The Hudson rescuing the Winslow. 



A brief war in 

 an era of peace 



After the close of the Civil War in 

 1865, the cutters enjoyed a relatively long 

 period of peace, interrupted only by the 

 eight-month Spanish-American War in 

 1898. The outbreak of this war found the 

 cutter McCulloch en route to San Francisco 

 via the Mediterranean and the Suez Canal. 

 At Singapore, she was ordered to join 

 Dewey's forces in the Philippines. There 

 she distinguished herself in the Battle of 

 Manila Bay and afterward raced to Hong 

 Kong with news of the American victory 

 so that it could be cabled to the world. 



The cutter IF/Wow became involved in 

 a naval battle off Cuba, while helping 

 cut the Cienfuegos cable, which linked 

 Havana with the outside world. In another 

 battle at Cardenas, the cutter Hudson 



braved deadly fire from Spanish guns to 

 tow the crippled Navy torpedo boat 

 Winsloiv from under enemy shore bat- 

 teries and certain destruction. 



Altogether, there were 18 cutters in the 

 war with Spain. Thirteen operated from 

 East Coast bases, eight of these blockad- 

 ing Havana with Admiral Sampson's fleet. 

 Four others and the McCulloch were in 

 the Pacific. Three more were in yards being 

 fitted for battle when the brief war ended. 



In the peaceful periods before and after 

 the Spanish war, the Revenue Cutter Serv- 

 ice underwent changes that presaged the 

 tight-knit, efficient, dependable organiza- 

 tion that the Coast Guard is today. Regu- 

 lations of 1871 provided for regular 

 inspection of cutters and for physical and 

 professional examination of ofificers. In 

 1876 a system for training cadets to be- 

 come ofificers was instituted. Finally, in 

 1SU5, the Revenue Cutter Service and the 

 Lifesaving Service were merged and the 

 new organization, headed by a captain 

 commandant, was called the Coast Guard, 

 the name it has borne ever since. 



11 



