The United States Revenue Cutter Washington was one of the 13 cutters of the Morris-Taney class

Morris-Taney class cutter

The Morris-Taney class Revenue Cutters were 13 cutters built at New York City at the Webb and Allen shipyard between 1830 - 1833. These cutters were the backbone of the Service for more than a decade. Samuel Humphreys designed these cutters for roles as diverse as fighting pirates, privateers,...

. These cutters were the backbone of 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...

 for more than a decade. Samuel Humphreys

Samuel Humphreys

Samuel Humphreys was a noted U.S. naval architect in the early 19th century.- Naval architect :Samuel Humphreys constructed ships at the Philadelphia Navy Yard. He built the USS Franklin in 1815...

 designed these cutters for roles as diverse as fighting pirates, privateers, combating smugglers and operating with naval forces. He designed the vessels on a naval 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....

 concept. They had Baltimore Clipper

Baltimore Clipper

Baltimore Clipper is the colloquial name for fast sailing ships built on the south-eastern seaboard of the United States of America, especially at the port of Baltimore, Maryland...

 lines. The vessels built by Webb and Allen, designed by Isaac Webb, resembled Humphreys' but had one less port.

1833–1835

The revenue cutter Washington was completed at New York

New York

New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...

 in 1833, initially operated out of 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 shifted to Key West, Florida

Key West, Florida

Key West is a city in Monroe County, Florida, United States. The city encompasses the island of Key West, the part of Stock Island north of U.S. 1 , Sigsbee Park , Fleming Key , and Sunset Key...

, as her base of operations and spent a brief period of time at Charleston, South Carolina

Charleston, South Carolina

Charleston is the second largest city in the U.S. state of South Carolina. It was made the county seat of Charleston County in 1901 when Charleston County was founded. The city's original name was Charles Towne in 1670, and it moved to its present location from a location on the west bank of the...

, undergoing repairs, before returning to Key West on 20 May 1835 and remaining based there for the remainder of the year.

Second Seminole War, 1835–1837

Around Christmas of 1835, two companies of regular Army troops under the command of Major Francis L. Dade

Francis L. Dade

Francis Langhorne Dade was a Major in the U.S. 4th Infantry Regiment, United States Army, during the Second Seminole War. Dade was killed in a battle with Seminole Indians that came to be known as the "Dade Massacre"...

, were massacred by Seminole Indians

Dade Massacre

The "Dade Massacre" was an 1835 defeat for the United States Army that started the Second Seminole War, which lasted until 1842.On December 23, 1835, two U.S. companies of 110 troops under Major Francis L. Dade departed from Fort Brooke , heading up the King Highway on a resupply and reinforce...

. One badly wounded survivor managed to make a difficult 60-mile trek to the head of Tampa Bay

Tampa Bay

Tampa Bay is a large natural harbor and estuary along the Gulf of Mexico on the west central coast of Florida, comprising Hillsborough Bay, Old Tampa Bay, Middle Tampa Bay, and Lower Tampa Bay."Tampa Bay" is not the name of any municipality...

, where he reported the disaster to the garrison commander at Fort Brooke

Fort Brooke

Fort Brooke was a historical military post situated on the east bank of the Hillsborough River in present-day Tampa, Florida. The Tampa Convention Center currently stands at the site.-Fort Brooke as a military outpost:...

, Florida, Captain Francis S. Belton. Fearing for the safety of his post, Belton immediately dispatched a request for reinforcements via the sloop Motto.

Belton's message reached Key West early in January. Meanwhile in the Federal capital, Levi Woodbury

Levi Woodbury

Levi Woodbury was an Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States, a U.S. Senator, Governor of New Hampshire and cabinet member in three administrations. He was the first Justice to have attended law school....

, the Secretary of the Treasury — who had also heard of Dade's disaster — directed Revenue Captain Ezekiel Jones, commanding Washington, to place his ship under Navy control "until otherwise directed." Interestingly enough, Jones did not receive this order — issued on 6 January 1836 — until he had already begun operations in cooperation with the Army and Navy

United States Navy

The United States Navy is the naval warfare service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the seven uniformed services of the United States. The U.S. Navy is the largest in the world; its battle fleet tonnage is greater than that of the next 13 largest navies combined. The U.S...

.

Word of the massacre reached Jones on or about 11 January. Washington soon got underway and proceeded via Tampa Bay to Charlotte Harbor

Charlotte Harbor (estuary)

Charlotte Harbor Estuary is a natural estuary spanning the west coast of Florida from Venice to Bonita Springs on the Gulf of Mexico and is one of the most productive wetlands in Florida...

 and arrived at Fort Brooke on 25 January. At 1700 that afternoon, the revenue cutter landed a pair of 12-pounder guns — with sufficient powder and shot for 35 rounds — along with 10 seamen under the command of Lieutenant L. B. Childs and a Lieutenant Clark, to cooperate with the Army garrison troops. Belton, expecting an imminent attack by the Seminoles, took the precaution of ordering noncombatants — mostly women and children — to take refuge on board the merchant ships in the harbor.

