superstructure A superstructure is an upward extension of an existing structure above a baseline. This term is applied to various kinds of physical structures such as buildings, bridges, or ships. Aboard ships and large boats On water craft, the superstruct ...

. She was completed in 1917 and commissioned into service in the Lighthouse Service's fleet as USLHT ''Cedar'' on 30 June 1917.

Service history

World War I

Shortly after ''Cedar''s completion, the Lighthouse Service transferred her to the

in August 1917 for

service. Commissioned into Navy service as USS ''Cedar'', she operated as a patrol vessel in the Thirteenth Naval District in the

. At 14:00 on 24 October 1918, ''Cedar'' received word that the

Canadian Canadians () are people identified with the country of Canada. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Canadians, many (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source of their being ''C ...

passenger A passenger is a person who travels in a vehicle, but does not bear any responsibility for the tasks required for that vehicle to arrive at its destination or otherwise operate the vehicle, and is not a steward. The vehicles may be bicycles, ...

steamer had run aground in a

snowstorm A winter storm (also known as snow storm) is an event in which wind coincides with varieties of precipitation that only occur at freezing temperatures, such as snow, Rain and snow mixed, mixed snow and rain, or freezing rain. In Continental cl ...

11 hours earlier on Vanderbilt Reef in

Lynn Canal Lynn Canal is an inlet (not an artificial canal) into the mainland of southeast Alaska. Lynn Canal runs about from the inlets of the Chilkat River south to Chatham Strait and Stephens Passage. At over in depth, Lynn Canal is the deepest fjor ...

in Southeast Alaska during a voyage from Skagway to Juneau,

.Report to the Canadian Minister of Marine on the Causes of the Wreck of the Princess Sophia, Victoria, BC, 27 Mar 1919
/ref>Newell, Gordon R. ed., ''H.W. McCurdy Marine History of the Pacific Northwest'', 90, 100, 145, 204, 236, 299, 300, 392, 433, 458, 589, Superior Publishing, Seattle WA 1966 (No ISBN) The largest all-weather ship in the vicinity and the only one large enough to take off all of ''Princess Sophia''′s passengers and crew, ''Cedar'' was away. She established wireless contact with ''Princess Sophia'' and proceeded immediately to the scene, arriving there at 20:00 and finding that the

fishing Fishing is the activity of trying to catch fish. Fish are often caught as wildlife from the natural environment (Freshwater ecosystem, freshwater or Marine ecosystem, marine), but may also be caught from Fish stocking, stocked Body of water, ...

schooner A schooner ( ) is a type of sailing ship, sailing vessel defined by its Rig (sailing), rig: fore-and-aft rigged on all of two or more Mast (sailing), masts and, in the case of a two-masted schooner, the foremast generally being shorter than t ...

'' King & Winge'', two other large vessels, and 15 smaller fishing vessels also were there. ''Cedar'' was only the rescue vessel equipped with wireless, so her

captain Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader or highest rank officer of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police depa ...

, J. W. Ledbetter, began to organize a rescue attempt.Coates, Ken, and Morrison, Bill (1991). ''The Sinking of the Princess Sophia — Taking the North Down With Her'', 26, 43–57, 66–68, 74–119, University of Alaska Press, Fairbanks, AK 1991 Training ''Cedar''′s searchlights on ''Princess Sophia'', Ledbetter could see that waves were breaking against her hull, making it too dangerous for ''Princess Sophia'' to launch her lifeboats. ''Princess Sophia'' and the rescue ships agreed to await high tide at 05:00 on 25 October to attempt to launch the boats, then cancelled that plan out of concern for the safety of the boats, and ''Cedar'' anchored in the lee of a nearby island for the night. By 0900 on 25 October 1918, a

gale A gale is a strong wind; the word is typically used as a descriptor in nautical contexts. The U.S. National Weather Service defines a gale as sustained surface wind moving at a speed between .

