U.S. Coast Guard Historian's Office
Digital Library

General Overviews (U.S. Coast Guard History)

• Coast Guard History (An Overview); by Dr. Robert Scheina. Ph.D.
   
• Traditions: 200 Years of History; by Florence Kern & Barbara Voulgaris.
   
• Moments in History: 200th Anniversary of the U.S. Coast Guard, 1990.
   
• Coast Guard at War; by Dr. Robert Scheina, Ph.D.
   
• Coast Guard History; CG-213; by Public Information Division.
   
• "Some Unusual Incidents in Coast Guard History"; prepared in the Historical Section, Public Information Division (1950).
   
• The Cutters, Boats, and Aircraft of the U.S. Coast Guard, 2015-2016.
   
• Teacher's Resource for U.S. Coast Guard History.

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Responses to Incidents of National Significance

• "The Revenue Cutter Service and the Great San Francisco Earthquake -- Semper Paratus"; the U.S. Revenue Cutter Service's Response to the 1906 San Francisco Earthquake," by Dr. Robert M. Browning, Jr., Ph.D.
   

• Rogue Wave: The U.S. Coast Guard on and after 9/11; by PAC P.J. Capelotti, Ph.D., USCGR.

• "A Bright Light on the Darkest of Days: The U.S. Coast Guard's Response to Hurricane Katrina," by Scott T. Price.

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Auxiliary History

• The United States Coast Guard Auxiliary -- A History, 1939-1999; by John A. Tilley; Washington, D.C.: USGPO, 2002.
   
• The Coast Guard Auxiliary: Volunteer Arm of America's Premier Maritime Service. 
   
• "USCG Auxiliary's Proud Heritage and Continuing Mission - 80 Years of Service to the Coast Guard and the Boating Public," by Dr. C. Douglas Kroll, Ph.D. Proceedings, Vol. 76, No. 1 (Spring, 2019), pp. 46-51.

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Regional Histories

• The Coast Guard Along the North Atlantic Coast; by Dr. Dennis Noble, Ph.D., USCG (Ret.) & PA3 Kenneth Arbogast, USCG.
   
• The Coast Guard in the Southeast; by Dr. Dennis Noble, Ph.D., USCG (Ret.).
   
• Gulf Coast and Western Rivers: A Brief History of U.S. Coast Guard Operations; by Dr. Dennis Noble, Ph.D., USCG (Ret.).
   
• ​Guardians of the Eighth Sea: A History of the Coast Guard on the Great Lakes; by Photojournalist First Class T. Michael O'Brien; 1976. 
   
• Great Lakes: A Brief History of Coast Guard Operations; by Dr. Dennis Noble, Ph.D., USCG (Ret.).
   
• The Coast Guard in the Pacific Northwest; by Dr. Dennis Noble, Ph.D., USCG (Ret.).
   
• Alaska and Hawaii: A Brief History of U.S. Coast Guard Operations; by Dr. Dennis Noble, Ph.D., USCG (Ret) & PA1 Barbara Voulgaris.
   
• The U.S. Coast Guard in Kodiak: The First 50 Years, 1947-1997; by PAC Kenneth Arbogast, USCG; PA1 Marshalena Delaney, USCG; SN Jason Lawrence, USCG; Kate J. Arbogast (1997).
   
• Southwest Pacific: A Brief History of U.S. Coast Guard Operations; by Dr. Dennis Noble, Ph.D., USCG (Ret.).
   
• "To Europe and Far East -- A Brief History of Coast Guard Action in Asia and the Western Pacific"; by Joseph Liffrig.

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Organizational History

• U.S. Coast Guard - Our History of Reorganization by RADM Jody Breckenridge (2008)

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U.S. Revenue Cutter Service & Revenue Marine

• Early History of the United States Revenue Marine Service or (United States Revenue Cutter Service) 1789-1849; by Captain-Commandant Horatio Davis Smith, U.S.R.C.S; edited by Elliot Snow; Press of R. L. Polk Printing Co., 1932 (reprint, 1989).
   
• "Our Coast Guard: A Brief History of the United States Revenue Marine Service"; by Lieutenant Worth G. Ross, USRM; as published in Harper's New Monthly Magazine, Vol. 73, Issue 438 (November 1886).
   
• "History of the Revenue Cutter Service," no author listed, (April 1, 1890).
   
• "Captain Daniel Dobbins, Frontier Mariner, Naval Officer, and Revenue Cutter Master," by CAPT Robert "Bob" Desh, USCG (FCGH), 2023.
   
• "The U.S. Revenue Cutter Service, As I Saw It -- The Story of CDR T. C. Odderstol's Early Days in the Service,"; 1955. 
   
• "How the Revenue Cutter Service Got Its Men" -- Interview with RADM Harry [Henry] G. Fisher, USRCS & USCG (Ret.), 1955.
   
• "Commerce Ruled in 'Old Guard!' Our humanitarian traditions aren't as traditional as you may have thought. Behind almost every mission the Coast Guard carries out, there was originally a profit motive. . . ."; by GMCM William R. Wells, II, USCG (Ret.).
   
• "Life Below Decks. . ." (crew habitability aboard cutters in RCS); by GMCM William R. Wells, II, USCG (Ret.).
   
• Register of the Commissioned Officers of the United States Revenue Marine to April 1, 1875. New York: The Nautical Gazette Press, 1875.
   
• List of Officers [& vessels], Revenue-Marine Service, August 15, 1877.
   
• Register of the Officers and Vessels of the United States Revenue Marine, October 1, 1878 (Washington: Government Printing Office, 1878).
   
• List of Officers and Vessels in the United States Revenue-Cutter Service, January 1, 1891 (Treasury Department).
   
• "General Duties of the Revenue Cutter Service", 1894.
   
• Efficiency of the Revenue-Cutter Service; Senate Report No. 65 (to accompany Senate Bill 728); January 11, 1900.
   
• United States Revenue Cutter Service [Overview] Jamestown Ter-Centennial Exposition, 1907.
   
