Monday, July 31, 2006
This Day In History
...in 1876, Congress established at New Bedford the first School of Instruction to train officers for the Revenue Service. The Service traced its history back to 1790 when Congress decided it needed to ensure that vessels entering United States ports paid tariffs on their cargo. In other words, they wanted to prevent widespread smuggling. Over the years, the Revenue Service took on additional responsibilities — protecting American ships from pirates, intercepting slavers after the Atlantic slave trade was banned, and assisting vessels in distress. In 1915 it merged with the Life-Saving Service and was renamed the United States Coast Guard. At that point the School of Instruction became the Coast Guard Academy, which has been located in New London, Connecticut, since 1910.
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3 comments:
Ah yes. The humble origins of the JV. Just kidding. A great group of people. They do an incredible job!
SB
Hey Southie.....have I told you today.well, you know!
I remember reading a history of the early revenue service....as it always is, they were created, but not initially funded very well.
I saw some prints of the 'revenue cutters' from the earliest days, and they literally looked like someone took a round washtub and stuck oars on it.
Apparently they were pretty much of a joke in those days.
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