Early years of the Coast Guard
07-31-2012, 05:42 PM
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Early years of the Coast Guard
I know some of you here are Coast Guard members. My father and most of his family were career CG... I'm the black sheep as I could care less about the ocean! 
Anyway, the local newspaper in Newburyport Mass, 2 towns east of where I come from, ran an article in today's paper about those early years of the 'Lifesaving Service', and I thought some of you might be interested.
How the lifesaving services began
Used with permission
By John O'Connell and John Strouse, Special to The Daily News Newburyport Daily News
For the early colonists, the coast of New England could be a terrifying region. Winter storms or “northeasters” would drive vessels onto the coast. Without engines, sailing ships had great difficulty standing off.
To make matters worse, much of the region had sandbars a few hundred yards off-shore, upon which vessels would run aground, leaving large stretches of open, extremely rough water between the ship and shore. Deadly storms came up without warning in those days without weather forecasts.
If that were not bad enough, much of the coast was, in those days, uninhabited. Survivors who managed to make it ashore often died of exposure to the elements because there was no shelter.
Finally, a group of merchants and professionals in Boston got together in 1785 to discuss the possible solutions to the problem. The Massachusetts Humane Society was formed in 1786. Initially, the many volunteers used their own boats, but in 1801 the society started construction of their own 54-foot lifeboat. It was lined with cork to provide stability and was launched in Nantucket.
The next big move for the society was to construct huts along the sparsely inhabited coastline. These huts provided shelter to shipwrecked mariners and were stocked with food, fuel and blankets. Eighteen such huts had been constructed by 1806.
The city of Newburyport was in those early years a thriving seaport, until President Jefferson’s embargo of 1807, as well as the great fire of 1811 that devastated the downtown. Nonetheless, there was a local group called the Merrimack Humane Society, which provided public recognition for courageous acts that resulted in lives being saved.
One such example occurred in 1812, when a 9-year-old boy fell into the Merrimack River. A passing older gentleman, age 76, jumped in and pulled the lad out. He received an award from the Merrimack Humane Society.
The society built five beacons on Plum Island, indicating the direction of the nearest shelters. They provided a well-stocked lifeboat at the lighthouse at Plum Island Point, as well as a cannon for summoning volunteers.
Although no specific records have been found attesting to the Massachusetts Humane Society involvement, the wreck of the Pocahontas in December 1839 was an example of the sort of wreck that occurred off the Massachusetts coast. A nor’easter drove the Pocahontas onto a sandbar south of Plum Island center. Celia Thaxter, the well known poet from the Isle of Shoals, saw it pass the White Island lighthouse and noted that she seemed to be in distress. She subsequently wrote a poem about the tragedy.
The Pocahontas was bound for Newburyport from Cadiz, Spain, with a cargo of household goods. Passing the mouth of the Merrimack during the night, the captain dropped anchor to wait for daylight. However, the anchor dragged, and the Pocahontas fetched up on a sandbar, about 150 yards offshore.
During the day, observers watched in horror as men were washed into the cold seawater and disappeared. An empty lifeboat washed ashore, indicating that some of the crew had tried to make a run for shore, but were lost. Rescuers from the Humane Society would have not had a chance to get anyone off the frigate.
As the storm abated, it became clear that the entire crew was lost. Seven bodies washed ashore, and they were buried at the Old Hill Burying Ground.
During the 1850s and 1860s, the Massachusetts Humane Society was successful in obtaining federal funds for support of their coastal stations. This turned out to be a mixed blessing. The stations were to be administered by the U.S. Revenue Marine, a branch of the Treasury Department, but the attitude of the lifesaving crews was rather casual, with no clear chain of command and little accountability. Sporadic attempts were made to improve the situation, with the funding of full-time station keepers. Even so, when a ship was perceived to be in distress, the station keeper still had to assemble an all-volunteer boat crew, by which time the distressed vessel could be lost.
By 1871, when the U.S. Lifesaving Service was established by the federal government, the Massachusetts Humane Society manned 78 lifeboats, and had established 92 huts and other structures along the coast.
The Treasury Department appointed Sumner Kimball as chief of the Revenue Marine Division. Kimball introduced good management practices, and obtained adequate funding from Congress to staff the stations with full-time boat crews, provide training, and assure that equipment was maintained properly.
The mission of the Massachusetts Humane Society was completely absorbed into the newly formed U.S. Life Savings Service in 1878.
Lifesaving stations were manned by a full time crew, a keeper and five surfmen. The stations were manned from November to April, the time most ship wrecks and potential loss of life, and then full time by the turn of the century.
Keepers were carefully selected by the inspectors. Surfmen were selected by the keepers. The requirements for surfman were: less than 45 years of age, good health, able to read, good habits and strong character and a master at handling small boats in rough water. Accordingly, many local fishermen filled the crew spots.
The Lifesaving Service had two means of rescue of victims of shipwrecks:
1. Rescue by lifeboat, or rigging a line from the beach to the shipwrecked vessel. Rescue by lifesaving boat required that the Lifesaving Station launch a boat from shore to rescue passengers and crew. This was a very dangerous task considering that rescues were most likely during strong storms and large surf.
2. Rigging a strong line from the shore to the shipwrecked vessel to carry victims to shore. This was first accomplished using a “Lyle Gun,” which would shoot a line up to 600 yards to the vessel. The line was then attached to the vessel and up to 11 victims could be rescued in an enclosed capsule during each retrieve. The capsule was later replaced by the “Breeches Buoy,” which consisted of a life ring with canvas pants attached.
The Massachusetts Humane Society gave up its direct involvement in lifesaving, concentrating on providing swimming lessons and rewarding life-saving valor by award medals to those who risked their lives to save others from the sea and providing financial support to life-saving organizations. This latter mission continues to this day.
