USRC ''Moccasin'' was a Revenue Cutter purchased from the U.S. Navy in 1865 and immediately assigned to duty at

Norfolk, Virginia Norfolk ( ) is an independent city in the Commonwealth of Virginia in the United States. Incorporated in 1705, it had a population of 238,005 at the 2020 census, making it the third-most populous city in Virginia after neighboring Virginia Be ...

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 where she served until being moved for repairs at the Philadelphia Navy Yard in 1869. After repairs she was assigned to Newport, Rhode Island from 1869 to 1872 and then transferred to

Charleston, South Carolina Charleston is the largest city in the U.S. state of South Carolina, the county seat of Charleston County, and the principal city in the Charleston–North Charleston metropolitan area. The city lies just south of the geographical midpoint o ...

. In 1881, she was taken to the Slater and Read Shipyard in New York City and was lengthened to 128 feet. On 10 April 1882 she was recommissioned as USRC ''George Bibb'' and moved to the Great Lakes. The ''George Bibb'' was named after the seventeenth Secretary of the Treasury,

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, she was also stationed at Duluth, Minnesota, Detroit, Michigan and

Oswego, New York Oswego () is a city in Oswego County, New York, United States. The population was 16,921 at the 2020 census. Oswego is located on Lake Ontario in Upstate New York, about 35 miles (55km) northwest of Syracuse. It promotes itself as "The Port C ...

. After decommissioning in November 1890, she was sold in Buffalo, New York for $2500. She became the

merchant vessel A merchant ship, merchant vessel, trading vessel, or merchantman is a watercraft that transports cargo or carries passengers for hire. This is in contrast to pleasure craft, which are used for personal recreation, and naval ships, which are us ...

''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