• United States Revenue-Cutter Service [Overview], 1915.

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Bering Sea Patrol

• "Fog, Men, and Cutters: A Short History of the Bering Sea Patrol"; by Dr. Dennis Noble, Ph.D., USCG (Ret.)
   
• Below Zero: Songs and Verses From Bering Sea and the Arctic; by "Officers of the U.S. Revenue Cutter Service," 1903.
   
• "Icebreaker Section Law Enforcement Detachment One Alaska Patrol (October-November, 1972) aboard CGC Jarvis (WHEC 725)"; by CDR John Ronald Huddleston, USCG (Ret.).

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U.S. Life-Saving Service

• A Legacy: The United States Life-Saving Service; by Dr. Dennis Noble, Ph.D., USCG (Ret.).
   
• "The Evolution of the Life-Saving System of the United States from 1837 to June 30, 1892: An Outline of the Part Taken in its Development by the United States Revenue Marine"; by First Lieutenant Charles F. Shoemaker, USRM

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U.S. Lighthouse Service

• "Chronology of Aids to Navigation and the United States Lighthouse Service, 1716-1939"; by Truman R. Strobridge.

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Lighthouses

• Lighthouse Evolution & Typology; by Dr. Robert M. Browning, Jr., Ph.D.
   
• Lighthouses and Other Aids to Navigation in Alaskan History; 1974; updated by 17th CG District Public Affairs staff. 

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Lighthouse Tenders, Buoy Tenders & ATON History

• A History of Buoys and Tenders; by Amy K. Marshall.
   
• "Frequently Close to the Point of Peril: A History of Buoys and Tenders in U.S. Coastal Waters 1789-1939"; by Amy K. Marshall; Master of Arts Thesis, East Carolina University, April, 1997.
   
• "Rules for the Organization and Service of Lighthouse Towermen of the Island of Puerto Rico," published in the 2 May 1882 newspaper La Gaceta de Puerto Rico, & translated by Dr. Edwin Nieves, USCG AUX (2020).
   
• "Aids to Navigation in Puerto Rico," by CDR Guy P. Clark, USCG & edited by Dr. Edwin Nieves, USCG AUX (2012 & 2022).
   
• U.S. Coast Guard 133-Foot Buoy Tenders; HAER (2004).

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Lightships

• "American Lightships, 1820-1983: History, Construction, and Archaeology with the Maritime Cultural Landscape"; Master of Arts Degree Thesis by Morgan MacKenzie, 2011 (East Carolina University).
   
• A History of U.S. Lightships; by Willard Flint.
   
• "Lightship LV-116 'Chesapeake'; Recollections, Reminisces & Thoughts About Life on Lightship [in the 1930s]; interviews conducted by Frank Hebblethwaite, 1979-1980.
   
• "A Snapshot of Life Aboard the USCG Lightship Relief, LV-78/WAL-505 from April, 1957 to April, 1959."; by Jay McCarthy.

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U.S. Steamboat Inspection Service

• Steamboat Inspectors' Manual & Laws Governing the Steamboat Inspection Service; Treasury Department (Washington, DC: GPO, 1895).
   
• Steamboat-Inspection Service - Its History, Activities and Organization; by Lloyd M. Short; (New York/London: D. Appleton and Company), 1922; as part of Institute for Government Research--Service Monographs of the United States Government, No. 8; scanned by Google Books.
   
• "From Steamboat Inspection Service to U.S. Coast Guard: Marine Safety in the United States from 1838-1946"; by PACS Barbara Voulgaris, USCGR.

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Cutters

• Record of Movements - Vessels of the United States Coast Guard, 1790-December 31, 1933; Washington, DC: USGPO, (Reprint, 1989).
   
• Cutter Losses [& vessels lost from predecessor services as well].
   
• "Specifications for Six Schooners for the U.S. Revenue Service. . .September 6, 1848." Transcribed from Daily National Intelligencer (September 6, 1848).
   
• "The USRMCS Harriet Lane"; by Robert L. Anderson; White House History, No. 12 (Winter 2003), pp. 39-51.
   
• Fire, Watch and Station, and Quarter Bills Adapted to the Use of Revenue-Cutters. Lieutenant Henry B. Rogers, USRM. Washington, DC: The Alumni Association of the Revenue-Marine Service/Gibson Bros., Printers and Bookbinders, 1889.
   
• Specifications for Triple-Expansion Single-Screw Propelling Engine, With Boilers and Auxiliary Machinery, for a Revenue Cutter, to be known as 'No. 3, R.C.S.' (for the Pacific Coast), of About 1,280 Tons Cruising Displacement, to make a speed of 16 knots per hour when developing about 2,000 horsepower [USRC McCulloch]; by Office of the Engineer in Chief U.S. Revenue Cutter Service, Treasury Department. Washington: GPO, 1895.
   
• "Launching the Queen of the Revenue Marine -- Cutter No. 3" [USRC McCulloch]; 1897.
   
• Specifications for Building Single-Screw Steel Vessels for the Revenue-Cutter Service [-] 1910 [-] Revenue Cutter No. 22 and Revenue Cutter No. 23. [Cutters Miami (later-Tampa) & Unalga]. Washington: Government Printing Office, 1910.
   
• The Accomplishments of Ten [250-Foot Lake-class] Cutters Transferred to the United Kingdom; Washington, DC: Research & Statistics Section, Operations Division, U.S. Coast Guard.
   
• "Coast Guard Cutter Design, 1941-1990"; by Dr. Robert E. Johnson, Ph.D. & CDR Robert E. Williams, USCG (Ret.); CG Engineers Digest (Winter, 1992); pp. 10-23.
   
• "Small Harbor Cutters and AB Boats of the U.S. Revenue Cutter Service and U.S. Coast Guard"; by HMC James T. Flynn, Jr., USNR (Ret.).
   
• "U.S. Coast Guard - Small Cutters and Patrol Boats 1915-2012 -- Vessel of Less Than 100-Feet in Length,"; by HMC James T. Flynn, Jr., USNR (Ret.); 2014 (revised edition).
   
