USLHT ''Cedar'' was a

lighthouse tender A lighthouse tender is a ship specifically designed to maintain, support, or tend to lighthouses or lightvessels, providing supplies, fuel, mail, and transportation. In the United States, these ships originally served as part of the Lighthou ...

in commission in the fleet of the

United States Lighthouse Service The United States Lighthouse Service, also known as the Bureau of Lighthouses, was the agency of the United States Government and the general lighthouse authority for the United States from the time of its creation in 1910 as the successor of t ...

in 1917 and from 1919 to 1939, and – as USCGC ''Cedar'' (WAGL-207) – in the fleet of the

United States Coast Guard The United States Coast Guard (USCG) is the maritime security, search and rescue, and law enforcement service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the country's eight uniformed services. The service is a maritime, military, mult ...

from 1939 to 1950. She was in commissioned service in the

United States Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the maritime service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. It is the largest and most powerful navy in the world, with the estimated tonnage ...

as the

patrol vessel A patrol boat (also referred to as a patrol craft, patrol ship, or patrol vessel) is a relatively small naval vessel generally designed for coastal defence, border security, or law enforcement. There are many designs for patrol boats, and the ...

USS ''Cedar'' from 1917 to 1919 during and in the immediate aftermath of

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

. She also saw service in

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

under U.S. Navy control while in the Coast Guard fleet. She spent her career in the

Pacific Northwest The Pacific Northwest (sometimes Cascadia, or simply abbreviated as PNW) is a geographic region in western North America bounded by its coastal waters of the Pacific Ocean to the west and, loosely, by the Rocky Mountains to the east. Though ...

and the

Territory of Alaska The Territory of Alaska or Alaska Territory was an organized incorporated territory of the United States from August 24, 1912, until Alaska was granted statehood on January 3, 1959. The territory was previously Russian America, 1784–1867; the ...

Construction and commissioning

''Cedar'' was constructed in 1916–1917 by the

Craig Shipbuilding Company '' Light Vessel No.57'' at Toledo, Ohio Craig Shipbuilding was a shipbuilding company in Long Beach, California. To support the World War I demand for ships Craig Shipbuilding shipyard switched over to military construction and built: US ...

Long Beach Long Beach is a city in Los Angeles County, California. It is the 42nd-most populous city in the United States, with a population of 466,742 as of 2020. A charter city, Long Beach is the seventh-most populous city in California. Incorporate ...

California California is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, located along the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the List of states and territori ...

, for the

.Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships: Cedar
/ref>
/ref>"Light House Tender Cedar (WAGL-207)," unattributed text at NavSource
/ref> Designed for extended cruises in the waters of the

, she was the largest lighthouse tender built for the Lighthouse Service. She had a steel hull with a double bottom and a wooden

superstructure A superstructure is an upward extension of an existing structure above a baseline. This term is applied to various kinds of physical structures such as buildings, bridges, or ships. Aboard ships and large boats On water craft, the superstruct ...

. She was completed in 1917 and commissioned into service in the Lighthouse Service′s fleet as USLHT ''Cedar'' on 30 June 1917.

Service history

World War I

Shortly after ''Cedar''s completion, the Lighthouse Service transferred her to the

in August 1917 for

service. Commissioned into Navy service as USS ''Cedar'', she operated as a

in the Thirteenth Naval District in the

. At 14:00 on 24 October 1918, ''Cedar'' received word that the

Canadian Canadians (french: Canadiens) are people identified with the country of Canada. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Canadians, many (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source of ...

passenger A passenger (also abbreviated as pax) is a person who travels in a vehicle, but does not bear any responsibility for the tasks required for that vehicle to arrive at its destination or otherwise operate the vehicle, and is not a steward. The ...

steamer had run aground in a

snowstorm A winter storm is an event in which wind coincides with varieties of precipitation that only occur at freezing temperatures, such as snow, Rain and snow mixed, mixed snow and rain, or freezing rain. In temperate continental climates, these sto ...

11 hours earlier on

Vanderbilt Reef Vanderbilt Reef is a rocky outcropping in Lynn Canal, a fjord in Alaska Alaska ( ; russian: Аляска, Alyaska; ale, Alax̂sxax̂; ; ems, Alas'kaaq; Yup'ik: ''Alaskaq''; tli, Anáaski) is a state located in the Western United State ...

