USRC Forward (1882)

USRC Forward [Note 1]was a revenue cutter constructed for the U.S. Revenue Cutter Service in 1882 by Pusey & Jones shipyard in Wilmington, Delaware. She was the second Revenue Cutter Service vessel named Forward and was named for Walter Forward, the fifteenth United States Secretary of the Treasury. The iron-hulled vessel originally cost US$72,750 and was powered by a two-cylinder steam engine with a topsail schooner brigantine sail pattern. Although Forward was considered a model ship at the time of its construction, it was severely underpowered and had unreliable machinery. The cost of repairs in the first fifteen years of operation was US$52,000.[3]

For other ships with the same name, see USRC Forward and USCGC Forward (WMEC-911).

USRC Forward
History
United States
Name: USRC Forward
Namesake: Walter Forward,[1] 15th United States Secretary of the Treasury
Operator: U.S. Revenue Cutter Service
Awarded: 17 November 1881[1]
Builder: Pusey & Jones, Wilmington, Delaware[2]
Cost: US$72,750
Commissioned: 1 November 1882[2]
Decommissioned: 19 August 1912[2]
Out of service:
  • 2 July 1888–19 June 1890, repairs;
  • 14 November 1905–17 August 1907, repairs[1]
Fate: sold for US$4,151, 24 October 1912[2]
General characteristics [2]
Class and type: Topsail schooner/ Brigantine steamer
Displacement: 267 tons
Length: 155 ft (47 m)
Beam: 25 ft (7.6 m)
Draft: 7 ft 6 in (2.29 m)
Propulsion:
  • 2-cylinder steam engine,
  • 24 in (0.61 m) diameter x 28 in (0.71 m) stroke, 2 screws
Complement: 7 officers, 31 enlisted
Armament: 2 guns of unknown type and caliber

History

Her homeport from 1882 to 1904 was Mobile, Alabama where she patrolled the Gulf of Mexico enforcing customs laws and assisting mariners in distress. During this period she was temporarily assigned to several other areas along the Atlantic coast and the Gulf of Mexico.[1][Note 2] In 1895 Secretary of the Treasury John G. Carlisle assigned Forward and seven other cutters to enforce United States neutrality in Cuba's revolt against Spain. The cutters were responsible for patrolling the Florida Strait and prevent attempts to smuggle arms into Cuba from the United States. On 5 December 1895, Forward and USRC Winona discovered a recently abandoned camp at Middle Cape Sable, Florida that had enough army and medical supplies to indicate that about fifty men had been training there.[5] In 1898, Charleston, South Carolina was homeport until she returned to Key West in 1904. On 27 May, 1902 she was involved in a minor collision with SS Martha Helen in Winyah Bay, South Carolina receiving minor damage.[6] On 2 June 1905 she was assigned to convoy U.S. Public Health Service barge Senator from Havana, Cuba to Key West.[1] On 12 October 1907 Forward received orders to report to Chesapeake Bay for joint drills and inspections with other cutters of the service.[1][7]

Notes
Footnotes
  1. The cutter was actually commissioned as USRC Walter Forward but in usage was referred to as USRC Forward by the RCS and by ship history researchers since her commission.[1]
  2. Future Commandant of the Coast Guard, Ellsworth P. Bertholf was an officer assigned to Forward from May 1891 to June 1893, during which time he was promoted to second lieutenant.[4]
Citations
  1. Record of Movements..., pp 229—231
  2. Canney, p 45
  3. Canney, p 46
  4. Kroll, p xix
  5. King, pp 109–110
  6. Annual report of the Supervising Inspector-general..., p 43
  7. Kroll, p 70
References used
  • This article incorporates text from the public domain Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships.
  • "Annual report of the Supervising Inspector-general Steamboat-inspection Service, Year ending June 30, 1903". Washington, D.C.: Government Printing Office. 1903. Retrieved 6 May 2020.
  • "Record of Movements, Vessels of the United States Coast Guard, 1790–December 31, 1933" (PDF). U.S. Coast Guard, Department of Transportation.
  • Canney, Donald L. (1995). U.S. Coast Guard and Revenue Cutters, 1790–1935. Naval Institute Press, Annapolis, Maryland. ISBN 978-1-55750-101-1.
  • King, Irving H. (1996). The Coast Guard Expands, 1865–1915: New Roles, New Frontiers. Naval Institute Press, Annapolis, Maryland. ISBN 978-1-55750-458-6.
  • Kroll, C. Douglas (2002). Commodore Ellsworth P. Bertholf: First Commandant of the Coast Guard. Naval Institute Press, Annapolis, Maryland. ISBN 978-1-55750-474-6.
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