• "U. S. Coast Guard Patrol Craft - Major Classes - 100-feet to 150-feet in Length, 1915-2012"; by HMC James T. Flynn, Jr., USNR (Ret.); 2014.
   
• "Sentinel Class Fast Response Cutters" - The FRC - 154-Feet Long and Full of Fight (Updated Through June, 2020); by HMC James T. Flynn, Jr., USNR (Ret.); 2020.

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Cutter Naming, Christening, Launching, Commissioning & Other Traditions

• 4 December 1915 Memo "Names of Cutters" whereby Captain-Commandant Ellsworth Bertholf describes the history of the naming of cutters and authorizes the changing of the name of MIAMI to TAMPA.

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Icebreakers

• "Icebreakers and the U.S. Coast Guard," by Donald Canney.
   
• "Structural Considerations in the Design of the POLAR Class of Coast Guard Icebreakers."; by Bruce Barber, Louis M. Baez & Gary North; 1975.
   
• "Coast Guard Polar Icebreakers: Past, Present and Future"; by Thomas Wojahn; "National Requirements for Polar Icebreaking Capability"; & "Icebreaker Innovations -- A Brief History of Technological Advancements in Icebreaking," by Alfred Tunik; & "Going for Bust - The Challenges Facing the Coast Guard Domestic Icebreaking Fleet," by Brendan O'Shea; Proceedings (Summer, 2007), pp. 85-91.
   
• "Icebreaking History, Platforms, and Activities," by CDR William Woityra, USCG, Proceedings Vol. 76, No. 1 (Spring, 2019), pp. 30-33. 

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Aviation

• A History of Coast Guard Aviation; by Dr. Robert Scheina, Ph.D.
   
• The Story of Coast Guard Aviation (CG-215), circa 1959.
   
• "The Indispensable Men -- The U.S. Life-Saving Service & the Wright Brothers, Kitty Hawk, North Carolina"; by Scott Price, 2003.
   
• "Early U.S. Coast Guard Aviation History," by pioneering Coast Guard Aviator Captain William Wishar, USCG (Ret.).
   
• "The Flying Lifeboat of the Coast Guard"; by  Colonel Harold C. Reisinger, USMC; US Naval Institute Proceedings Vol. 59, No. 1 (Jan, 1933), pp. 72-104 (reprint).
   
• Coast Guard Aviation, 1927-1929 (aviation articles published in the Coast Guard Magazine from 1927-1929).
   
• Coast Guard Aviation, 1930-1932 (aviation articles published in the Coast Guard Magazine from 1930-1932).
   
• Coast Guard Aviation, 1933-1935 (aviation articles published in the Coast Guard Magazine from 1933-1935).
   
• Coast Guard Aviation, 1936-1938 (aviation articles published in the Coast Guard Magazine from 1936-1938).
   
• Coast Guard Aviation, 1939-1942 (aviation articles published in the Coast Guard Magazine from 1939-1942).
   
• The Eyes and Ears of the Convoy: Development of the Helicopter as an Anti-Submarine Weapon; by Dr. Robert M. Browning, Jr., Ph.D.
   
• History of Coast Guard Rotary-Wing Aviation: From Inception to the Modern Day, by LT1 Andrew Conwell, USAF, Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University, Thesis, 2008.
   
• "Helicopter in Rescue," by CAPT Woodrow W. Vennel, USCG, Proceedings Vol. 18, No. 2 (February, 1961), pp. 24-28.
   
• CAP'M Mac and Flying Coffins -- Captain Donald B. MacDiarmid, USCG; by Barret "Tom" Beard, 2002.
   
• "The Seaplane in the U.S. Coast Guard," by CAPT D. B. MacDiarmid, USCG, 1951.
   
• Despair and Visions: Birth of the Rescue Helicopter; by Barret "Tom" Beard, 1998.
   
• JATO: The Early Days; by CHGUN (W3) Arnie "Ackack" Adams, USCG (Ret.)
   
• "'Cosmic Air' - United States Coast Guard, Western Pacific Logistic Support Air Group" [LORAN Support]. 
   
• "SARWET - A Brief History of SARWET (Sea-Air-Rotary-Wing Evacuation Team)", by CDR William Thrall, USCG (Ret.).
   
• "Coast Guard Aviation SRR Program [HH-65]; APO Grand Prairie, Texas," by CAPT Sperry Storm, USCG (Ret.).
   
• "Aviation Mind-Set -- QAT Report of Findings," 13 May 1993.
   
• "The History of Coast Guard Auxiliary Aviation," by Joseph Giannattasio, Proceedings, Vol. 76, No. 1 (Spring 2019), pp. 52-55.
   
• "MEDEVAC From the Fog - SS STEEL EXECUTIVE" by CAPT Sean M. Cross, USCG (Ret.) 

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Memoirs & Other First-Person Narrative Accounts

General

• Vice Admiral Thomas Sargent, III, USCG (Ret.)

Autobiography of VADM Thomas Sargent III's Coast Guard career that included distinguished service during World War II and Vietnam.

• Captain Richard H. Wright, USCG (Ret.): "Coasties - My Service in the United States Coast Guard, 1952-1986)

CAPT Richard Wight describes his colorful Coast Guard career in his memoir entitled: "Coasties: My Service in the United States Coast Guard, 1952-1986."  His service included sea-duty aboard CGCs Winona, Northwind, Wachusett, Active, Minnetonka, Confidence, & Campbell.  He also saw service at LORANSTAs Spruce Cape & Estartit, Spain and staff duty with the First, Eleventh & 17th Districts.

Revenue Cutter Service

• Commander T. C. Odderstol, USRCS & USCG (Ret.): "The U.S. Revenue Cutter Service, As I Saw It -- The Story of CDR T. C. Odderstol's Early Days in the Service,"; 1955. 