was blowing and Ledbetter, who had brought ''Cedar'' back to the scene of ''Princess Sophia''′s grounding, was having trouble keeping ''Cedar'' on station. He decided to try to anchor ''Cedar'' downwind of Vanderbilt Reef, fire a line to ''Princess Sophia'', and then evacuate all on board by breeches buoy, but anchoring proved impossible. As conditions worsened, ''Cedar'' and ''King & Winge'' took shelter behind Sentinel Island, and Captain Miller of ''King & Winge'' came aboard ''Cedar'' to discuss further rescue options. They decided that if the weather moderated enough, they would attempt to anchor ''King & Winge'' near Vanderbilt Reef while ''Cedar'' anchored to windward of ''King and Winge'' to create a lee; ''Cedar'' would then launch her boats, which would ferry ''Princess Sophia''′s passengers and crew to ''King and Winge''. Ledbetter and Miller agreed that it would be best to wait until 26 October to attempt the rescue, as ''Princess Sophia'' appeared to be withstanding the pounding she was taking on the reef and it was possible the weather would improve enough by 26 October to make a rescue less risky. At 16:50 on 25 October, however, just as Miller was departing ''Cedar'', ''Princess Sophia'' sent a distress signal saying that she was sinking. ''Cedar'' got underway from Sentinel Island in an attempt to reach her, but conditions were so extreme that she was herself in danger, and after 30 minutes she had to turn back. Sometime around 17:50, ''Princess Sophia'' slipped off the reef and sank with the loss of all 343 people aboard, the worst maritime disaster in the combined history of

Alaska Alaska ( ) is a non-contiguous U.S. state on the northwest extremity of North America. Part of the Western United States region, it is one of the two non-contiguous U.S. states, alongside Hawaii. Alaska is also considered to be the north ...

and

British Columbia British Columbia is the westernmost Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada. Situated in the Pacific Northwest between the Pacific Ocean and the Rocky Mountains, the province has a diverse geography, with rugged landscapes that ...

. On 26 October 1918, ''Cedar'', ''King & Winge'', and other vessels reached the scene of the sinking, and found only ''Princess Sophia''s mast protruding above water; they recovered bodies, but found no survivors. ''Cedar'' and ''King & Winge'' proceeded to Juneau, where Ledbetter sent out a wire which reported "No sign of life. No hope of survivors." ''Cedar'' remained in U.S. Navy service through the end of World War I on 11 November 1918 and during its immediate aftermath. By

executive order In the United States, an executive order is a directive by the president of the United States that manages operations of the federal government. The legal or constitutional basis for executive orders has multiple sources. Article Two of the ...

, the Navy transferred her back to the Lighthouse Service on 1 July 1919.

1919–1941

As USLHT ''Cedar'', the ship returned to lighthouse tender duty, operating in Alaskan waters. After the 12- gross register ton

motor vessel A motor ship or motor vessel is a ship Marine propulsion, propelled by an internal combustion engine, usually a diesel engine. The names of motor ships are often Ship prefix, prefixed with MS, M/S, MV or M/V. Engines for motorships were develo ...

''Anna Helen'' suffered a

gasoline Gasoline ( North American English) or petrol ( Commonwealth English) is a petrochemical product characterized as a transparent, yellowish, and flammable liquid normally used as a fuel for spark-ignited internal combustion engines. When for ...

explosion and caught fire when her

gasoline engine A petrol engine (gasoline engine in American and Canadian English) is an internal combustion engine designed to run on petrol (gasoline). Petrol engines can often be adapted to also run on fuels such as Autogas, liquefied petroleum gas and Common ...

backfired at the junction of Icy Strait and

in the

Alexander Archipelago The Alexander Archipelago () is a archipelago (group of islands) in North America lying off the southeastern coast of Alaska. It contains about 1,100 islands, the tops of submerged coastal mountains that rise steeply from the Pacific Ocean. Deep ...

in Southeast Alaska about outside the entrance to Funter Bay on 22 October 1928, ''Cedar'' and the motor vessel ''Gloria'' responded to render assistance.alaskashipwreck.com Alaska Shipwrecks (A)
/ref> ''Gloria'' rescued ''Annie Helen''′s two-man crew from a dory and ''Cedar'' and ''Gloria'' stood by the burning vessel, but ''Annie Helen'' was consumed by the flames and sank without ''Cedar'' or ''Gloria'' having a chance to do anything to save her. On 1 July 1939, the U.S. Lighthouse Service was abolished and the

took over its responsibilities and assets, and ''Cedar'' thus became part of the Coast Guard fleet as USCGC ''Cedar''.

