Floyd (John B. Floyd), 1857
Secretary of War under President James Buchanan.
Builder: Merry and Gay, Milan, OH
Cost: Unknown
Rig: Schooner
Length: 57' 6"
Beam: 17' 6"
Draft: 5' 10"
Displacement: 50 tons
Keel Laid: Unknown
Launched: Unknown
Completed: June-July 1857
Decommissioned: Unknown
Disposition: Sold on 16 May 1864
Complement: Unknown
Armament: 1 6-pdr.
Design History:
Bids were taken for six shallow-draft cutters in 1856. Merry and Gay of Milan, OH, bid $4,050 for each and received the contract. Captain William C. Pease supervised the construction; the design was based on a reduced scale of a 140-ton model furnished by the Revenue Service. Construction was delayed by winter weather and a controversy over Ohio versus Long Island locust. In the end there was a cost overrun and lien against the builders.
The vessels were of white oak, yellow pine, and locust, with copper fastenings. They were provided with centerboards and named for members of the President James Buchanan's cabinet.
Cutter History:
Ordered to Marquette, Michigan, she remained on Lake Superior until her sale was authorized in 1864. There was some talk of renaming the vessel (John B. Floyd was a Confederate general during the war).
Sources:
Donald Canney. U.S. Coast Guard and Revenue Cutters, 1790-1935. Annapolis: 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).