Lynn Canal Lynn Canal is an inlet (not an artificial canal) into the mainland of southeast Alaska. Lynn Canal runs about from the inlets of the Chilkat River south to Chatham Strait and Stephens Passage. At over in depth, Lynn Canal is the deepest fjord ...

Southeast Alaska Southeast Alaska, colloquially referred to as the Alaska(n) Panhandle, is the southeastern portion of the U.S. state of Alaska, bordered to the east and north by the northern half of the Canadian province of British Columbia (and a small part ...

during a voyage from

Skagway The Municipality and Borough of Skagway is a first-class borough in Alaska on the Alaska Panhandle. As of the 2020 census, the population was 1,240, up from 968 in 2010. The population doubles in the summer tourist season in order to deal with ...

Juneau The City and Borough of Juneau, more commonly known simply as Juneau ( ; tli, Dzánti K'ihéeni ), is the capital city of the state of Alaska. Located in the Gastineau Channel and the Alaskan panhandle, it is a unified municipality and the se ...

.Report to the Canadian Minister of Marine on the Causes of the Wreck of the Princess Sophia, Victoria, BC, 27 Mar 1919
/ref>Newell, Gordon R. ed., ''H.W. McCurdy Marine History of the Pacific Northwest'', 90, 100, 145, 204, 236, 299, 300, 392, 433, 458, 589, Superior Publishing, Seattle WA 1966 (No ISBN number) The largest all-weather ship in the vicinity and the only one large enough to take off all of ''Princess Sophia''′s passengers and crew, ''Cedar'' was away. She established wireless contact with ''Princess Sophia'' and proceeded immediately to the scene, arriving there at 20:00 and finding that the

fishing Fishing is the activity of trying to catch fish. Fish are often caught as wildlife from the natural environment, but may also be caught from stocked bodies of water such as ponds, canals, park wetlands and reservoirs. Fishing techniques inclu ...

schooner A schooner () is a type of sailing vessel defined by its rig: fore-and-aft rigged on all of two or more masts and, in the case of a two-masted schooner, the foremast generally being shorter than the mainmast. A common variant, the topsail schoon ...

'' King & Winge'', two other large vessels, and 15 smaller fishing vessels also were there. ''Cedar'' was only the rescue vessel equipped with wireless, so her

captain Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police department, election precinct, e ...

, J. W. Ledbetter, began to organize a rescue attempt.Coates, Ken, and Morrison, Bill (1991). ''The Sinking of the Princess Sophia — Taking the North Down With Her'', 26, 43–57, 66–68, 74–119, University of Alaska Press, Fairbanks, AK 1991 Training ''Cedar''′s

searchlight A searchlight (or spotlight) is an apparatus that combines an extremely bright source (traditionally a carbon arc lamp) with a mirrored parabolic reflector to project a powerful beam of light of approximately parallel rays in a particular direc ...

s on ''Princess Sophia'', Ledbetter could see that waves were breaking against her hull, making it too dangerous for ''Princess Sophia'' to launch her

lifeboats Lifeboat may refer to: Rescue vessels * Lifeboat (shipboard), a small craft aboard a ship to allow for emergency escape * Lifeboat (rescue), a boat designed for sea rescues * Airborne lifeboat, an air-dropped boat used to save downed airmen A ...

. ''Princess Sophia'' and the rescue ships agreed to await high tide at 05:00 on 25 October to attempt to launch the boats, then cancelled that plan out of concern for the safety of the boats, and ''Cedar'' anchored in the lee of a nearby island for the night. By 0900 on 25 October 1918, a

gale A gale is a strong wind; the word is typically used as a descriptor in nautical contexts. The U.S. National Weather Service defines a gale as sustained surface winds moving at a speed of between 34 and 47 knots (, or ).breeches buoy A breeches buoy is a rope-based rescue device used to extract people from wrecked vessels, or to transfer people from one place to another in situations of danger. The device resembles a round emergency personal flotation device with a leg har ...