​CDR Thomas C. Odderstol served in both the Revenue Cutter Service and Coast Guard during his distinguished career.  He enlisted in the RCS aboard the cutter Dexter at Arundel Cove, Maryland, in 1904 as a Coal Heaver.  In this rare account he describes the life of the enlisted corps of the RCS at this time, including recruitment, training (if any), examinations, uniforms, makeup of the enlisted corps, and other fascinating information recorded in 1955.

Lightships

• Lightship LV-116 "Chesapeake" 

Recollections, reminisces, and thoughts about life on a lightship from five former crewman and the daughter of LV-116's first commanding officer. The interviews were conducted by historian Frank Hebblethwaite. A unique and important account by crewmen who served aboard LV 116 in the 1930s.

Aviation

• "Early U.S. Coast Guard Aviation History," by pioneering Coast Guard Aviator Captain William Wishar, USCG (Ret.).

Pioneering Coast Guard Aviator Captain William Wishar wrote this letter describing his experiences with the "birth" of Coast Guard aviation activities, including commanding the service's first air station at Morehead City, NC.

• "Icebreaker Section Law Enforcement Detachment One Alaska Patrol (October-November 1972) aboard CGC Jarvis (WHEC 725)"; by CDR John Ronald Huddleston, USCG (Ret.).

CDR Ron Huddleston writes about his experiences as a pilot, first arriving at the newly commissioned AIRSTA Chicago as his first aviation assignment.  He then goes on to write about his first ALPAT where he served aboard CGC Jarvis, flying the Sikorsky HH-52A.

• "SARWET - A Brief History of SARWET (Sea-Air-Rotary-Wing Evacuation Team)", by CDR William Thrall, USCG (Ret.).

CDR William "Bill" Thrall, USCG (Ret.) recounts an early precursor to the Rescue Swimmer Program he helped pioneer.

Segregation/Integration

• Coast Guard Veteran Jim Mooney, USCG: "My Friend!  My Brother! My Shipmate!  A Brotherhood of Silence."

A first-person account by USCG veteran Jim Mooney about his shipmate, F1/c Harrison, USCG, an African American, aboard CGC Lilac in 1950 and a general discussion of the state of desegregation in the USCG at the time soon after President Harry Truman's Executive Order 9961.

World War I

• Able Seaman Hamilton Cochrane, USCG: "Hunting the Hun with The Coast Guard by an American Sailor."

AS Hamilton Cochrane's memoir of his service in the U.S. Coast Guard during World War I, including his basic training at Fort Trumball, and service overseas with the Coast Guard Squadron based at Gibraltar aboard the cutter Algonquin.

World War II

• Vice Admiral Thomas Sargent, III, USCG: "US PC 469 -- The First Year in the Life of a Valiant Patrol Craft."

VADM Thomas Sargent's first-person experiences during World War II while serving as the executive officer and commanding officer of the USS PC-469.

• Seaman First Class Jack Drew, USCGR: "The Coast Guard Experiences & Adventures of Seaman 1st Class Jack Drew During World War II."

S1c Jack Drew's memoirs of his service in the Coast Guard during World War II.  Entitled "The Coast Guard Experiences & Adventures of Seaman 1st Class Jack Drew During World War II", his account covers his time in service, from boot camp at Curtis Bay, witnessing a "Drumming Out Ceremony" at Fort McHenry, to his assignments at CG station San Juan, PR, NAS St. Lucia, BWI, 3rd Naval District & New York City, & duty at sea aboard CGC's Crawford & WSC 711. Memoir was edited by W. J. Hayden, USCG (Ret.).

• Edward Flynn, USCGR: "The Forgotten Voyage of the USARS Duluth: Recalling a Coast Guard Manned Vessel That Fell Through the Cracks of World War II History."

Coast Guard World War II veteran Edward Flynn's memoir of his service aboard the Army Repair Ship Duluth with the assistance of shipmates Ken Archer, Arthur Marx (related to "Groucho") and Ernest Simpson.

Vietnam

• Captain Paul A. Lutz, USCG: "The Coast Guard in Vietnam: Recollections of Coast Guard Captain Paul A. Lutz, commanding CGC Sherman, on events during Sherman's Vietnam Cruise, 1970." 

Desert Shield/Desert Storm

• "PSC Sandy 'Grandma Gunner' Mitten, USCGR - Operation Desert Shield/Desert Storm" -- Her Oral History Interview by Michael Salkowki (2007).
   
• "U.S. Coast Guard - Port Security Unit-301(A) Persian Gulf War [;] Operation Desert Shield/Desert Storm [;] September 1990 - April 1991" by PS1 James Cudney, USCGR.
   
• "USCG Group Charleston LEDET - Operation Desert Sheild/Desert Storm"; by BMC Tom Doughtery, USCG (Ret.).
   

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Missions

General Overviews

• U.S. Coast Guard Missions - Historical Timeline

Law Enforcement - Prohibition

• Rum War At Sea; by CDR Malcolm F. Willoughby, USCGR (T); Washington, DC: USGPO, 1964.
   
• Rum War: The U.S. Coast Guard and Prohibition; by Donald L. Canney.
   
• Intelligence in the Rum War at Sea, 1920-1933; by LT Eric S. Ensign, USCG, 2001.

Law Enforcement - Migrant Interdiction/SAR

• Castro's Ploy - America's Dilemma-The 1980 Cuban Boatlift; by Alex Larzelere; Fort McNair: National Defense University Press, 1988.

Law Enforcement - Fisheries

• United States Coast Guard: Protecting America's Fisheries; by LT John Garofolo, USCGR.
   
• "Seizures of foreign vessels by USCGC CITRUS (WLB 300) and USCGC CONFIDENCE (WMEC 619) in Fisheries Enforcement While Under the Command of My Dad, CAPT James Terrence 'Terry' Montonye, USCG (Ret.) [from 1971-1978]"; by CDR John Terrence Montonye, USN (Ret.); 2024.

Environmental Protection

• The United States Coast Guard and the Environment; by Donald L. Canney.