Anyway, the local newspaper in Newburyport Mass, 2 towns east of where I come from, ran an article in today's paper about those early years of the 'Lifesaving Service', and I thought some of you might be interested.
How the lifesaving services began
Used with permission
By John O'Connell and John Strouse, Special to The Daily News Newburyport Daily News
For the early colonists, the coast of New England could be a terrifying region. Winter storms or “northeasters” would drive vessels onto the coast. Without engines, sailing ships had great difficulty standing off.
To make matters worse, much of the region had sandbars a few hundred yards off-shore, upon which vessels would run aground, leaving large stretches of open, extremely rough water between the ship and shore. Deadly storms came up without warning in those days without weather forecasts.
If that were not bad enough, much of the coast was, in those days, uninhabited. Survivors who managed to make it ashore often died of exposure to the elements because there was no shelter.
Finally, a group of merchants and professionals in Boston got together in 1785 to discuss the possible solutions to the problem. The Massachusetts Humane Society was formed in 1786. Initially, the many volunteers used their own boats, but in 1801 the society started construction of their own 54-foot lifeboat. It was lined with cork to provide stability and was launched in Nantucket.
The next big move for the society was to construct huts along the sparsely inhabited coastline. These huts provided shelter to shipwrecked mariners and were stocked with food, fuel and blankets. Eighteen such huts had been constructed by 1806.
The city of Newburyport was in those early years a thriving seaport, until President Jefferson’s embargo of 1807, as well as the great fire of 1811 that devastated the downtown. Nonetheless, there was a local group called the Merrimack Humane Society, which provided public recognition for courageous acts that resulted in lives being saved.
One such example occurred in 1812, when a 9-year-old boy fell into the Merrimack River. A passing older gentleman, age 76, jumped in and pulled the lad out. He received an award from the Merrimack Humane Society.
The society built five beacons on Plum Island, indicating the direction of the nearest shelters. They provided a well-stocked lifeboat at the lighthouse at Plum Island Point, as well as a cannon for summoning volunteers.
Although no specific records have been found attesting to the Massachusetts Humane Society involvement, the wreck of the Pocahontas in December 1839 was an example of the sort of wreck that occurred off the Massachusetts coast. A nor’easter drove the Pocahontas onto a sandbar south of Plum Island center. Celia Thaxter, the well known poet from the Isle of Shoals, saw it pass the White Island lighthouse and noted that she seemed to be in distress. She subsequently wrote a poem about the tragedy.
The Pocahontas was bound for Newburyport from Cadiz, Spain, with a cargo of household goods. Passing the mouth of the Merrimack during the night, the captain dropped anchor to wait for daylight. However, the anchor dragged, and the Pocahontas fetched up on a sandbar, about 150 yards offshore.
During the day, observers watched in horror as men were washed into the cold seawater and disappeared. An empty lifeboat washed ashore, indicating that some of the crew had tried to make a run for shore, but were lost. Rescuers from the Humane Society would have not had a chance to get anyone off the frigate.
As the storm abated, it became clear that the entire crew was lost. Seven bodies washed ashore, and they were buried at the Old Hill Burying Ground.
During the 1850s and 1860s, the Massachusetts Humane Society was successful in obtaining federal funds for support of their coastal stations. This turned out to be a mixed blessing. The stations were to be administered by the U.S. Revenue Marine, a branch of the Treasury Department, but the attitude of the lifesaving crews was rather casual, with no clear chain of command and little accountability. Sporadic attempts were made to improve the situation, with the funding of full-time station keepers. Even so, when a ship was perceived to be in distress, the station keeper still had to assemble an all-volunteer boat crew, by which time the distressed vessel could be lost.
By 1871, when the U.S. Lifesaving Service was established by the federal government, the Massachusetts Humane Society manned 78 lifeboats, and had established 92 huts and other structures along the coast.
The Treasury Department appointed Sumner Kimball as chief of the Revenue Marine Division. Kimball introduced good management practices, and obtained adequate funding from Congress to staff the stations with full-time boat crews, provide training, and assure that equipment was maintained properly.
The mission of the Massachusetts Humane Society was completely absorbed into the newly formed U.S. Life Savings Service in 1878.
Lifesaving stations were manned by a full time crew, a keeper and five surfmen. The stations were manned from November to April, the time most ship wrecks and potential loss of life, and then full time by the turn of the century.
Keepers were carefully selected by the inspectors. Surfmen were selected by the keepers. The requirements for surfman were: less than 45 years of age, good health, able to read, good habits and strong character and a master at handling small boats in rough water. Accordingly, many local fishermen filled the crew spots.
The Lifesaving Service had two means of rescue of victims of shipwrecks:
1. Rescue by lifeboat, or rigging a line from the beach to the shipwrecked vessel. Rescue by lifesaving boat required that the Lifesaving Station launch a boat from shore to rescue passengers and crew. This was a very dangerous task considering that rescues were most likely during strong storms and large surf.
2. Rigging a strong line from the shore to the shipwrecked vessel to carry victims to shore. This was first accomplished using a “Lyle Gun,” which would shoot a line up to 600 yards to the vessel. The line was then attached to the vessel and up to 11 victims could be rescued in an enclosed capsule during each retrieve. The capsule was later replaced by the “Breeches Buoy,” which consisted of a life ring with canvas pants attached.
The Massachusetts Humane Society gave up its direct involvement in lifesaving, concentrating on providing swimming lessons and rewarding life-saving valor by award medals to those who risked their lives to save others from the sea and providing financial support to life-saving organizations. This latter mission continues to this day.
07-31-2012, 09:01 PM
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07-31-2012, 09:42 PM
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