USRC Hamilton (1871)
Encyclopedia
USRC Hamilton was a Revenue Cutter
United States Coast Guard Cutter
Cutter is the term used by the United States Coast Guard for its commissioned vessels. A Cutter is or greater in length, has a permanently assigned crew, and has accommodations for the crew to live aboard...

 topsail schooner of the Gallatin class. She was named for Alexander Hamilton
Alexander Hamilton
Alexander Hamilton was a Founding Father, soldier, economist, political philosopher, one of America's first constitutional lawyers and the first United States Secretary of the Treasury...

, first Secretary of the Treasury. An iron-hulled cutter with steam propulsion, she was constructed at Buffalo, New York
Buffalo, New York
Buffalo is the second most populous city in the state of New York, after New York City. Located in Western New York on the eastern shores of Lake Erie and at the head of the Niagara River across from Fort Erie, Ontario, Buffalo is the seat of Erie County and the principal city of the...

 by David Bell Co. in 1871. The Gallatin class consisted of two ships, the USRC Gallatin
USRC Gallatin (1871)
USRC Gallatin, was a Gallatin Class cutter of the United States Revenue Cutter Service in commission from 1874 to 1892. She was the fourth ship of the United States Revenue Cutter Service to bear the name, and was also known as Albert Gallatin.Gallatin was laid down by David Bell Co. at Buffalo,...

 and the Hamilton, however they differed in the propulsion machinery used.

Between 1871 and 1898, the cutter operated along the eastern seaboard of the United States between Virginia and Massachusetts. During that service, she operated from various bases including Boston, Massachusetts, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Philadelphia is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania and the county seat of Philadelphia County, with which it is coterminous. The city is located in the Northeastern United States along the Delaware and Schuylkill rivers. It is the fifth-most-populous city in the United States,...

 and Norfolk, Virginia
Norfolk, Virginia
Norfolk is an independent city in the Commonwealth of Virginia in the United States. With a population of 242,803 as of the 2010 Census, it is Virginia's second-largest city behind neighboring Virginia Beach....

. During the Spanish-American War
Spanish-American War
The Spanish–American War was a conflict in 1898 between Spain and the United States, effectively the result of American intervention in the ongoing Cuban War of Independence...

 Hamilton assisted with the blockading of Havana harbor. After the war she was assigned duties out of Savannah, Georgia
Savannah, Georgia
Savannah is the largest city and the county seat of Chatham County, in the U.S. state of Georgia. Established in 1733, the city of Savannah was the colonial capital of the Province of Georgia and later the first state capital of Georgia. Today Savannah is an industrial center and an important...

 until 1903, when she was assigned duties along the Gulf Coast. That area remained her zone of operations for the remainder of her career and on 31 January 1906,
Hamilton was placed out of commission at Mobile, Alabama
Mobile, Alabama
Mobile is the third most populous city in the Southern US state of Alabama and is the county seat of Mobile County. It is located on the Mobile River and the central Gulf Coast of the United States. The population within the city limits was 195,111 during the 2010 census. It is the largest...

. She was sold to Lee Kimball, of Mobile, on 6 March 1906 for $2,100 and was delivered to him on 26 March.

Reference

U.S. Coast Guard and Revenue Cutters, 1790-1935, Donald L. Canney, Naval Institute Press, 1995
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