Marine Safety

• "Ready, Relevant, and Evolving - The 75-Year Evolution of the Coast Guard's Maine Safety Mission," by Luke Petersen & Dr. Maggie Chan, Ph.D.; Proceedings of the Marine Safety & Security Council, Vol 76, No. 1 (Spring, 2019), pp. 21-29. 

Oceanography

• Oceanography in the Coast Guard by PAC Dr. Pete Capelotti, Ph.D., USCGR.

Port Security

• "U.S. Coast Guard Port Security Unit (PSU) History," by CAPT John Olson, USCGR (Ret.).

Search & Rescue

• "SARWET - A Brief History of SARWET (Sea-Air-Rotary-Wing Evacuation Team)", by CDR William Thrall, USCG (Ret.).
   
• "A Bright Light on the Darkest of Days: The U.S. Coast Guard's Response to Hurricane Katrina," by Scott T. Price.

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National Defense - General Overviews

• The Coast Guard At War; by Dr. Robert Scheina, Ph.D.
   
• Brief Sketch of the Naval History of the United States Coast Guard with Citations of Various Statutes Defining its Military Status from 1790 to 1922.
   
• The U.S. Coast Guard: A Unique National Security Instrument; U.S. Naval War College, June, 1993.
   
• U.S. Coast Guard Battle Streamers; 2013.
   
• "Mobilizing the Coast Guard For War: An Analysis of the U.S. Coast Guard's Wartime Preparation Activities from 1918-1941" by LCDR Nolan V. Cain, USCG; Master of Military Art and Science Thesis, U.S. Army Command and General Staff College, 2020.

Quasi-War with France

• "The Revenue Cutters in the Quasi-War with France"; by LTJG R. W. Daly, USCGR.  USCG Academy reprint of an original article published in Naval Institute Proceedings Vol. 68, No. 12 (December 1942), pp. 1713-1723. 
   
• "Benjamin Hiller & the Cutter Pickering in the Quasi-War with France"; by Dr. William H. Thiesen, Ph.D.; Sea History 122 (Spring 2008), pp. 24-27.

War of 1812

• United States Coast Guard War of 1812: Revenue Cutter Operations and the Core Coast Guard Missions; by Dr. William H. Thiesen, Ph.D.
   
• "The Defense of the Revenue Cutter EAGLE"; by Melvin H. Jackson, Associate Curator, Division of Naval History, Smithsonian Institution. 
   
• "Captain Daniel Dobbins, Frontier Mariner, Naval Officer, and Revenue Cutter Master," by CAPT Robert "Bob" Desh, USCG (FCGH), 2023.

Mexican-American War

• "Serving in Obscurity: United States Revenue Cutter Service Operations in the Gulf of Mexico During the Mexican American War, 1846-1847"; A Master's Thesis by MCPOCG (6th) Robert Jay Lloyd, USCG (Ret.); New Mexico State University (2007).

Civil War

• The United States Revenue Cutters in the Civil War: by Florence Kern; Washington, DC: USCG, 1989.
   
• U.S. Revenue Cutter Service & Lighthouse Service in the Civil War (Chronology).
   
• The United States Coast Guard and the Civil War -- The U.S. Revenue Marine, Its Cutters, and Semper Paratus; by Truman R. Strobridge (Washington, DC: Public Information Division, USCG, 1972).
   
• Abraham Lincoln's 1861 Letter to Secretary of the Navy Gideon Welles regarding placing Naval forces under the control of the "Revenue Service." 

Spanish-American War

• The United States Revenue Cutter Service in the War With Spain, 1898. Washington: GPO, 1899.

World War I

• The U.S. Coast Guard in World War I (Narrative History).
   
• The U.S. Coast Guard in World War I: Historical Chronology.
   
• The U.S. Coast Guard in World War I: Fact Sheet.
   
• Remember the Tampa! A Legacy of Courage During World War I; by Nora Chidlow & Arlyn Danielson.
   
• United States Coast Guard Roll of Honor: April 6, 1917-November 30-1918 (Supplemental to Report of the Secretary of the Navy); Washington, DC: USGPO, 1919.
   
• Hunting the Hun with The Coast Guard; manuscript by Coast Guard World War I veteran Hamilton Cochran dating from 1919.

Inter-War Period

• "Mobilizing the Coast Guard For War: An Analysis of the U.S. Coast Guard's Wartime Preparation Activities from 1918-1941" by LCDR Nolan V. Cain, USCG; Master of Military Art and Science Thesis, U.S. Army Command and General Staff College, 2020.

World War II

Coast Guard-Manned Navy & Army Vessels

• Coast Guard-Manned Naval Vessels During World War II; by Dr. Robert Johnson, Ph.D.
   
• World War II Coast Guard-Manned U.S. Army Freight and Supply Ship Histories.
   
• "The Forgotten Voyage of the USARS Duluth: Recalling a Coast Guard-Manned Vessel That Fell Through the Cracks of World War II History"; by Ed Flynn; 2004.

Greenland Patrol

• The Coast Guard & The Greenland Patrol; by Dr. John A. Tilley, Ph.D.
   
• "Death of a Wooden Shoe: A Sailor's Diary of Life and Death on the Greenland Patrol, 1942"; by Thaddeus D. Novak; edited by P.J. Capelotti; 1995.
   
• "The North-East Greenland Sledge Patrol - A Unique and Lasting Legacy of the U.S. Coast Guard's Defense of Greenland During WWII"; by CAPT Bob Desh, USCG (Ret.) & FCGH.
   
• "The Greenland Ice Cap Rescue of B-17 'PN9E' November 5, 1942, to May 8, 1943, by CAPT Donald M. Taub, USCG (Ret.).

North Atlantic Campaign

• The Coast Guard and the North Atlantic Campaign; by Scott T. Price.
   
• "1943 - North Atlantic Combat -- CGC Spencer & Duane vs. U-175," a historical photo essay by Scott T. Price.

​European Theater

• The U.S. Coast Guard at Normandy-D-Day, June 6, 1944; by Scott T. Price.
   