, but anchoring proved impossible. As conditions worsened, ''Cedar'' and ''King & Winge'' took shelter behind Sentinel Island, and Captain Miller of ''King & Winge'' came aboard ''Cedar'' to discuss further rescue options. They decided that if the weather moderated enough, they would attempt to anchor ''King & Winge'' near Vanderbilt Reef while ''Cedar'' anchored to windward of ''King and Winge'' to create a lee; ''Cedar'' would then launch her boats, which would ferry ''Princess Sophia''′s passengers and crew to ''King and Winge''. Ledbetter and Miller agreed that it would be best to wait until 26 October to attempt the rescue, as ''Princess Sophia'' appeared to be withstanding the pounding she was taking on the reef and it was possible the weather would improve enough by 26 October to make a rescue less risky. At 16:50 on 25 October, however, just as Miller was departing ''Cedar'', ''Princess Sophia'' sent a distress signal saying that she was sinking. ''Cedar'' got underway from Sentinel Island in an attempt to reach her, but conditions were so extreme that she was herself in danger, and after 30 minutes she had to turn back. Sometime around 17:50, ''Princess Sophia'' slipped off the reef and sank with the loss of all 343 people aboard, the worst maritime disaster in the combined history of

Alaska Alaska ( ; russian: Аляска, Alyaska; ale, Alax̂sxax̂; ; ems, Alas'kaaq; Yup'ik: ''Alaskaq''; tli, Anáaski) is a state located in the Western United States on the northwest extremity of North America. A semi-exclave of the U.S., ...

and

British Columbia British Columbia (commonly abbreviated as BC) is the westernmost province of Canada, situated between the Pacific Ocean and the Rocky Mountains. It has a diverse geography, with rugged landscapes that include rocky coastlines, sandy beaches, ...

. On 26 October 1918, ''Cedar'', ''King & Winge'', and other vessels reached the scene of the sinking, and found only ''Princess Sophia''s mast protruding above water; they recovered bodies, but found no survivors. ''Cedar'' and ''King & Winge'' proceeded to Juneau, where Ledbetter sent out a wire which reported "No sign of life. No hope of survivors." ''Cedar'' remained in U.S. Navy service through the end of World War I on 11 November 1918 and during its immediate aftermath. By

executive order In the United States, an executive order is a directive by the president of the United States that manages operations of the federal government. The legal or constitutional basis for executive orders has multiple sources. Article Two of th ...

, the Navy transferred her back to the Lighthouse Service on 1 July 1919.

1919–1941

As USLHT ''Cedar'', the ship returned to lighthouse tender duty, operating in Alaskan waters. After the 12- gross register ton

motor vessel A motor ship or motor vessel is a ship propelled by an internal combustion engine, usually a diesel engine. The names of motor ships are often prefixed with MS, M/S, MV or M/V. Engines for motorships were developed during the 1890s, and by th ...

''Anna Helen'' suffered a

gasoline Gasoline (; ) or petrol (; ) (see ) is a transparent, petroleum-derived flammable liquid that is used primarily as a fuel in most spark-ignited internal combustion engines (also known as petrol engines). It consists mostly of organic co ...

explosion and caught fire when her

gasoline engine A petrol engine (gasoline engine in American English) is an internal combustion engine designed to run on petrol (gasoline). Petrol engines can often be adapted to also run on fuels such as liquefied petroleum gas and ethanol blends (such as ''E ...

backfired "Backfired" is the debut solo single from American singer and Blondie vocalist Debbie Harry. Released in 1981, it was taken from her debut solo studio album, ''KooKoo''. Song information "Backfired" peaked at number 32 in the UK, and number 43 ...

at the junction of

Icy Strait The Icy Strait is a strait in the Alexander Archipelago in southeastern Alaska, at about . The strait separates Chichagof Island to the south and the Alaska mainland to the north. The strait is from its west side at the intersection of the Cro ...

and

in the

Alexander Archipelago The Alexander Archipelago (russian: Архипелаг Александра) is a long archipelago (group of islands) in North America lying off the southeastern coast of Alaska. It contains about 1,100 islands, the tops of submerged coastal m ...

about outside the entrance to

Funter Bay Funter Bay is a two-mile-long (3 km) bay on the western side of Admiralty Island near its northern tip, in the Alexander Archipelago of the U.S. state of Alaska. It lies within the Hoonah-Angoon Census Area, in the Unorganized Borough of ...

