U.S. Coast Guard History Program U.S. Coast Guard Missions: A Historical Timeline Law Enforcement Establishment of "system of cutters" to enforce customs' laws, 1790 Congress authorized the Secretary of the Treasury, Alexander Hamilton, to create a maritime service to enforce customs laws (1 Stat. L. 145, 175; 4 August 1790). Alternately known as the system of cutters, Revenue Service, and Revenue-Marine this service would officially be named the Revenue Cutter Service (12 Stat. L., 639) in 1863. This service was placed under the control of the Treasury Department. 2 March 1799- Congress authorized revenue cutter officers to board all ships of the United States within four leagues of the U.S., if bound for the U.S. and then search and examine them, certifying manifest, sealing hatches and remaining on board until they arrived in port. They were also authorized to search ships of other nations in United States' waters and "perform such other duties for the collection and security of the Revenue" as directed by the Secretary of the Treasury 2 March 1807- Congress outlawed the importation of slaves into the United States. The Revenue Marine enforced the law on the sea. Post-War of 1812 enactments: Congress authorized the revenue cutters to enforce the slave trade restrictions, combat pirates, enforce quarantine and neutrality laws, prevent plundering, and remove dangerous wrecks from navigable waters. 3 March 1819- Congress authorized the revenue cutters to protect merchant vessels of United States against piracy and to seize vessels engaged in slave trade. The cutters Louisiana and Alabama were built shortly thereafter to assist in the government's efforts against piracy. 31 August 1819-The cutters Alabama and Louisiana captured the privateer Bravo in the Gulf of Mexico. The Bravo's master, Jean Le Farges -- a lieutenant of Jean Lafitte -- was later hanged from the Louisiana's yardarm. The cutters then sailed for Patterson's Town on Breton Island to destroy the notorious pirates' den there. 29 June 1820 the Revenue cutter Dallas captured the 12-gun brig-of-war General Ramirez, which was loaded with 280 slaves, off St. Augustine. Acquisition of Alaska, 1867 Revenue Cutter Service charged with the enforcement of federal law in the Alaskan territory. 1 Passage of the Posse Comitatus Act, 1878 The 45th Congress enacted a rider on an Army appropriations bill that became known as the Posse Comitatus Act (Chapter 263, Section 15, U.S. Statutes, Vol. 20). This act limited military involvement in civil law enforcement, leaving the Revenue Cutter Service as the only military force consistently charged with federal law enforcement on the high seas and U.S. waters. Passage of the Espionage Act, June 1917 The Coast Guard is given powers to prevent sabotage at the nation’s harbors. National Prohibition Enforcement Act, 1919 On 28 October 1919 Congress passed the National Prohibition Enforcement Act, otherwise known as the Volstead Act. The Volstead Act authorized the enforcement of the 18th Amendment, ratified on 29 January 1919. The Act authorized the Coast Guard to prevent the maritime importation of illegal alcohol. This led to the largest increase in the size and responsibilities of the service to that date. Notable Prohibition Incidents On 3 July 1927 Ensign Charles L. Duke, in command of CG-2327, boarded the rumrunner Greypoint in New York harbor and single-handedly captured the vessel, its 22-man crew, and its cargo of illegal liquor. On 20 March 1929 the Coast Guard captured the rum-running schooner I’m Alone of Nova Scotia, sparking an international incident. She had successfully plied this trade for over four years when she appeared off the Texas coast and was picketed by the cutter Wolcott in the spring of 1929. Boatswain Frank Paul marked her at 10.8 miles from shore and signaled her to heave to. Several blanks were fired and this brought the vessel to a stop. Captain Randall of the schooner allowed the Boatswain on board, there was a discussion, but when he returned, I’m Alone continued on her way. The chase resumed and shots were fired into her rigging. On the second morning, some two hundred miles south of the U.S., the cutter Dexter came up to assist and proceeded to fire into the runner, sinking the vessel. One of her crew was drowned. Repercussions were heard immediately from Canada, Britain, and France, as the drowned seaman was French. The initial complaint was that of the position of the schooner at the point of contact. Her captain maintained she was only a 7-knot vessel and she was anchored about 15 miles out in safe waters. The second infraction was that the pursuit was not a continuous one, the intervention of Dexter muddied this question. Since the speed of the suspect vessel is a consideration in determining how far out it might be seized, it