Charles Frederick Shoemaker (27 March 184111 July 1913) was a captain in the
United States Revenue Cutter Service
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and was appointed in 1895 by
Secretary of the Treasury
The United States secretary of the treasury is the head of the United States Department of the Treasury, and is the chief financial officer of the federal government of the United States. The secretary of the treasury serves as the principal a ...
John G. Carlisle to be Chief of the Revenue Marine Division of the
Department of the Treasury.
Shoemaker was noted for his leadership in gaining improvements in the retirement system for officers in the Revenue Cutter Service and for leading the service at a time when there were many engineering improvements made in the construction of vessels used by the service. During his tenure he worked successfully with three different Secretaries of the Treasury as an appointee to improve the personnel standards and the vessels used by the service.
Although he was never formally known as Commandant, he is recognized today as the second
Commandant of the Coast Guard
The commandant of the Coast Guard is the service chief and highest-ranking member of the United States Coast Guard. The commandant is an admiral, appointed for a four-year term by the president of the United States upon confirmation by the Uni ...
.
[Commandants, "Traditions of the United States Coast Guard"]
Early life and education
Shoemaker was born in
Iowa Territory
The Territory of Iowa was an organized incorporated territory of the United States that existed from July 4, 1838, until December 28, 1846, when the southeastern portion of the territory was admitted to the Union as the state of Iowa. The remaind ...
on 27 March 1841. His father, William R. Shoemaker was an officer in the
ordnance department of the U.S. Army and moved his family from one post to another many times during his army career. As a child, Charles Shoemaker was educated at home by members of his family and he became adept at mathematics. At 17, Shoemaker received an appointment to the
U.S. Naval Academy
The United States Naval Academy (US Naval Academy, USNA, or Navy) is a United States Service academies, federal service academy in Annapolis, Maryland. It was established on 10 October 1845 during the tenure of George Bancroft as Secretary of ...
from
Miguel Otero, the congressional delegate from
New Mexico Territory
The Territory of New Mexico was an organized incorporated territory of the United States from September 9, 1850, until January 6, 1912. It was created from the U.S. provisional government of New Mexico, as a result of ''Santa Fe de Nuevo México ...
. At the end of three years, he resigned from the academy and was commissioned as a
third lieutenant Junior lieutenant is a junior officer rank in several countries, equivalent to Sub-lieutenant.
Germany
In the National People's Army, the rank of () was introduced in 1956.
Eastern Europe
In many Eastern European countries, the rank of junior l ...
in the Revenue Cutter Service on 20 November 1860.
["Revenue Marine's New Chief", The New York Times, March 20, 1895, NewYorkTimes.com][Noble (1990), page 66][King, pages 77-78]
Career
His first assignment was aboard the
USRC ''Lewis Cass'' stationed at
Mobile, Alabama
Mobile ( , ) is a city and the county seat of Mobile County, Alabama, United States. The population within the city limits was 187,041 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, down from 195,111 at the 2010 United States census, 2010 cens ...
. In the days leading up to the
Civil War
A civil war or intrastate war is a war between organized groups within the same state (or country).
The aim of one side may be to take control of the country or a region, to achieve independence for a region, or to change government policies ...
his
commanding officer
The commanding officer (CO) or sometimes, if the incumbent is a general officer, commanding general (CG), is the officer in command of a military unit. The commanding officer has ultimate authority over the unit, and is usually given wide latitu ...
, Captain James J. Morrison, resigned his commission, turned the cutter over to Alabama state authorities and left Shoemaker to lead his officers and men back to Union territory. He served on several revenue cutters guarding the
Port Of New York until 4 April 1864 when he resigned his commission to go into private business.
Shoemaker was re-commissioned a third lieutenant on 25 June 1868 and promoted to a
second lieutenant
Second lieutenant is a junior commissioned officer military rank in many armed forces, comparable to NATO OF-1 rank.
Australia
The rank of second lieutenant existed in the military forces of the Australian colonies and Australian Army until ...
on 12 March 1872
serving at various stations on the Atlantic coast. In 1875, he was serving on , homeported at
New Bedford, Massachusetts
New Bedford (Massachusett language, Massachusett: ) is a city in Bristol County, Massachusetts, Bristol County, Massachusetts. It is located on the Acushnet River in what is known as the South Coast (Massachusetts), South Coast region. Up throug ...
until he was assigned the duties of assistant inspector of the
U.S. Life-Saving Service at New York City.
