USS Van Buren ( 1839 ) USS " Van Buren " was a schooner that served as part of the United States Revenue Cutter Service . The ship was named after Martin Van Buren , the eighth president of the U . S . The ship was commissioned and set sail on 2 December 1839 , and served a regular tour of duty with the Revenue Service . During the Second Seminole War , the ship was transferred to the United States Navy , and served as a support ship to troops along the coasts of Florida ' s rivers . After being transferred back to the control of the Secretary of the Treasury , the " Van Buren " began to sail out of its homeport of Charleston , South Carolina . Still under the command of the Revenue Cutter Service , the ship participated in the Mexican - American War , first in the Gulf of Mexico , and later as a member of a squadron under the command of Captain John A . Webster . With the squadron , the " Van Buren " aided in a blockade off the coast of Veracruz . On 4 October 1846 , the ship ' s crew had the " Van Buren " declared unseaworthy . It was decommissioned , and then sold for $ 1 , 200 on 1 June 1847 . Career . United States Revenue Cutter Service . The ship ' s construction was approved on 26 June 1839 ; she was laid out in 1839 in Baltimore , Maryland , and reported fully constructed and ready for sailing on 29 November of the same year . The ship was commissioned a few days later , and entered the service of the Revenue Cutter Service on 2 December 1839 . The ship performed the regular duties of ships in the Revenue Cutter Service between 1839 and 1840 , but few records exist about its specific activities during this period . The commander of the vessel during at this time was First Lieutenant John McGowan of the United States Revenue Marines . Second Seminole War . When the Second Seminole War began in 1835 , the Secretary of the Navy Mahlon Dickerson wrote Thomas Ewing , the United States Secretary of the Treasury at the time for command over a number of Revenue Cutter Vessels ; the " Van Buren " was among them . The vessel became part of the Mosquito Fleet of Lieutenant Thomas T . McLaughlin . The ship served as a river vessel , mainly supporting the United States Army forces battling the Seminole on land . Mexican – American War . After a year in the war , the " Van Buren " anchored in Norfolk , Virginia , on 23 July 1842 , where it reentered the Revenue Cutter Service . It was formally transferred back on 18 August 1842 . The " Van Buren " operated out of the port of Charleston , South Carolina for three years , undergoing repairs once at Baltimore , Maryland from May through June 1844 . Following the outbreak of the Mexican – American War in 1846 , Robert J . Walker , Secretary of the Treasury , ordered the " Van Buren " to the Gulf of Mexico . Under the command of Captain Thomas C . Rudolph of the United States Revenue Marines , the vessel sailed with three months ' worth of ammunition and supplies to report to the Customs Collector of the Port of New Orleans ; however , on its way to the port , the lightning struck the royal mast , forcing the ship back to Charleston . On 2 June 1846 , the ship set sail again . On 30 July 1846 , the " Van Buren " set to harbor in Belize , where it joined the United States Revenue Marines squadron of Captain John A . Webster and aided in a blockade of Mexicos eastern coast . The " Van Buren " in particular was stationed off the coast of Veracruz . On 4 October , the " Van Buren " was declared unseaworthy , and ordered to New York on 11 November 1846 . She was decommissioned and sold on 1 June 1847 for $ 1 , 200 .