Date of Award

8-2025

Document Type

Campus Access Thesis

Degree Name

Master of Arts (MA)

Department

History

First Advisor

Bonnie M. Miller

Second Advisor

Roberta L. Wollons

Third Advisor

Nicholas A. Juravich

Abstract

The United States Revenue Cutter Service played a critical yet often overlooked role during the Spanish-American War of 1898, being transformed from a maritime law‑enforcement agency into an effective naval auxiliary force. The transformation of the service from Alexander Hamilton's vision of ten sailing cutters in 1790 to a modern steam-powered fleet by 1898 occurred through incremental adaptation rather than systematic reform. Beginning with administrative changes implemented by early pioneers, including N. Broughton Devereux and Sumner Increase Kimball, who professionalized the officer corps through the Revenue Cutter School of Instruction, though recruitment challenges persisted. The neutrality patrol operations during the Cuban insurrection, from 1895 to 1898, provided essential operational experience. However, they also highlighted the service's limitations, with insufficient numbers of cutters to patrol thousands of miles of coastline, a lack of wireless communications, and minimal cooperation from local officials sympathetic to Cuban independence, which the service managed to address.

During the Spanish-American War, the service deployed twenty vessels and nearly 850 officers and enlisted men across two oceans, where they executed diverse missions from combat operations at Manila Bay and Cárdenas to blockade enforcement, cable protection, and support for Cuban insurgents. However, these successes came despite significant obstacles, including lingering budgetary constraints, restrictions to modernization within the fleet laid over from the earlier failed steam cutter experiments of the 1840s that created institutional resistance to technological change. Additionally, there were isolated cases of friendly fire among cutters, coupled with mechanical malfunctions, which revealed the shortcomings of the maintenance capabilities that the service managed to successfully navigate.

This study challenges existing historiography by positioning the Revenue Cutter Service not as a mere auxiliary but as an integral component of American naval strategy during the period of our nation's rise as a global power. The ability of the service to shift from peacetime law enforcement to wartime naval operations, all the while preserving its unique identity, affirmed Hamilton's initial concept of a dual-purpose maritime force. This was achieved despite institutional constraints and operational shortages, demonstrating the value of maintaining a versatile maritime force. These experiences directly influenced the 1915 merger of the Revenue Cutter Service with the Life-Saving Service to create the United States Coast Guard, which preserved the dual military-civilian character that originated with Hamilton's vision and was fully tested in the crucible of America's first overseas imperial conflict.

Comments

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