on 22 October 1928, ''Cedar'' and the motor vessel ''Gloria'' responded to render assistance.alaskashipwreck.com Alaska Shipwrecks (A)
/ref> ''Gloria'' rescued ''Annie Helen''′s two-man crew from a

dory A dory is a small, shallow-draft boat, about long. It is usually a lightweight boat with high sides, a flat bottom and sharp bows. It is easy to build because of its simple lines. For centuries, the dory has been used as a traditional fishin ...

and ''Cedar'' and ''Gloria'' stood by the burning vessel, but ''Annie Helen'' was consumed by the flames and sank without ''Cedar'' or ''Gloria'' having a chance to do anything to save her. On 1 July 1939, the U.S. Lighthouse Service was abolished and the

took over its responsibilities and assets, and ''Cedar'' thus became part of the Coast Guard fleet as USCGC ''Cedar''.

World War II

On 1 November 1941,NavSource USCGC Mangrove (WAGL 232) ex-USLHS Mangrove
/ref> with

raging in Europe,

North Africa North Africa, or Northern Africa is a region encompassing the northern portion of the African continent. There is no singularly accepted scope for the region, and it is sometimes defined as stretching from the Atlantic shores of Mauritania in ...

, and the

Middle East The Middle East ( ar, الشرق الأوسط, ISO 233: ) is a geopolitical region commonly encompassing Arabian Peninsula, Arabia (including the Arabian Peninsula and Bahrain), Anatolia, Asia Minor (Asian part of Turkey except Hatay Pro ...

, the U.S. Coast Guard was transferred to the control of the U.S. Navy under

Executive Order In the United States, an executive order is a directive by the president of the United States that manages operations of the federal government. The legal or constitutional basis for executive orders has multiple sources. Article Two of th ...

8929, and ''Cedar'' thus again came under U.S. Navy control only weeks before the United States entered the war on 7 December 1941. Given the

hull classification symbol The United States Navy, United States Coast Guard, and United States National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) use a hull classification symbol (sometimes called hull code or hull number) to identify their ships by type and by ind ...

WAGL-207, and stationed at

Ketchikan Ketchikan ( ; tli, Kichx̱áan) is a city in and the borough seat of the Ketchikan Gateway Borough of Alaska. It is the state's southeasternmost major settlement. Downtown Ketchikan is a National Historic District. With a population at the 20 ...

, Territory of Alaska, she was assigned to the Thirteenth Naval District in the Pacific Northwest and the

Seventeenth Naval District The naval district was a U.S. Navy military and administrative command ashore. Apart from Naval District Washington, the Districts were disestablished and renamed United States Navy Regions, Navy Regions about 1999, and are now under Commander, N ...

in the Territory of Alaska, including the

Aleutian Islands The Aleutian Islands (; ; ale, Unangam Tanangin,”Land of the Aleuts", possibly from Chukchi language, Chukchi ''aliat'', "island"), also called the Aleut Islands or Aleutic Islands and known before 1867 as the Catherine Archipelago, are a cha ...

, for duty in support of

aids to navigation Human immunodeficiency virus infection and acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (HIV/AIDS) is a spectrum of conditions caused by infection with the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), a retrovirus. Following initial infection an individual ma ...

. During 1942 and 1943, she operated in support of

Allied An alliance is a relationship among people, groups, or states that have joined together for mutual benefit or to achieve some common purpose, whether or not explicit agreement has been worked out among them. Members of an alliance are called ...

forces in the Aleutian Islands during the Aleutian Islands Campaign.

Post-World War II

Returned to U.S. Coast Guard control after the conclusion of World War II, ''Cedar'' was stationed at Kodiak, Territory of Alaska. The Coast Guard decommissioned her on 29 June 1950 and laid her up at

Seattle Seattle ( ) is a seaport city on the West Coast of the United States. It is the seat of King County, Washington. With a 2020 population of 737,015, it is the largest city in both the state of Washington and the Pacific Northwest regio ...

Washington Washington commonly refers to: * Washington (state), United States * Washington, D.C., the capital of the United States ** A metonym for the federal government of the United States ** Washington metropolitan area, the metropolitan area centered o ...

. After five years of inactivity, she was sold on 27 June 1955 for scrapping.

References

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Cedar Ships of the United States Lighthouse Service Ships of the United States Coast Guard Lighthouse tenders of the United States World War I patrol vessels of the United States World War II auxiliary ships of the United States 1916 ships Ships built in California Ships of the Aleutian Islands campaign