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Lightships
Lightships served to guide mariners where there was a need for a light but in a spot where lighthouses could not be placed. There have been over 120 lightship stations along the coast of the United States. The Lighthouse Service placed the first lightship in Chesapeake Bay in 1820. Hundreds of lightships have served along the coasts and usually in extremely exposed anchorages. The vessels carried virtually the same aids to navigation as lighthouses and lasted until 1983 when the Nantucket Lightship was replaced by a Large Navigational Buoy [LNB].
Both storms and ships have taken their toll on lightships. Hurricanes have sunk and blown many lightships from their stations, while vessels passing through busy sealanes have collided with and sunk these floating aids. One of the deadliest collisions occurred on 16 May 1934. The 45,000 ton Olympic, sister of the ill-fated Titanic, struck and sank the Nantucket Shoals Lightship, L.V.-117. The liner approached the port of New York in fog and struck and drove the lightship to the bottom with the loss of seven of her eleven crewmen.
Law Enforcement
Throughout its history the Coast Guard's law enforcement responsibilities have primarily been threefold. First, is to ensure that the tariffs are not avoided. Second, to protect shipping from pirates and any other unlawful interdiction. Third, to intercept material and human contraband.
Today tariffs hardly seem controversial. But for the first Congress under the Constitution (1789), the imposition of these taxes was a bold act since such taxes had been a primary catalyst for the War of Independence. The young government's need for money was urgent. Trade revenue had to be the lifeblood of the treasury if the new nation was to survive. During colonial days and the War of Independence, smuggling had been a patriotic duty of maritime America. Seamen were admired who circumvented King George's trade laws, and later outran his fleet during the war. In 1789, a new respect for tariffs was needed.
Congress, guided by Secretary of the Treasury Alexander Hamilton, created a fleet of ten cutters whose responsibilities would be enforcement of the tariff laws. The spirit of the maritime service was captured in Hamilton's insistence upon thrift and responsibility to the public. Hamilton's creation collected money and did not spend it. Seven of the ten cutters were built for the allotted $1,000 each. Two New England cutters exceeded the amount. Due to the severity of the winters, these vessels had to be larger than their southern sisters, Hamilton appreciated the unique problem, but insisted that the boats "be confined to the smallest dimensions...consistent with safety on ... [the Massachusetts] coast however eligible a larger one might be." The third cutter to exceed appropriations was the cutter built for Philadelphia. Costs exceeded the $1,000 figure by $500. Where the extra money came from is unclear, but it didn't come from Secretary Hamilton or the public treasury. The port revenue collector and the citizens of Philadelphia probably paid for the cost overrun. During the cutters' first ten years of service, the imports and exports of the nation rose from $52 million to $205 million. Along with financial responsibility, Hamilton demanded that the officers be servants of the people. "They [the officers] will always keep in mind that their Countrymen are Freemen & as such are impatient of everything that bears that least mark of a domineering Spirit."
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