USRC ''Algonquin'' was an
''Algonquin''-class cutter built for the
U.S. Revenue Cutter Service
The United States Revenue Cutter Service was established by an Act of Congress () on 4 August 1790 as the Revenue-Marine at the recommendation of the nation's first U.S. Secretary of the Treasury, Alexander Hamilton.
The federal government bod ...
for service on the
Great Lakes
The Great Lakes, also called the Great Lakes of North America, are a series of large interconnected freshwater lakes spanning the Canada–United States border. The five lakes are Lake Superior, Superior, Lake Michigan, Michigan, Lake Huron, H ...
. Because of the
Spanish–American War
The Spanish–American War (April 21 – August 13, 1898) was fought between Restoration (Spain), Spain and the United States in 1898. It began with the sinking of the USS Maine (1889), USS ''Maine'' in Havana Harbor in Cuba, and resulted in the ...
, she was cut in half shortly before completion and transported to
Ogdensburg, New York
Ogdensburg is a city in St. Lawrence County, New York, United States. The population was 10,064 at the 2020 census. In the late 18th century, European-American settlers named the community after American land owner and developer Samuel Ogden. T ...
for service on the Atlantic coast although the war ended before she could be put into service. She was homeported at
San Juan, Puerto Rico
San Juan ( , ; Spanish for "Saint John the Baptist, John") is the capital city and most populous Municipalities of Puerto Rico, municipality in the Commonwealth (U.S. insular area), Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, an unincorporated territory of the ...
from 1905 to 1917. ''Algonquin'' served briefly for the U.S. Navy along the Atlantic Coast in the summer of 1898 before being returned to the Treasury Department. After the formation 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 ...
in 1915 the vessel became USCGC ''Algonquin''. The ship served as a patrol vessel at
Norfolk, Virginia
Norfolk ( ) is an independent city (United States), independent city in the U.S. state of Virginia. It had a population of 238,005 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, making it the List of cities in Virginia, third-most populous city ...
at the beginning 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 ...
before being assigned convoy duty in the Mediterranean. In February 1919 ''Algonquin'' was transferred to the West Coast and served in the Pacific Northwest and Alaska until being decommissioned at San Francisco in December 1930.
Construction
The
United States Revenue Cutter Service
The United States Revenue Cutter Service was established by an Act of Congress () on 4 August 1790 as the Revenue-Marine at the recommendation of the nation's first U.S. Secretary of the Treasury, Alexander Hamilton.
The federal government bod ...
cutter ''Algonquin'' was planned and designed by RCS officers and laid down in 1897 at the
Globe Iron Workss yard in
Cleveland
Cleveland is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Cuyahoga County. Located along the southern shore of Lake Erie, it is situated across the Canada–U.S. maritime border and approximately west of the Ohio-Pennsylvania st ...
(yard number 71) and launched on 30 March 1897.
[King (1989), p 80] ''Algonquin'' was a steel-hulled vessel equipped with a
triple-expansion steam engine
A compound steam engine unit is a type of steam engine where steam is expanded in two or more stages.
A typical arrangement for a compound engine is that the steam is first expanded in a high-pressure (HP) Cylinder (engine), cylinder, then ha ...
,
Scotch boilers, and a single screw. She was one of the first RCS cutters built with electric generators to supply current for lights and call bells.
[''Algonquin'', 1898, U.S Coast Guard Historian's Office][Evans (1949), p 158] She was one of the last RCS cutters that was rigged for sails and had a bow torpedo tube installed.
[King (1989), p 111][Larzelere (2003), p 33] Before ''Algonquin'' could be completed, she was transferred to U.S. Navy control on 24 March 1898 due to the Spanish-American War. The ship was cut in half and moved to
Ogdensburg, New York
Ogdensburg is a city in St. Lawrence County, New York, United States. The population was 10,064 at the 2020 census. In the late 18th century, European-American settlers named the community after American land owner and developer Samuel Ogden. T ...
. ''Algonquin'' was reassembled at
Montreal, Canada
Montreal is the largest city in the province of Quebec, the second-largest in Canada, and the ninth-largest in North America. It was founded in 1642 as '' Ville-Marie'', or "City of Mary", and is now named after Mount Royal, the triple-pe ...
and served briefly in coastal service. On 17 August 1898 the ''Algonquin'' was returned to the Treasury Department.
History
September 1898 – December 1930
On 8 September 1898, ''Algonquin'' was ordered to Philadelphia and thereafter to the
Delaware Breakwater to receive a gun from
USRC ''Levi Woodbury''. In December, ''Algonquin'' was put in service between
Norfolk, Virginia
Norfolk ( ) is an independent city (United States), independent city in the U.S. state of Virginia. It had a population of 238,005 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, making it the List of cities in Virginia, third-most populous city ...
and New York and between Norfolk and
Cape Hatteras
Cape Hatteras is a cape located at a pronounced bend in Hatteras Island, one of the barrier islands of North Carolina.
As a temperate barrier island, the landscape has been shaped by wind, waves, and storms. There are long stretches of beach ...
.
On 19 January 1899 ''Algonquin'' sailed to
Havana, Cuba
Havana (; ) is the capital and largest city of Cuba. The heart of La Habana Province, Havana is the country's main port and commercial center.[Marine Hospital Service
The Marine Hospital Service was an organization of Marine Hospitals dedicated to the care of ill and disabled seamen in the United States Merchant Marine, the U.S. Coast Guard and other federal beneficiaries. The Marine Hospital Service evolved ...](_bl ...<br></span></div> to tow a barge for the <div class=)
. ''Algonquin'' made arrived at Havana on 1 March and returned to Norfolk on 23 March.
In the following months ''Algonquin'' went to
Wilmington, North Carolina
Wilmington is a port city in New Hanover County, North Carolina, United States. With a population of 115,451 as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the List of municipalities in North Carolina, eighth-most populous city in the st ...
to cruise between Cape Hatteras and
Charleston, South Carolina
Charleston is the List of municipalities in South Carolina, most populous city in the U.S. state of South Carolina. The city lies just south of the geographical midpoint of South Carolina's coastline on Charleston Harbor, an inlet of the Atla ...
.
On 5 May 1900, ''Algonquin'' searched for the crew of the shipwrecked British steamer ''Virginia''.
When President Woodrow Wilson asked the Congress of the United States for a declaration war against Germany on 6 April 1917, the Coast Guard was transferred to the jurisdiction of the U.S. Navy. After finishing a refit at the shipyard at Arundel Cove,
Curtis Bay, Maryland
Curtis Bay is a residential / commercial / industrial neighborhood in the southern portion of the City of Baltimore, Maryland, United States.
The neighborhood is on steep sloping heights, about four city blocks wide (west to east) and fifteen ...
, ''Algonquin'' returned to service for five months of service out of Norfolk, Virginia.
Late in September, ''Algonquin'' began a 16-month tour of duty in Europe, safely escorting 750 ships on ten round trips between Gibraltar and the United Kingdom and 10 round trips between Gibraltar and the Azores.
''Algonquin'' was returned to
Department of the Treasury control on 28 August 1919, after its arrival in the 13th Naval District where it served in Alaska and the Pacific.
''Algonquin'' was decommissioned at San Francisco on 11 December 1930.
Notes
Citations
References
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Algonquin
Patrol vessels of the United States
Cutters of the United States Navy
Ships of the United States Revenue Cutter Service
Ships of the United States Coast Guard
1898 ships
World War I patrol vessels of the United States
Ships built in Cleveland