World War II

On 1 November 1941,NavSource USCGC Mangrove (WAGL 232) ex-USLHS Mangrove
/ref> with

raging in Europe,

North Africa North Africa (sometimes Northern Africa) is a region encompassing the northern portion of the African continent. There is no singularly accepted scope for the region. However, it is sometimes defined as stretching from the Atlantic shores of t ...

, and the

Middle East The Middle East (term originally coined in English language) is a geopolitical region encompassing the Arabian Peninsula, the Levant, Turkey, Egypt, Iran, and Iraq. The term came into widespread usage by the United Kingdom and western Eur ...

, the U.S. Coast Guard was transferred to the control of the U.S. Navy under

Executive Order In the United States, an executive order is a directive by the president of the United States that manages operations of the federal government. The legal or constitutional basis for executive orders has multiple sources. Article Two of the ...

8929, and ''Cedar'' thus again came under U.S. Navy control only weeks before the United States entered the war on 7 December 1941. Given the

hull classification symbol The United States Navy, United States Coast Guard, and United States National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) use a hull classification symbol (sometimes called hull code or hull number) to identify their ships by type and by ind ...

WAGL-207, and stationed at

Ketchikan Ketchikan ( ; ) is a city in and the borough seat of the Ketchikan Gateway Borough on Revillagigedo Island of Alaska. It is the state's southeasternmost major settlement. Downtown Ketchikan is a National Historic Landmark District. With a po ...

, Territory of Alaska, she was assigned to the Thirteenth Naval District in the Pacific Northwest and the

Seventeenth Naval District United States Naval Districts is a system created by the United States Navy to organize military facilities, numbered sequentially by geographic region, for the operational and administrative control of naval bases and shore commands in the Unit ...

in the Territory of Alaska, including the

Aleutian Islands The Aleutian Islands ( ; ; , "land of the Aleuts"; possibly from the Chukchi language, Chukchi ''aliat'', or "island")—also called the Aleut Islands, Aleutic Islands, or, before Alaska Purchase, 1867, the Catherine Archipelago—are a chain ...

, for duty in support of

aids to navigation A navigational aid (NAVAID), also known as aid to navigation (ATON), is any sort of signal, markers or guidance equipment which aids the traveler in navigation, usually nautical or aviation travel. Common types of such aids include lighthouses, ...

. During 1942 and 1943, she operated in support of

Allied An alliance is a relationship among people, groups, or states that have joined together for mutual benefit or to achieve some common purpose, whether or not an explicit agreement has been worked out among them. Members of an alliance are calle ...

forces in the Aleutian Islands during the

Aleutian Islands Campaign The Aleutian Islands campaign () was a military campaign fought between 3 June 1942 and 15 August 1943 on and around the Aleutian Islands in the American theater (World War II), American Theater of World War II during the Pacific War. It was t ...

Post-World War II

Returned to U.S. Coast Guard control after the conclusion of World War II, ''Cedar'' was stationed at Kodiak, Territory of Alaska. The Coast Guard decommissioned her on 29 June 1950 and laid her up at

Seattle Seattle ( ) is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Washington and in the Pacific Northwest region of North America. With a population of 780,995 in 2024, it is the 18th-most populous city in the United States. The city is the cou ...

Washington Washington most commonly refers to: * George Washington (1732–1799), the first president of the United States * Washington (state), a state in the Pacific Northwest of the United States * Washington, D.C., the capital of the United States ** A ...

. After five years of inactivity, she was sold on 27 June 1955 for scrapping.

References

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Cedar Ships of the United States Lighthouse Service Ships of the United States Coast Guard Lighthouse tenders of the United States World War I patrol vessels of the United States World War II auxiliary ships of the United States 1916 ships Ships built in California Ships of the Aleutian Islands campaign