Washington, meanwhile, lay to with springs to her anchors and her decks cleared for battle. At that juncture, the sloop-of-war , Master Commandant Thomas T. Webb, USN, in command, sailed from Pensacola, Florida

Pensacola, Florida

Pensacola is the westernmost city in the Florida Panhandle and the county seat of Escambia County, Florida, United States of America. As of the 2000 census, the city had a total population of 56,255 and as of 2009, the estimated population was 53,752...

 escorting a small merchantman carrying a detachment of 57 marines under First Lieutenant Nathaniel S. Waldron, USMC. Vandalia and her mercantile consort reached Fort Brooke on 28 January.

With the arrival of Vandalia and Waldron's marines, Washington withdrew her landing force from the beach on 1 February. Three days later, the revenue cutter received orders to reconnoiter Charlotte Harbor, south of Tampa Bay; got underway on 5 February, and arrived at her assigned destination on the 8 February.

Under the command of Lieutenant Childs, a party of 13 men in two boats landed at 0800 on the island of Sanibel in search of Seminole dependents reported there. Finding none, however, they withdrew but sighted three canoes and 10 men on the opposite shore at 1500 that day. Going ashore again on 10 February, Washington's landing force ascertained that the 10 men and three canoes had been in the employ of a local friendly Spaniard that lived in the vicinity.

After the men returned to the ship, Washington shifted back to her previous anchorage near Fort Brooke, reaching there on 13 February. At 1230, men in the revenue cutter heard the reports of heavy guns to the southeast side of the bay and spotted two canoes full of Indians "who appeared to be retreating from the scene of action." Washington made sail and gave chase, firing a 12-pounder loaded with round shot. Anchoring at 1230, Washington dispatched all of her boats, with crews, to overtake the Indians, who eventually hove to under the threats of superior force. They turned out to be friendly, though, and were allowed to go on their way.

Captain Jones brought Washington back to Key West on 19 February to repair his ship. Such were the vagaries of long-distance communication that Jones only then received Secretary Woodbury's instructions of 6 January. The following day, Jones reported to the Secretary, "I have been cooperating since 11 January, having half my battery and crew on shore at Fort Brook (sic) a part of the time and have rendered such service as the emergency of the case required. I shall sail again for Tampa as soon as I can effect some necessary repairs.

On 16 March, Master Commandant Webb, the local senior officer present, afloat, directed Washington to reconnoiter a reported Indian encampment in the neighborhood of the Manatee River

Manatee River

The Manatee River is a river in Manatee County, Florida. The river arises in the northeastern corner of Manatee County and flows into the Gulf of Mexico at the southern edge of Tampa Bay. The Manatee River has a watershed that is approximately . Lake Manatee, an artificial reservoir, is located...

. Late in the afternoon of that same day, 16 March, Jones landed a force of 25 men under the command of Lieutenant William Smith, USN, of Vandalia. By nightfall, the men had located the site of an encampment but found neither Indians nor cattle. Returning on board that evening, Washington again put the landing force on the beach on the morning of 17 March. With competent Indian guides, the party followed a fresh Indian and cattle trail 10 miles into the interior before they returned to the ship, again empty-handed.

Almost simultaneously, Seminole forces were reported to be in retreat in boats down the Pease River

Pease River

The Pease River is river in Texas in the United States; it is a tributary of the Red River that runs in an easterly direction through West Texas . It was discovered and mapped for the first time in 1856 by Jacob de Córdova, who found the river while surveying for the Galveston, Houston and...

. Webb ordered Washington to Charlotte Harbor to blockade the river "so as to cut off most effectually all retreat to or communication with the glades of the south."

Sailing to that locale, Washington examined St. Joseph's Bay, Costa Islands, Mullet Key

Mullet Key

The Mullet Key is a historic island near Crystal River, Florida. It is located 3 miles south of the main mouth of the Crystal River, and was inhabited by Native Americans in pre-Columbian times. On July 3, 1986, it was added to the U.S. National Register of Historic Places.-References:* at * at...

, and sundry other places in and about Tampa Bay. She also examined Charlotte Harbor and Charlotte Bay, together with the neighboring keys and inlets. On 28 and 29 March, a boat expedition in the charge of Lieutenant Smith saw an Indian encampment some 30 miles from the mouth of Tampa Bay. Hoping to learn the whereabouts of "hostiles," Smith and his two friendly Indian guides landed and invited a parley. Smith and his guides returned to the ship safely with no information as to any local Seminole strongholds in the area.

