USRC Thomas Corwin
U.S. revenue cutter and merchant ship / From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The Thomas Corwin was a revenue cutter of the United States Revenue-Marine and United States Revenue Cutter Service and subsequently a merchant vessel. These two very different roles both centered on Alaska and the Bering Sea. In 1912, Frank Willard Kimball wrote: "The Corwin has probably had a more varied and interesting career than any other vessel which plies the Alaskan waters."[6]
Departure for Alaska, 1885 | |
History | |
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United States | |
Name | USRC Thomas Corwin |
Builder | Oregon Iron Works |
Cost | $92,000 |
Launched | 23 August 1876 |
Commissioned | 17 July 1877 |
In service | 1877–1900 |
Fate | Sold 14 February 1900 |
Notes | Continued operating as a merchant vessel |
Name | SS Corwin |
Owner | Corwin Trading Co., Pacific Coal and Transportation Co., various |
Port of registry | Boston; Seattle |
Route | Seattle, Nome, Western Alaska coastal ports |
Acquired | 1900 |
In service | 1900, 1902–1915 |
Out of service | 1901 |
Fate | Burned in drydock 1916 |
General characteristics as built | |
Displacement | 227 tons |
Length | 140'7" |
Beam | 24' |
Draft | 10'10"[1] |
Depth | 11' 1½" |
Propulsion | Inverted-cylinder single-stage steam engine, 34" diameter × 34" stroke,[2] single screw disconnected for sailing[3] |
Sail plan | Topsail schooner |
Speed | 11.5 knots steam, 12 knots sail, 14 knots combined |
Complement | 8 officers 33 enlisted |
Armament | 3 guns, unknown type and caliber[1] |
General characteristics 1900–1903 | |
Tonnage | 307 gross, 153 net |
Length | 137.5 ft |
Beam | 24 ft |
Depth | 11.3[4] |
Sail plan | Brigantine (aka hermaphrodite brig) |
Speed | 9 knots |
General characteristics 1904–1916 | |
Tonnage | 447 gross, 239 net |
Length | 138 ft |
Beam | 24 ft |
Depth | 13.2 |
Decks | 2[5] |
Thomas Corwin was the first revenue cutter to regularly cruise the Bering Sea and the Arctic Ocean.[1] Built in the state of Oregon, she was finished and commissioned in San Francisco which remained her home port. In a 23-year federal career, she participated in the search for the USS Jeannette, landed scientific parties on Wrangel and Herald islands, took part in the shelling of the Tlingit village Angoon, interdicted whiskey traffic, rescued shipwrecked whalers, contributed to the exploration of Alaska, and arrested seal poachers. She had at least eight captains during her federal career,[7] but is particularly associated with two: the cool and resolute Calvin L. Hooper and the volatile Michael A. Healy. She continued operating in the Bering Sea as a merchant and charter vessel after she was sold in 1900.
As a merchant vessel, the SS Corwin started out as a support vessel for minerals exploration, and subsequently was extensively modified to carry passengers. She served coastal ports on Norton and Kotzebue Sounds, the Seward Peninsula, and the Bering Strait during the shipping season, and generally wintered in Puget Sound. She was the first steamer to reach Nome in the spring multiple years, and also frequently the last steamer out in the fall. Her Master through most of her commercial service was Ellsworth Luce West. She attempted to rescue the Karluk survivors from Wrangel Island and participated in the search for four missing Karluk crewmen in 1914.