page_title: United States Coast Guard Cutter
section_title: First ten cutters
hierarchical_section_title: United States Coast Guard Cutter / History of the USCG cutters / First ten cutters
caption_attribution_description: English: Contemporary painting of a Revenue Marine cutter, which may be of either the Massachusetts (1791), or its replacement, the Massachusetts II. Description from the United States Coast Guard website: "This painting purports to illustrate the first cutter named Massachusetts but it incorrectly shows the cutter flying the Revenue ensign and commission pennant, which were not adopted until 1799, well after the first Massachusetts had left service. Nevertheless, the illustration does show those characteristics typical of most of the first few generations of Revenue cutters: a small sailing vessel steered by a tiller, with low freeboard, light draft, lightly armed, and usually rigged as a topsail schooner." [1]
context_page_description: United States Coast Guard Cutter is the term used by the U.S. Coast Guard for its commissioned vessels. They are 65 feet or greater in length and have a permanently assigned crew with accommodations aboard. They carry the ship prefix USCGC.
context_section_description: In 1790, Congress authorized the Secretary of the Treasury, Alexander Hamilton, to create a maritime service to enforce customs laws (1 Stat. L. 145, 175; 4 August 1790).  Alternatively known as the system of cutters, Revenue Service, and Revenue-Marine this service was officially named the Revenue Cutter Service (12 Stat. L., 639) in 1863. This service was placed under the control of the Treasury Department. The first ten cutters were:
  USRC Vigilant
  USRC Active
  USRC General Green
  USRC Massachusetts
  USRC Scammel
  USRC Argus
  USRC Virginia
  USRC Diligence
  USRC South Carolina
  USRC Eagle
caption: Contemporary painting of a Revenue Marine cutter (possibly USRC Massachusetts )
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