• "Invasion -- The Story of the LCI(L)-92 in the Invasion of Normandy on June 6, 1944," by PhoM3c Seth Shepard.
   
• "Excerpts from the WWII Diary of MoMM1c Clifford W. Lewis. . ." who served aboard USS LCI(L)-94 on D-Day, June 6, 1944 at Omaha Beach.
   
• "Historic Greenway House, 1944 and 1973"; by RADM Miles Imlay, USCG (Ret.); CGA Alumni Bulletin, Vol. XXVI, No. 3 (May-June 1974), pp. 35-44.

​Pacific Theater

• The U.S. Coast Guard and the Pacific War; by Dr. Robert M. Browning, Jr., Ph.D.
   
• Douglas Munro at Guadalcanal; by Dr. Robert M. Browning, Jr., Ph.D.

Intelligence

• "Guardian Spies: The U.S. Coast Guard and OSS Maritime Operations During World War II"; by Michael E. Bennett; Studies in Intelligence, 52, No. 4 (December 2008), pp. 13-22.
   
• "Guardian Spies: The Story of Coast Guard Intelligence in World War II"; by Michael E. Bennett; American Intelligence Journal 27, No. 1 (Fall, 2009), pp. 16-22.

American Theater-Homefront

• Captains of the Port; by Dr. Robert M. Browning, Jr., Ph.D.
   
• The Beach Patrol and Corsair Fleet: The U.S. Coast Guard in World War II; by Dr. Dennis Noble, Ph.D., USCG (Ret.).

Korean War

• The Forgotten Service in the Forgotten War: The U.S. Coast Guard's Role in the Korean Conflict; by Scott T. Price.

Vietnam

• U.S. Coast Guard in Vietnam: Historical Chronology
   
• The United States Coast Guard in South East Asia During the Vietnam Conflict; by Eugene N. Tulich, USCG.
   
• CAPT Gerald Underwood's scrapbook of images of his service as the Commanding Officer of CGC Point Banks & LORANSTA Con Son.
   
• "Squadron One Duty on Board the Point Banks," by LCDR Larry Fuchs, USCG.
   
• "'Skill, courage under enemy fire, and devotion to duty:' Bronze Star Medal Recipient Heriberto 'Eddie' Hernandez and Coast Guard Smallboat Operations in Vietnam," by William H. Thiesen as published in The Quarterdeck Log, Vol. 28, No. 2, (Summer, 2013), pp. 18-24.
   
• "U.S.C.G.C. Campbell's Vietnam Cruise Book" (1967-68).
   
• "The U.S. Coast Guard Cutter Hamilton's (WHEC 715) Deployment to Vietnam, August 1969 - June 1970 as Told by the Commanding Officer, Captain James H. B. Morton, in Letters called 'Family-Grams" to the Folks Back Home."  Organized and prefaced by RMC C. Brent Cole, USCG (Ret.).
   
• Captain Paul A. Lutz, USCG: "The Coast Guard in Vietnam: Recollections of Coast Guard Captain Paul A. Lutz, commanding CGC Sherman, on events during Sherman's Vietnam Cruise, 1970." 
   
• "USCG Aviation During the Vietnam War," a term paper by Thomas Kalisz, 2009.
   
• "The Role of the United States Coast Guard in the Vietnam War - An Evaluation," a research paper by emerging scholar Maura McCawley, 2022.

Desert Shield & Desert Storm

• "Operation Desert Shield and Desert Storm After Action Report" by "J.T. Riker"; CG Liaison Officer, Manama, Bahrain to CG Commander, Atlantic Area, 1991.
   
• "U.S. Coast Guard - Port Security Unit-301(A) Persian Gulf War [;] Operation Desert Shield/Desert Storm [;] September 1990 - April 1991"; by PS1 James Cudney, USCGR. 
   
• "USCG Group Charleston LEDET - Operation Desert Sheild/Desert Storm"; by BMC Tom Doughtery, USCG (Ret.).
   
• "PSC Sandy 'Grandma Gunner' Mitten, USCGR - Operation Desert Shield/Desert Storm" -- Her Oral History Interview by Michael Salkowki (2007).

9/11; September 11, 2001 Terrorist Attacks on the U.S.

• Rogue Wave: The U.S. Coast Guard on and after 9/11; by PAC P.J. Capelotti, Ph.D., USCGR.

Operation Iraqi Freedom

• Coast Guard Operations During Operation Iraqi Freedom; by Basil Tripsas, Patrick Roth, Renee Fye (CNA); (October, 2004).
   
• "Guardians of the Gulf: A History of Coast Guard Combat Operations in Support of Operation Iraqi Freedom, 2002-2004"; by Dr. William H. Thiesen, Ph.D. (2009).

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Personnel

General Information

• Register of the Commissioned Officers of the United States Revenue Marine to April 1, 1875. New York: The Nautical Gazette Press, 1875.

Minorities

• The History of Blacks in the Coast Guard From 1790; by Truman Strobridge, SK3 Linda E. Townsend, USCG & PA3 Dupree Davenport, USCG.
   
• Original official documents related to the employment of African-Americans on board Revenue cutters, 1830-1847 (transcribed from original letters now with the National Archives & Records Administration).
   
• "U.S.S. Sea Cloud, IX-99, Racial Integration for Naval Efficiency"; by CDR Carlton Skinner, USCGR (Ret.).
   
• "Seizing Opportunities: The Story of Olivia Hooker."; by PA3 Sharon Wilkerson, USCGR, 1996.
   
• "My Friend! My Brother! My Shipmate!"; by Jim Mooney, 2004.

Women

• A History of Women in the Coast Guard; by Dr. John A. Tilley, Ph.D.
   
• Women & The U.S. Coast Guard - Historical Chronology; 2018.
   
• "Women's Work - Female Lighthouse Keepers, 1820-1859"; Master of Arts Thesis by Virginia Neal Thomas, 1997 (Old Dominion University).
   
