The United States Revenue Cutter ''Taney'' was one of the 13
cutters
Cutter may refer to:
Tools
* Bolt cutter
* Box cutter, aka Stanley knife, a form of utility knife
* Cigar cutter
* Cookie cutter
* Glass cutter
* Meat cutter
* Milling cutter
* Paper cutter
* Side cutter
* Cutter, a type of hydraulic rescue to ...
of the
Morris-Taney class. These cutters were the backbone of the
Revenue Cutter Service for more than a decade. Samuel Humphreys designed these cutters for roles as diverse as fighting
pirates
Piracy is an act of robbery or criminal violence by ship or boat-borne attackers upon another ship or a coastal area, typically with the goal of stealing cargo and other valuable goods. Those who conduct acts of piracy are called pirates, v ...
,
privateers
A privateer is a private person or ship that engages in maritime warfare under a commission of war. Since robbery under arms was a common aspect of seaborne trade, until the early 19th century all merchant ships carried arms. A sovereign or deleg ...
, combating
smugglers and operating with naval forces. He designed the vessels on a naval schooner concept. They had Baltimore Clipper lines. The vessels built by Webb and Allen, designed by Isaac Webb, resembled Humphreys' but had one less port.
Officially the ''Roger B. Taney'', this cutter initially made an inspection tour from
Maine to
Texas and then sailed to her first duty station 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 ...
. Between 1847 and 1850 the cutter served with the Coast Survey. In May 1851 the ''Taney'' sailed for
Savannah, Georgia. In 1852, after traveling to
New York City, she capsized. In January 1853, after repairs, she sailed to for duty in
Eastport, Maine. The ''Taney'' arrived back in Savannah in November 1855. Damage due to a strike by lightning off
Tybee Island forced the Government to sell the cutter on 5 January 1858.
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Taney, Usrc
Schooners of the United States
Ships of the United States Coast Survey
Morris-Taney-class cutters
Two-masted ships
Ships built by William H. Webb
1833 ships