Washington, her sister revenue cutters Dallas

USCGC Dallas

Dallas has been the name of more than one ship of the United States Revenue Cutter Service and United States Coast Guard, and may refer to:*USRC Dallas , a cutter in commission in the Revenue Cutter Service from 1816 to 1821...

 and , and the sloop-of-war Vandalia continued to perform valuable services in cooperation with Army units against the Seminoles, on patrol duties into the spring of 1836. Washington subsequently sailed for Sarasota, Florida, and arrived there on 11 May, anchoring at the mouth of the bay. She dispatched a cutter — in charge of Lieutenant Childs — and brought out two Spaniards and about 20 women and children, all fleeing from hostile Seminoles in that area.

Washington and Dallas subsequently cruised off the coast of Florida in the Gulf of Mexico

Gulf of Mexico

The Gulf of Mexico is a partially landlocked ocean basin largely surrounded by the North American continent and the island of Cuba. It is bounded on the northeast, north and northwest by the Gulf Coast of the United States, on the southwest and south by Mexico, and on the southeast by Cuba. In...

 during most of June. Washington later carried dispatches from Governor Call

Richard K. Call

Richard Keith Call was the third and fifth territorial governor of Florida.Named after his uncle, a Revolutionary War hero, he was born in Pittsfield, Prince George County, Virginia. In 1813 he left school to take part in the Creek War. He came favorably to the attention of General Andrew Jackson,...

 to Master Commandant M. P. Mix in Concord — the ship that had relieved Vandalia — in early July, before she transported a company of Army volunteers from Pensacola to St. Marks. She also surveyed the rivers, inlets, and bars along that stretch of the Florida seaboard.

After operating in Pensacola Bay

Pensacola Bay

Pensacola Bay is a bay located in the northwestern part of Florida, United States, known as the Florida Panhandle.The bay, an inlet of the Gulf of Mexico, is located in Escambia County and Santa Rosa County, adjacent to the city of Pensacola, Florida, and is about 13 miles long and 2.5 miles ...

 and Tampa Bay during most of August and September, Washington accompanied Vandalia from Pensacola to Key West, departing on 2 October 1836 for Cape Florida and New River

New River (Broward County, Florida)

The New River is a river in South Florida, USA. The river originates in the Everglades and flows east. After passing through Fort Lauderdale, the river enters the Atlantic Ocean at Port Everglades cut. The river is entirely within Broward County and is composed from the junction of three main...

. Their mission was to surprise and, if possible, to capture some 200 Seminoles — men, women, and children.

Embarked in Washington — now commanded by Revenue Captain Robert Day, USRM — were 50 seamen under the command of Lieutenant Smith and four midshipmen, as well as 95 marines under the command of Lieutenant Waldron and Second Lieutenant McNeill. To carry this expeditionary force, six boats and two schooners were employed with Washington and Vandalia to carry the force. Sent to Tampa Bay on 4 November after the expedition had gotten underway, Washington delivered provisions from Tampa Bay to Cape Sable

Cape Sable

Cape Sable, Florida is the southernmost point of the US mainland and mainland Florida. It is located in southwestern Florida, in Monroe County, and is part of the Everglades National Park. The cape is a peninsula issuing from the southeastern part of the Florida mainland, running west and curving...

 on 15 November. The revenue cutter subsequently sailed for Key West, arriving on 8 December.

A party of men from Washington, under the command of the indefatigable Lieutenant Levin M. Powell, USN — the man who conceived of vigorous riverine warfare concepts — surveyed the coast around New River from Cape Sable to Charlotte Harbor and, while he penetrated 15 miles into the trackless Everglades

Everglades

The Everglades are subtropical wetlands in the southern portion of the U.S. state of Florida, comprising the southern half of a large watershed. The system begins near Orlando with the Kissimmee River, which discharges into the vast but shallow Lake Okeechobee...

, found no Indians during their trip. Commodore Alexander Dallas

Alexander J. Dallas (U.S. Navy officer)

Alexander James Dallas was an officer in the United States Navy....

, in overall command of the naval forces operating in the Seminole War, highly commended Powell and his men, citing their "perseverance and exertions under circumstances of privation and exposure ... in open boats."

Eventually, by the spring of 1837, the pace of operations began to tell upon Washington, and she was released by Commodore Dallas. Needing extensive repairs, she sailed to Baltimore, arriving on 22 May 1837 and the Government sold the Washington in June 1837.