Pickering (floating base), 1924
(ex-Brigadier General O. A. Allison)
Timothy Pickering, born at Salem, Massachusetts, 17 July 1745, graduated from Harvard in 1763. He fought in the American Revolution as a colonel in the Massachusetts militia in 1775, served as adjutant-general of Washington’s army in 1777, as a member of the Board of War from 1777 to 1780, and as Quartermaster General from 1780 to 1783. Appointed Secretary of War in 1795, he promoted the construction of the American frigates that fought so well against Britain in the War of 1812. From August 1795 to 1800 he was Secretary of State. He served in the Senate from 1803 to 1811 and in the House from 1813 to 1817. He died at Salem, Massachusetts on 29 January 1829.
History:
The Coast Guard acquired six "floating bases" for use as mobile floating headquarters units for the increasing patrol boat fleets coming into service for the enforcement of Prohibition. They were: Argus, City Point, Colfax, Moccasin, Pickering, and Wayanda. Four of the six were concrete-hulled vessels; the other two had wooden-hulls. All had extensive cabin structures topside.
The Pickering was the former Brigadier General O. A. Allison. She was a concrete-hulled vessel, 128' 6" x 28' x 12'', that was built in 1921 for the War Department. After her acquisition by the Coast Guard she was stationed at Atlantic City, New Jersey as of October 1924 and was decommissioned on 7 December 1928.
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).