AUGUST 4, 2025 – The Coast Guard was established as the Revenue-Marine, Aug. 4, 1790, when President George Washington signed a bill drafted by Treasury Secretary Alexander Hamilton, authorizing the construction of 10 cutters that would be part of the Treasury Department.
The new fleet was used to clamp down on smuggling, resulting from the high tariffs the U.S. had placed on Europe. From 1790 to 1798, the Revenue-Marine was the only military maritime service, as the Continental Navy and Marine Corps were disbanded after the Revolutionary War in 1783; they were reestablished in 1798.
After the Navy’s reestablishment, the Revenue-Marine cutters fought alongside Navy ships during the Quasi-War with France, which lasted from 1798 until 1800. The two services captured 20 French ships. This partnership brought the Revenue-Marine under the control of the Navy during wartime.
In 1808, the Revenue-Marine began intercepting slave ships, as importing slaves was illegal following the passage of the Act Prohibiting Importation of Slaves into law on March 2, 1807.
The Revenue-Marine was renamed the Revenue Cutter Service in 1863.
President Woodrow Wilson signed the Coast Guard Act into law on Jan. 28, 1915, combining the Revenue Cutter Service with the United States Life-Saving Service to form the U.S. Coast Guard. This was the start of the service’s maritime safety mission, which the Coast Guard continues today.
In 1939, the Coast Guard assumed the responsibilities of the U.S. Lighthouse Service, and in 1942, it also assumed the responsibilities of the Bureau of Marine Inspection and Navigation.
The Coast Guard Reserve was established in 1950 to support expanded port security responsibilities.
In 1967, the Coast Guard moved from the Treasury Department to the Transportation Department, and in 2003, it moved to its current home, the Department of Homeland Security.
New officers are trained at the U.S. Coast Guard Academy in New London, Connecticut, which was founded in 1876. Enlisted recruits train at the Coast Guard Training Center in Cape May, New Jersey, which was established in 1948.
Today, the Coast Guard performs a host of responsibilities, including fisheries enforcement, icebreaking operations, marine environmental protection, aids to navigation safety, ensuring commercial ship safety, drug and migrant interdiction, military operations with the Navy, humanitarian operations and maritime security.
The Coast Guard motto is “semper paratus,” which is Latin for Always Ready. It is also the title of the official Coast Guard marching song.
By David Vergun, DOD News