USRC ''Moccasin'' was a

Revenue Cutter A cutter is a type of watercraft. The term has several meanings. It can apply to the rig (or sailplan) of a sailing vessel (but with regional differences in definition), to a governmental enforcement agency vessel (such as a coast guard or bor ...

purchased from the

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in 1865 and immediately assigned to duty at Norfolk, Virginia where future Chief of the Revenue Marine Service,

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 ...

, future Chief of the Revenue Marine Bureau reported on board as a newly commissioned Third Lieutenant as part of the commissioning crew. In May 1866 her homeport was moved to

Wilmington, North Carolina Wilmington is a port city in and the county seat of New Hanover County in coastal southeastern North Carolina, United States. With a population of 115,451 at the 2020 census, it is the eighth most populous city in the state. Wilmington is t ...

where she served until being moved for repairs at the

Philadelphia Navy Yard The Philadelphia Naval Shipyard was an important naval shipyard of the United States for almost two centuries. Philadelphia's original navy yard, begun in 1776 on Front Street and Federal Street in what is now the Pennsport section of the ci ...

in 1869. After repairs she was assigned to

Newport, Rhode Island Newport is an American seaside city on Aquidneck Island in Newport County, Rhode Island. It is located in Narragansett Bay, approximately southeast of Providence, south of Fall River, Massachusetts, south of Boston, and northeast of New Yor ...

from 1869 to 1872 and then transferred to Charleston, South Carolina. In 1881, she was taken to the Slater and Read Shipyard in

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and was lengthened to 128 feet. On 10 April 1882 she was recommissioned as USRC ''George Bibb'' and moved to the

Great Lakes The Great Lakes, also called the Great Lakes of North America, are a series of large interconnected freshwater lakes in the mid-east region of North America that connect to the Atlantic Ocean via the Saint Lawrence River. There are five lak ...

. The ''George Bibb'' was named after the seventeenth

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 ...

George M. Bibb George Mortimer Bibb (October 30, 1776 – April 14, 1859) was an American lawyer and politician and the seventeenth United States Secretary of the Treasury. He was chief justice of the Kentucky Court of Appeals and twice represented Kentucky as ...

. While winter quarters were at

Ogdensburg, New York Ogdensburg ( moh, Kaniatarahòn:tsi) is a city in St. Lawrence County, New York, United States. The population was 10,436 at the 2019 census. In the late 18th century, European-American settlers named the community after American land owner and de ...

, she was also stationed at

Duluth, Minnesota , settlement_type = City , nicknames = Twin Ports (with Superior), Zenith City , motto = , image_skyline = , image_caption = Clockwise from top: urban Duluth skyline; Minnesota ...

Detroit Detroit ( , ; , ) is the largest city in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is also the largest U.S. city on the United States–Canada border, and the seat of government of Wayne County. The City of Detroit had a population of 639,111 at t ...

Michigan Michigan () is a U.S. state, state in the Great Lakes region, Great Lakes region of the Upper Midwest, upper Midwestern United States. With a population of nearly 10.12 million and an area of nearly , Michigan is the List of U.S. states and ...

and Oswego, New York. After decommissioning in November 1890, she was sold in

Buffalo, New York Buffalo is the second-largest city in the U.S. state of New York (behind only New York City) and the seat of Erie County. It is at the eastern end of Lake Erie, at the head of the Niagara River, and is across the Canadian border from Sou ...

for $2500. She became the merchant vessel ''Pentagoet'' which foundered in November 1898.

References

*King, Irving H (1996). ''The Coast Guard Expands:1865–1915'', Naval Institute Press. , p. 72 *Canney, Donald (1995). ''U.S. Coast Guard and Revenue Cutters, 1790-1935'', Naval Institute Press, , p. 36 {{DEFAULTSORT:Moccasin Ships of the United States Revenue Cutter Service 1864 ships