USRC Mohawk (1904)

USRC ''Mohawk'', was a steel steam powered revenue cutter built for the U.S. Revenue Cutter Service by William R. Trigg Company at Richmond, Virginia. Her primary duties in the Revenue Cutter Service and Coast Guard were assisting vessels in distress and enforcing navigational laws as well as a derelict destroyer. ''Mohawk'' was sunk after a collision with another vessel in October 1917.

Construction

''Mohawk'' was steel-hulled cutter constructed by William R. Trigg Company of Richmond, Virginia. She was powered by a triple-expansion steam engine propelling a single screw. She was commissioned into the United States Revenue Cutter Service on 10 May 1904 at Arundel Cove, Curtis Bay, Maryland, with Captain Worth G. Ross commanding.Record of Movements, p 59

History

1904–1917

Shortly after commissioning, ''Mohawk'' was based at Tompkinsville, New York, where she cruised the Atlantic Ocean and adjacent waters between Nantucket Shoals, Massachusetts, and the Delaware breakwater. Her primary duties were "assisting vessels in distress and enforcing the various navigational laws" including patrolling regattas. She also served as a derelict destroyer. On 1 April 1905, Captain Ross was relieved by Captain Byron L. Reed because Ross had been appointed as Chief of Division, Revenue Cutter Service. In June 1905, she patrolled several regattas in addition to her regular patrol duties. On 30 July, Chief of Division Ross visited ''Mohawk'' at Whitestone, New York. On 25 August she responded to orders to assist SS ''Barnes'' which was grounded from Jones Beach Life-Saving Station.

In June 1906 ''Mohawk'' again patrolled several regattas in her patrol area in addition to her regular duties as well as the patrol area of USRC ''Gresham'' while she was laid up for repairs. In December she was called to the scenes of several derelicts in her patrol area to destroy them.Record of Movements, p 60

On 12 February 1907 ''Mohawk'' assisted in helping the survivors of a collision that occurred in her patrol area between SS ''Larchmont'' and schooner ''Knowlton''.

On 26 February 1909 ''Mohawk'' ran aground in Hell Gate on Hog Back Ledge. She was refloated, repaired and returned to service.

On 6 March 1910, ''Mohawk'' assisted by towed the abandoned waterlogged four-masted schooner ''Asbury Fountain'' to Norfolk, Virginia after she suffered a collision with SS ''Jamestown''.King, p 143

In April 1912, ''Mohawk'' and USRC ''Acushnet'' helped rescue the crew from SS ''Ontario'', which was ablaze off Montauk Point, Long Island.Evans, p 214

On 26 April 1912, ''Mohawk'' was called upon to transport President William H. Taft from New York City's Recreation Pier to Governors Island and back on the occasion of the funeral of Major General Frederick Dent Grant, son of President Ulysses S. Grant. In September, she was tasked with helping Dr. George Styles of the U.S. Department of Agriculture in his study of the bottom of the Potomac River.Record of Movements, p 61

On 5 July 1913, ''Mohawk'' received Secretary of the Treasury William Gibbs McAdoo aboard for a cruise from her moorings at Tompkinsville. On 6 September she arrived at the RCS Depot at Curtis Bay, Maryland for an overhaul. On 7 October she was placed out of commission and her crew was sent to USRC ''Itasca''. With the overhaul completed, the crew returned from ''Itasca'' and ''Mohawk'' was re-commissioned 17 April 1914. On 12 June received RCS Captain-Commandant Ellsworth P. Bertholf and party aboard during the annual Harvard–Yale Regatta at New London, ConnecticutRecord of Movements, p 62 On 5 August, at the beginning of World War I, ''Mohawk'' was assigned to enforce the United States' neutrality laws and was directed to board all foreign vessels leaving port to inspect cargoes and documents. She continued that duty until 19 March 1915 when she returned to her regular patrol areas. When the Revenue Cutter Service merged with the United States Life-Saving Service to form the United States Coast Guard on 28 January 1915, she became known as USCGC ''Mohawk'', a United States Coast Guard cutter."U.S. Coast Guard General Order No. 1", Historic Documents & Publications, U.S. Coast Guard Historian's Office She ran aground on Bartlett Reef () in Long Island Sound on 29 May 1916 but was refloated, drydocked, repaired, and returned to service.R.C. Mohawk, New Jersey Scuba Diving

U.S. Navy service

''Mohawk'' was temporarily transferred to the United States Navy on 6 April 1917 for service in World War I retaining her Coast Guard crew.Larzelere, p 183 She was the fourth ship known by that name commissioned into the Navy. While serving on coastal duty in connection with convoy operations, she was struck in Ambrose Channel by the British tanker SS ''Vennacher'' and sank on 1 October 1917 off Sandy Hook, New Jersey.Record of Movements, p 63Johnson, p 47 All 77 crew members were rescued by the U.S. Navy patrol vessels and . The water was deemed too deep to warrant salvage operations so ''Mohawk'' was left where she sank. On 7 February 1921, salvage rights were sold to H.L. Gotham Corporation of New York City for 111.00.

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External links

Photo gallery
at navsource.org

{{DEFAULTSORT:Mohawk
Ships of the United States Coast Guard
Cutters of the United States Navy
Ships built in Richmond, Virginia
Ships of the United States Revenue Cutter Service
World War I destroyers of the United States
Ships sunk in collisions
Maritime incidents in 1916
Maritime incidents in 1917
Shipwrecks of the New Jersey coast
World War I shipwrecks in the Atlantic Ocean