USRC Massachusetts

USRC Massachusetts was one of the original ten cutters built and used by the United States Revenue Cutter Service. While not the first USRS cutter to be launched, it was the first to enter active service.

 History 
Massachusetts was built at Newburyport, MA by shipwright William Searle. She was designed as a schooner.Horatio Davis Smith, Early History of the United States Revenue Marine Service, ed. Elliot Snow (Washington, DC: Coast Guard Bicentennial Publication, 1989), p. 34 She was rigged with fore-and-aft sails on two masts. 

On July 15, 1791 Massachusetts was launched. John Foster Williams was its first master. Her crew consisted of four officers, four enlisted men and two cabin boys. She was  long by  wide and had a shallow draft of only .Paul H. Silverstone, The Sailing Navy, 1775-1854 (London; New York: Routledge, 2006), p. 77 Williams ordered an increase in her size without getting approval by the service. This increased her cost over what was originally budgeted. But the government accepted the Massachusetts as changed by Williams.

She had the shortest service life of any of the original ten cutters. The first Massachusetts turned out to be too expensive to operate and was too slow. On 9 October 1792 she was sold. In 1793 she was replaced by a smaller lighter sloop, the Massachusetts II.

 Related pages 
 USRC Vigilant (1791)
 USRC Active (1791)
 USRC General Green (1791)
 USRC Scammel (1791)
 USRC Argus (1791)
 USRC Virginia (1791)
 USRC Diligence (1791)
 USRC South Carolina (1791) 
 USRC Eagle (1791)

 Notes 

 References 

 Other websites 
 USRC Massachusetts (1791); Military Wiki
 Alexander Hamilton Letter to the Revenue Cutter Service
 A Brief History of the Revenue Cutter Service

Category:Military of the United States
Category:1790s in the United States