should be noted that I’m Alone managed to stay ahead of Wolcott, a nearly new cutter capable of at least 11 knots, for over 24 hours. As I’m Alone was sunk, the captain’s statement that her engines were in need of repair also could not be proven. In any case, the international round of diplomatic niceties did not cease until 1935 when the United States backed off and compensation was paid to the crew of the schooner. Whaling Convention Act passed, 1932 The Coast Guard was assigned the responsibility for enforcing the Act. Anti-Smuggling Act, 1935 On 5 August 1935 Congress passed the Anti-Smuggling Act, which broadened the jurisdiction of Coast Guard. Camarioca Boatlift, 1965 First large-scale exodus of Cuban immigrants attempted to enter the U.S. Migrant interdiction becomes a policy concern. 200-mile Fishery Zone created, 1976 Coast Guard operations regarding the regulation of fisheries in U.S. waters was increased greatly by the new Zone. 2 Mariel Boatlift, 1980 Boats with Cuban migrants on board begin departing Mariel, Cuba. The first two boats arrive in Miami the same day, marking the largest Cuban migration to the U.S. Cuban leader Fidel Castro then declared the port of Mariel "open", increasing the number of boats involved in the exodus and giving the exodus its name. By the time the boatlift came to an end, over 125,000 Cubans had made the journey to the United States. It was the largest search and rescue operation conducted by the Coast Guard since World War II and gave the service an indication of the increasing role the service would play regarding migrant interdiction in upcoming years. Formation of Law Enforcement Detachments, 1982 On 9 August 1982 the Department of Defense approved the use of Coast Guard law enforcement detachments on board US Navy vessels during peacetime. The teams conducted law enforcement boardings from Navy vessels for the first time in U.S. history. National Narcotics Border Interdiction System (NNBIS) began operations, 1983 The NNBIS began operations on 17 June 1983 under the direction of Vice President George Bush and the executive board consisting of the secretaries of State, Transportation, and Defense, the Attorney General, the Counselor to the President, the Director of the CIA, the Director of the White House Drug Abuse Policy Office. Coast Guard anti-narcotic operations were reinforced when needed by military forces. The new system provided a coordinated national and international interagency network for prioritizing interdiction targets, identifying resources, recommending the most effective action, and coordinating joint special actions. National Narcotics Act, 1984 The National Narcotics Act led to Coast Guard participation in the National Narcotics Border Interdiction System, under Attorney General policy guidelines. Notable Interdiction Incidents On 1 January 1985 CGC Citrus was rammed by the M/V Pacific Star during a boarding incident. The Pacific Star then sank after being scuttled by her crew. There were no casualties. The seven crewmen were arrested on drug charges. On 17 September 2004 the Coast Guard made the largest cocaine seizure in its history (to date) when Coast Guard and Navy forces located and seized 30,000 pounds of cocaine aboard the fishing vessel Lina Maria approximately 300 miles southwest of the Galapagos Islands. LEDET 108, embarked aboard the USS Curts, made the seizure. A second Coast Guard and Navy team intercepted the Lina Maria's sister ship, the fishing vessel San Jose, 500 miles west of the Galapagos, and discovered and seized 26,250 pounds of cocaine. National Security Quasi-War with France, 1799-1801 The Revenue Marine was first charged with protecting the nation’s coasts and its interests on the high seas Seminole Wars, 1836-1842 Revenue cutters conducted combined naval and land operations for the first time, adding to their national defense responsibilities one task that proved their versatility. War with Mexico, 1846 16 May 1846-Eleven cutters were assigned to cooperate with Army and Navy in the Mexican War. Cutters McLane, Legare, Woodbury, Ewing, Forward, and Van Buren were assigned to the Army. Cutters Wolcott, Bibb, Morris, and Polk were assigned to the Navy. 3 Civil War 12 April 1861-The Revenue cutter Harriet Lane fired the first shot from a naval vessel in the Civil War. The cutter fired across the bow of the merchant vessel Nashville when the latter attempted to enter Charleston Harbor without displaying the national flag. Spanish-American War, 1898 The Navy tasked the US Life-Saving Service with coast watching. On 11 May 1898 USRC Hudson towed the crippled USS Winslow from certain destruction under the Spanish forts at Cardenas, Cuba during the Spanish-American War. Congress later conferred a Gold Medal of Honor on her commanding officer, Revenue First Lieutenant F.