• Three Years Behind the Mast: The Story of the United States Coast Guard SPARS; by LTs Mary C. Lyne & Kay Arthur, USCGR (W).
   
• The Coast Guard & the Women's Reserve in World War II; by PA2 Robin J. Thomson, USCG.
   
• SPAR Song Book.
   
• SPARS Photo Gallery, 1955-1975.
   
• "Women Find Favor with Coast Guard Fashion (Edith Head designs new uniform for CG women),"; by Olivia Smith.
   
• Women in the Coast Guard in the 1970s -- A Photo Gallery
   
• 1990 - Women in the Coast Guard Study; Washington, D.C.: USCG, 1990; Commandant Publication 5312.17 (dated 10 July 1990).

Chief Warrant & Warrant Officers

• History of the Chief Warrant & Warrant Officers Association, USCG, by CWO3 (INF) William H. Ball, USCG.

Chief Petty Officers

• "A Case for Who Was the First U.S. Coast Guard C.P.O."; by CWO Dana Lewis, USCG (Ret.).

Civilians

• Out of Uniform: Civilians in the U.S. Coast Guard; by Dr. John Tilley, Ph.D. & Office of Personnel and Training, Civilian Personnel Division, USCG.

Enlistment & Recruiting

• "The U.S. Revenue Cutter Service, As I Saw It -- The Story of CDR T. C. Odderstol's Early Days in the Service,"; 1955. ​CDR Thomas C. Odderstol served in both the Revenue Cutter Service and Coast Guard during his distinguished career.  He enlisted in the RCS aboard the cutter Dexter at Arundel Cove, Maryland, in 1904 as a Coal Heaver.  In this rare account he describes the life of the enlisted corps of the RCS at this time, including recruitment, training (if any), examinations, uniforms, makeup of the enlisted corps, and other fascinating information.
   
• "How the Revenue Cutter Service Got Its Men" -- Interview with RADM Harry [Henry] G. Fisher, USRCS & USCG (Ret.), 1955.
   
• Instructions for Enlisting Officers United States Coast Guard. Washington, DC: USGPO, 1927.
   
• "A Career for Men" -- U.S. Coast Guard Recruiting Pamphlet, 1947.
   
• Manual for Recruiters -- U.S. Coast Guard CG-148 (11 June 1962).

Uniforms

• Uniforms of the United States Coast Guard; by Donald L. Canney & Barbara Voulgaris.
   
• Uniforms & Insignia of the U.S. Coast Guard[,] U.S. Lighthouse Service[,] U.S. Public Health Service, 1918; by Colonel Dion Williams, USMC; Glendale, NY: EPCO Publishing Company, 1919.
   
• The U.S. Coast Guard Surfman Uniform -- A Photo Essay; by Captain Robert Desh, USCG (Ret.) & FCGH.
   
• U.S. Coast Guard Enlisted Ratings, Rating Specialty Marks & Distinguishing Marks, 1915-2015; Warrant Officer & Chief Warrant Officer Specialty Devices, 1898-2016; by CWO Dana Lewis, USCG (Ret.).
   
• 1871 - General Order to Officers of the Revenue Marine Service (March 15, 1871) regarding USRM uniforms.
   
• 1878 - Circular Prescribing Uniforms For Officers of U.S. Revenue Marine; Department No. 110; Revenue Marine No. 20 (October 5, 1878).
   
• 1893 - Regulations Governing the Uniforms of the Officers and Men of the United States Light-House Service. Treasury Department (Washington, D.C.: GPO, 1893).
   
• 1899 - Uniforms of the Life-Saving Service ("Article VII UNIFORM" chapter transcribed from Regulations for the Government of the Life-Saving Service of the United States, 1899.")
   
• 1916 - Regulations Governing the Uniforms for Warrant Officers and Enlisted Persons of the United States Coast Guard, 1916 (transcribed).
   
• 1922 - Regulations Governing the Uniforms for Enlisted Persons of the United States Coast Guard, 1922.
   
• 1923 - Regulations Governing the Uniforms for Commissioned and Warrant Officers of the United States Coast Guard, 1923.
   
• 1930 - Regulations Governing the Uniforms for Commissioned and Warrant Officers and Enlisted Men of the United States Coast Guard, 1930.
   
• 1941 - Uniform Regulations United States Navy, 1941 (with USCG changes).
   
• 1943 - USCG Women's Reserve Uniform Regulations - 1943.
   
• 1951 - U.S. Navy Uniform Regulations, 1951 (with USCG amendments).
   
• 1957 - USCG Reserve Enlisted Uniform Guide
   
• 1972 - U.S. Navy Uniform Regulations, 1969 as Amended for Coast Guard Use (5 May 1972)
   
• 1973 - Enlisted Uniform Guide (USCGRW - Women's Reserve) & SPAR Newsletter for February, 1973.
   
• 1974 - COMMANDANT INSTRUCTION 1020.3 - Uniform Regulations for new Coast Guard Blue Uniform; promulgation of (7 January 1974).
   
• 1974 - "From Black to Blue: The Coast Guard Uniform Change," by James M. Cooper ("Bender Blues").
   
• 1974 - "USCG Uniforms - 'A Photo Gallery of the "Bender Blues.'"
   
• 1974 - "Women Find Favor with Coast Guard Fashion," by Olivia Smith (Article documenting the role Edith Head had in designing the USCG uniforms for women).
   
• 1980 - COMDTINST M1020.6 (old CG-471) Uniform Regulations (17 January 1980).
   
• 1990s - USCG Women's Uniforms - "A Picture Gallery."
   
• 1990s - USCG Men's Uniforms - "A Photo Gallery." 
   
• 1991 - COMDTINST M1020.6C Uniform Regulations (22 February 1991).
   
• 2006 - Uniforms (Special Uniform Issue); U.S. Coast Guard Reservist Magazine (2006).
   
• 2012 - COMDTINST M1020.6G Uniform Regulations (March, 2012)

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Miscellaneous

Arctic, Alaska, Antarctica & Ice Operations

• Chronology of U.S. Coast Guard Polar and Ice Operations.
   
