Thomas Winsmore was an 1890 schooner

Schooner

A schooner is a type of sailing vessel characterized by the use of fore-and-aft sails on two or more masts with the forward mast being no taller than the rear masts....

 that sailed in the coastwise trade, bringing coal from Philadelphia to northern ports, and returning with cargoes of lumber. According to one source, the ship operated free of mishaps for almost 22 years. However, the ship was known for its "troublesome" crew; and in one instance, it appears a fight resulted in the death of a crew member.

Rescue by Revenue Cutter Seminole in 1914

A report from the United States Revenue Cutter Service

United States Revenue Cutter Service

The United States Revenue Cutter Service was established by Secretary of the Treasury Alexander Hamilton in 1790 as an armed maritime law enforcement service. Throughout its entire existence the Revenue Cutter Service operated under the authority of the United States Department of the Treasury...

 describes one of the accidents that marked the end of 22 years of safe operation, when Thomas Winsmore went aground near Lookout Shoal

Cape Lookout Coast Guard Station

The Cape Lookout Coast Guard Station is located on the Core Banks of North Carolina between Cape Lookout and the Cape Lookout Light. The station was built as a lifeboat station beginning in 1916 and comprises a complex of several frame buildings. The chief structure is the Main Station, a...

 :

"The three-masted schooner Thomas Winsmore, on January 4, 1914, was in a predicament where the services of a revenue cutter were needed about as badly as ever happens. In a stiff westerly gale, with both anchors down and dragging on a lee shore

Lee shore

The terms lee shore and windweather or ward shore are nautical terms used to describe a stretch of shoreline. A lee shore is one that is to the lee side of a vessel - meaning the wind is blowing towards it. A weather shore has the wind blowing from inland over it out to sea...

, rolling heavily in a cross sea, deck load shifted, and 5 feet of water in the hold, it semed that this schooner's end was close at hand. In addition to all these troubles, the captain feared that his crew would mutiny. Fortunately the revenue cutter Seminole

USRC Seminole

USRC Seminole was a 188-foot, 845-ton steamer constructed by the Columbian Iron Works in Baltimore, MD for $141,000. She was commissioned in 1900 and saw service through 1934, when she was transferred to the Federal Emergency Relief Administration....

 observed the plight of the schooner and went immediately to her assistance. An attempt to shoot a line on board the distressed vessel proved futile, owing to the high wind. The sea was too rough to lower the surfboat, but by a liberal use of oil the cutter was enabled to get a 4-inch line on board, by means of which a 10-inch hawser was secured to the schooner. In a short time the unfortunate vessel was towed to a safe anchorage, and arrangements were made to send an armed boat's crew to assist the master of the schooner in the event his crew should again become troublesome."

The ship’s namesake was Thomas Winsmore, of the ship chandlery

Ship chandler

A ship chandler is a retail dealer in special supplies or equipment for ships.For traditional sailing ships items that could be found in a chandler might include: rosin, turpentine, tar, pitch , linseed oil, whale oil, tallow, lard, varnish, twine, rope and cordage, hemp, oakum, tools A ship...

Cain & Winsmore.