$1,000 per cutter 



The "ten boats" were to be cutter 

 types — that is, heavy-keeled schooners 

 that could carry plenty of sail for speed. 

 "Boats of from thirty-six to forty feet keel 

 will answer the purpose, each . . . armed 

 with swivels," Hamilton told Congress. 

 "The first cost of one of these boats, com- 

 pletely equipped, may be computed at one 

 thousand dollars." 



The first cutter was the two-masted 

 Massachusetts, built and launched at New- 

 buryport, Mass., in 1791. Her deck, di- 

 vided into long quarterdeck and deep 

 waist, measured 50 feet from her Indian 

 figurehead to her square-cut stern. The 

 beam was 17 feet 8 inches; the depth 7 

 feet 3 inches. She "measured" 7OI/2 tof^s 

 and was armed with six swivel guns, 

 which made her the most formidable ship 

 in the cutter fleet. The 51 -ton Scammel, 

 the 50-ton Active and Pickering, the 40- 

 ton Diligence, and the 35-ton Argus. 

 Vigilant, Virginia, and South Carolina 

 had only four guns apiece. The General 

 Greene, a 30-ton sloop, had but three. 



Rum, brandy or whisky 



To sail these ships, Hamilton engaged 

 crews of "respectable character." For each 

 cutter. Congress authorized one master, 

 not more than three mates, four mariners, 

 and two boys. The masters received $30 a 

 month, first mates $20, second mates $16, 

 third mates $14, mariners $8, and boys 

 $4. All received rations, which included 

 among other items a "half gill of rum, 

 brandy, or whisky, 1 quart salt, 2 quarts 

 vinegar, 2 pounds soap, 1 pound candles." 



In 1799, masters and mates were given 

 the titles of captain and first, second, 

 and third lieutenants. These were the 



equivalent of the Navy titles lieutenant 

 commander, lieutenant, lieutenant junior 

 grade, and ensign, which came into Coast 

 Guard usage in 1920. 



It was Hamilton's idea to give the of- 

 ficers commissions that would "not only 

 induce fit men the more readily to engage, 

 but will attach them to their duty by a 

 nicer sense of honor." 



The first man commissioned "a Master 

 of a Cutter in the Service of the United 

 States" was Hopley Yeaton of New 

 Hampshire. On March 21, 1791, he took 

 the double oath — to support the Consti- 

 tution and detect and prevent frauds 

 against the revenue — that Coast Guard of- 

 ficers still take, and was given command 

 of the cutter Scan?mel. During the Revo- 

 lution he had fought as Captain John 

 Barry's third ofiicer aboard the frigate 

 Raleigh. 



Two other cutter masters also were 

 veterans of the Continental Navy — John 

 Foster 'Williams, who commanded the 

 Massachusetts, and David Porter, who 

 commanded the Active. 



Uniform of the day 



'What uniforms these earliest Coast 

 Guardsmen wore we can only guess, be- 

 cause in the beginning the Revenue 

 Marine was loosely organized under the 

 administration of local collectors of the 

 customs and no uniform regulations are 

 known earlier than those of 1830. The 

 assumption is that the original cutter 

 crews dressed much like men of the Revo- 

 lutionary Navy, disbanded in 1785. 



Masters probably wore cocked hats 

 over hair tied up in short queues, blue 

 swallow-tail coats with gold buttons and 

 epaulets, knee breeches and boots. Buttons 

 were usually arranged in groups of four 