• The U.S. Coast Guard in the Arctic and Sub Arctic; by RADM Edward H. "Iceberg" Smith, USCG; 1949.
   
• Shelling of Alaskan Native American Village of Angoon, October, 1882.  (NHC transcription).
   
• Across the Top of the World - The U.S. Coast Guard's 1957 Northwest Passage Expedition - Written for the 50th Anniversary of the Expedition and the Occasion of the Decommissioning of the U.S. Coast Guard Cutter Storis. Written by then-PACS P. J. Capelotti, USCGR (Washington, DC: U.S. Coast Guard Historian's Office, March, 2007).
   
• "A Round-the-World Cruise by Southwind"; by CAPT Sumner R. Dolber & CDR Robert T. Getman, USCG; Antarctic Journal (November-December, 1969), pp. 294-300.
   
• "Across the Arctic - Current Activities and the History of Icebreakers Along with the Story of the First Ship to Navigate the Northwest Passage" [CGC NORTHWIND, 1954]; by Phil Jaffe; 2015.
   
• "Icebreaker Section Law Enforcement Detachment One Alaska Patrol (October-November, 1972) aboard CGC Jarvis (WHEC 725)"; by CDR John Ronald Huddleston, USCG (Ret.).
   
• ALPAT 2015 - "USCGC Munro The Bering Sea Cutter" Report.

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Communications (incl. Radio, Telephone, Telegraph & Teletype)

• "The Coast Guard Operates Through Communications," by ADM Joseph F. Farley, USCG; reprinted from the Bell Telephone Magazine (Winter 1946-47); pp. 1-23.
   
• "Coast Guard Landline Communications 1873 Through 1974," by R. W. Eckel & R. Snow; Coast Guard Engineers Digest CG-133 No. 186 (Jan-Feb-Mar 1975), pp. 62-70.
   
• ​"All Stations - Distress -- Radio Communications from the Time of the Titanic."; by Joe Hersey; Proceedings (Summer, 2021), pp. 54-58.

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Creed of the United States Coast Guardsman

• "The Man Who Wrote the Creed of the United States Coast Guardsman," by CAPT Robert Desh, USCG (Ret.) & FCGH.

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Cutter Naming, Christening, Launching, Commissioning & Other Traditions

• 4 December 1915 Memo "Names of Cutters" whereby Captain-Commandant Ellsworth Bertholf describes the history of the naming of cutters and authorizes the changing of the name of MIAMI to TAMPA.

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Diving Program

• "U.S. Coast Guard Diving Program: A History of Coast Guard Diving Operations COTP, San Francisco"; by Robert Wert.

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Expeditions, Operations & Cruises (Non-Arctic/Antarctica)

• USCGC Dallas Med/Black Sea Deployment: Regional Engagement and USCG-USN Interoperability; by Richard D. Kohout; Alexandria, VA: Center for Naval Analyses, January, 1996; CRM 95-183.
   
• "Hunting for the Bear - The Search for the Coast Guard's Most Iconic Vessel," by Dr. Mark Snell, Ph.D.; Proceedings Vol. 76, No. 1 (Spring, 2019), pp. 56-60.

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Flags, Ensigns, Logos, Pennants, Seals, Standards & Streamers

• 1799 Treasury Department Circular authorizing the use of an "Ensign and Pendant" by Revenue Cutters as a mark of their authority (August 1, 1799).
   
• 1895 "The United States Revenue Cutter Flag," article by Captain H. D. Smith, USRCS.  Includes illustrations of USRCS Coat of Arms, Revenue Pennant & Revenue Flag.
   
• 1990 Traditions -- 200 Years of History
   
• 2013 U.S. Coast Guard, Authorized Battle Streamers

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Intelligence Program

• Intelligence in the Rum War at Sea, 1920-1933; by LT Eric S. Ensign, USCG, 2001.
   
• "Guardian Spies: The Story of Coast Guard Intelligence in World War II"; by Michael E. Bennett; American Intelligence Journal 27, No. 1 (Fall, 2009), pp. 16-22.
   
• "Guardian Spies: The U.S. Coast Guard and OSS Maritime Operations During World War II"; by Michael E. Bennett; Studies in Intelligence, 52, No. 4 (December 2008), pp. 13-22.
   
• The Coast Guard Intelligence Program Enters The Intelligence Community - A Case Study of Congressional Influence on Intelligence Community Evolution; by Kevin E. Wirth (Washington, DC: National Defense Intelligence College; May, 2007).
   
• "A Brief History of the USCG PACAREA Intelligence Division"; by Dr. Dave Rosen, Ph.D., PACAREA Historian, 2009.

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Marksmanship

• Shots That Hit: A Study of U.S. Coast Guard Marksmanship, 1790-1985; by GMCM William R. Wells, II, USCG (Ret.); Washington, DC: USCG, 1986.

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Mascots

• Coast Guard Mascots-An Illustrated Historical Overview.
   
• "The Saga of Samantha"; by Bill Verge, USCG (Ret.); 

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Monuments & Memorials

• Coast Guard Monuments & Memorials.

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Port Security Units (PSUs)

• "U.S. Coast Guard Port Security Unit (PSU) History," by CAPT John Olson, USCGR (Ret.).

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Public Affairs

• "Coast Guard Public Affairs Program History: The Search for Symmetry"; Thesis by Matthew M. Kroll (San Diego State University), 2017.

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Responses to Incidents of National Significance

• "The Revenue Cutter Service and the Great San Francisco Earthquake -- Semper Paratus"; the U.S. Revenue Cutter Service's Response to the 1906 San Francisco Earthquake," by Dr. Robert M. Browning, Jr., Ph.D.
   

• Rogue Wave: The U.S. Coast Guard on and after 9/11; by PAC P.J. Capelotti, Ph.D., USCGR.

• "A Bright Light on the Darkest of Days: The U.S. Coast Guard's Response to Hurricane Katrina," by Scott T. Price.

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