In 1876 he was appointed assistant inspector of the Third Life Saving District of the U.S. Life-Saving Service and while serving in that
billet
A billet is a living-quarters to which a soldier is assigned to sleep. Historically, a billet was a private dwelling that was required to accept the soldier.
Soldiers are generally billeted in barracks or garrisons when not on combat duty, alth ...
was promoted to
first lieutenant
First lieutenant is a commissioned officer military rank in many armed forces; in some forces, it is an appointment.
The rank of lieutenant has different meanings in different military formations, but in most forces it is sub-divided into a s ...
on 25 March 1878.
In 1878, Shoemaker was transferred to the office of
Sumner I. Kimball
Sumner Increase Kimball (September 2, 1834 – June 20, 1923) was the organizer of the United States Life-Saving Service and the General Superintendent of the Life-Saving Service from 1878–1915. Originally a lawyer and a legislative administr ...
, then the Chief of the Revenue Marine Bureau and was assigned investigating duties and heard complaints against keepers at all Life-Saving Service stations.
In 1880, he was assigned to investigate the sinking of the British
barque
A barque, barc, or bark is a type of sailing ship, sailing vessel with three or more mast (sailing), masts having the fore- and mainmasts Square rig, rigged square and only the mizzen (the aftmost mast) Fore-and-aft rig, rigged fore and aft. Som ...
''M & S Henderson'' near the
Pea Island Life-Saving Station
Pea Island Life-Saving Station was a life-saving station on Pea Island, on the Outer Banks of North Carolina. It was the first life-saving station in the country to have an all-black crew, and it was the first in the nation to have a black man, Ri ...
. After taking statements from the station crew and survivors of the shipwreck, Shoemaker concluded that the surfman on watch had been negligent as a lookout and that the station's keeper had lied under oath. Both were dismissed and Shoemaker appointed
Richard Etheridge
Pea Island Life-Saving Station was a life-saving station on Pea Island, on the Outer Banks of North Carolina. It was the first life-saving station in the country to have an all-black crew, and it was the first in the nation to have a black man, Ri ...
, a black surfman as the new keeper. Etheridge was the first black keeper of a life saving station and was permitted to have an all black crew on the recommendation of Shoemaker; a situation that lasted until 1947 when the station was disestablished.
[Noble (1994), pages 52-53]
Shoemaker was assigned as
executive officer
An executive officer is a person who is principally responsible for leading all or part of an organization, although the exact nature of the role varies depending on the organization. In many militaries and police forces, an executive officer, o ...
on the
USRC ''Seward'' in 1882 which at the time patrolled the Gulf Coast and was homeported at
Bay Saint Louis, Mississippi
Bay St. Louis is a city in and the county seat of Hancock County, Mississippi, in the United States. Located on the Gulf Coast on the west side of the Bay of St. Louis, it is part of the Gulfport–Biloxi Metropolitan Statistical Area. As of ...
.
In 1885 he was once again detailed to the USLSS, first as an assistant inspector of the Third District and later as inspector of all districts except the Twelfth district on the Pacific coast.
During this assignment, he located and obtained sites for stations, conducted 300 investigations and brought serious charges against four assistant superintendents of the service.
In April 1891 he was assigned as commanding officer of
USRC ''Washington'' at the Port of New York. After shifting ''Washington'' to Philadelphia in 1893, he assumed command of the newly commissioned
USRC ''Hudson'' in Philadelphia and returned to New York for harbor patrol duty.
[Canney, page 51]
Chief of Revenue Cutter Service
On 19 March 1895, Secretary of the Treasury, John Griffin Carlisle appointed Shoemaker to replace
Leonard G. Shepard
Leonard G. Shepard (November 10, 1846March 1, 1895), was a captain in the United States Revenue Cutter Service and was appointed in 1889 by United States Secretary of the Treasury, Secretary of the Treasury William Windom as the first military hea ...
as Chief of the Revenue Cutter Division and promoted him to senior captain.
["Charles F. Shoemaker", U.S. Coast Guard Historian's Office]
Improvements in service retirement
As a result of Secretary Carlisle's and predecessor Shepard's efforts, legislation passed during March 1895 allowed Shoemaker to place 39 disabled officers that had been on active duty since the Civil War on a retired list, thus giving younger officers a chance at promotion.
