William H. Seward, 1864
William H. Seward (1801-1872), a noted Whig and later a Republican, served as the Secretary of State under Presidents Abraham Lincoln and Andrew Johnson. He orchestrated the purchase of Alaska, had served as Governor of New York and as a Senator from that state.
Builder: Wilmington, Delaware
Length: 137'
Beam: 22'
Draft: 7'
Displacement: 240 tons
Rig: Schooner
Cost: $34,600
Commissioned: 1864
Decommissioned: 10 June 1901
Disposition: Sold
Machinery: None
Performance & Endurance:
Max:
Cruising:
Complement: 30
Armament: 2 guns
Cutter History:
William H. Seward was built at Wilmington, Delaware and was then purchased at Philadelphia, Pennsylvania by the Revenue Marine for $34,600 in April of 1864. She was ordered to New York for temporary duty and then in July of 1864 she was ordered to Wilmington, North Carolina. In 1874 she was ordered to Galveston, Texas but that order was rescinded and she was ordered to remain at Key West, Florida. She transferred to Galveston the following year. On 7 April 1880 she was ordered to Shieldsborough, Mississippi, for duty. Here her cruising grounds were from Mobile, Alabama to Port Eads, Southwest Pass. She was also ordered to "cruise to New Orleans occasionally."
On 30 September 1885 her cruising grounds were extended into the Mississippi River "as far as the Jump, above Port Eads and the Passes." On 13 July 1895 her cruising grounds were "from Mobile, Ala. to West End, Lake Pontchartrain, with occasional visits into the Mississippi River to the Head of the Passes." On 12 June 1897 she was ordered to Ship Island to confer with "M.H. Surgeon" and to aid in a quarantine. She was then repaired and fumigated at Pensacola, Florida in September. In February of 1898 she was ordered to Mobile "during Mardi Gras Carnival." On 12 April 1898 she was ordered to be laid up at McPhillips Wharf, Mobile. She was placed back in commission on 1 July 1898.
On 20 May 1901 she was ordered to be sold in Mobile. She was sold on 7 June 1901 to Lee Kimball for $1,015. She became the merchant barge Eugenia.
Sources:
Donald Canney. U.S. Coast Guard and Revenue Cutters, 1790-1935. Annapolis, MD: Naval Institute Press, 1995.
U.S. Coast Guard. Record of Movements: Vessels of the United States Coast Guard: 1790 - December 31, 1933. Washington, DC: U.S. Government Printing Office, 1934; 1989 (reprint).