Since retirement practices of the period were non-existent, so many long serving officers were kept on active duty status well beyond their ability to actually serve effectively because of age and health related issues. Because the number of officers in the RCS was limited by Congressional legislation, this caused senior officers to serve in multiple billets and junior officers oftentimes had to serve in billets that required a senior officer, but they couldn't be promoted or paid the senior officer's pay. The legislation of March 1895 allowed the Chief of the Revenue Cutter Division to take steps to retire the disabled officers at half pay; in turn opening the ranks to younger qualified officers. This helped officer morale of the Revenue Cutter Service. Unfortunately it only affected those officers that were on active duty and incapacitated at the time the legislation was enacted so it was not a permanent solution.
[King, pages 73–77] Both Shoemaker and Carlisle continued to push for retirement reforms for officer corps, asking Congress to approve retirement at three-quarters pay any officer that had reached the age of 64 or had served for thirty years and declared physically or mentally disqualified for duty by a medical officer.
Lyman Gage, who succeeded Carlisle as Secretary of the Treasury, called for enlisted men injured in the line of duty to be included on a pension list; Shoemaker endorsed this reform also.
Congress didn't take action on legislation allowing this to occur until the
Overland Relief Expedition The Overland Relief Expedition, also called the Alaska Relief Expedition or Point Barrow-Overland Relief Expedition, was an expedition in the winter of 1897–1898 by officers of the United States Revenue Cutter Service to save the lives of 265 whal ...
of 1897–1898 and the
Spanish–American War
, partof = the Philippine Revolution, the decolonization of the Americas, and the Cuban War of Independence
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brought public attention to the Revenue Cutter Service.
By 1901, the service faced a shortage of qualified officers once more because of the temporary nature of the 1895 retirement law; the officer ranks were again filled with the aged and infirm and lieutenants had to fill billets that would have normally been reserved for a captain.
[King, page 124] Finally, at the urging of both Gage and Shoemaker, Congress passed Senate Bill 1025 on 12 April 1902 that recognized the discrepancies in the treatment of Revenue Cutter Service officers versus officers in the other services:
By 30 June 1902, the service had retired, under the new law, nine captains, and five chief engineers because of age and one chief engineer, one third lieutenant and two assistant engineers because of disability; thus opening up opportunities for promotion for the lower ranks.
New cutter construction
Building on the foundation laid by Shepard, Shoemaker oversaw the acquisition of new steel-hulled cutters and increased the number of cutters in service including five cutters over 200 feet in length. Older cutters dating back to before the Civil War were retired and newer cutters replaced them, all were designed with steam propulsion.
[King, pages 78-80]
Changes in the RCS School of Instruction
Shoemaker was responsible as the new Chief of the Revenue Cutter Service in enlarging the school's training cutter,
USRC ''Salmon P. Chase'' so that it could accommodate more cadets. The training cutter had no specific homeport and put into various ports to only to re-provision and get mail.
[King, pp 166-167] During his tenure, Shoemaker acquired the land for ''Chase'' to use as a homeport and for repairs at Arundel Cove in
Curtis Bay, Maryland
Curtis Bay is a residential / commercial / industrial neighborhood in the southern portion of the City of Baltimore, Maryland, United States.
The neighborhood is on steep sloping heights, about four city blocks wide (west to east) and fifteen bloc ...
. A small two-story building was built for the school as well as a 400-foot pier for the ''Chase''.
[King, page 171] This site eventually became the service's vessel construction and overhaul facility and today is known as the
United States Coast Guard Yard
The United States Coast Guard Yard or just Coast Guard Yard is a United States Coast Guard operated shipyard located on Curtis Bay in northern Anne Arundel County, Maryland, just south of the Baltimore city limits. It is the largest industrial fac ...
.
[The United States Coast Guard Yard – 119 Years of "Service To The Fleet"]
Retirement and death
Upon reaching the statutory retirement age of 64, Shoemaker was placed the Retired List on 27 March 1905. He was succeeded by Senior Captain
Worth G. Ross.
On 8 May 1908, Shoemaker was promoted to the rank of Captain-Commandant on the Revenue Cutter Service Retired List by Act of Congress. He died at his home in
Woodstock, Virginia
Woodstock is a town and the county seat of Shenandoah County, Virginia, United States. It has a population of 5,212 according to the 2017 census. Woodstock comprises 3.2 square miles of incorporated area of the town, and is located along the ...
on 11 July 1913 and is buried at Arlington National Cemetery
See also
Notes
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External links
Historian's Office U.S. Coast Guard Official website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Shoemaker, Charles F.
1841 births
1913 deaths
Burials at Arlington National Cemetery
Commandants of the United States Coast Guard