USRC Gallatin (1871)

USRC Gallatin, was a Gallatin–class revenue cutter of the United States Revenue Cutter Service in commission from 1874 to 1892. The fourth ship of the Revenue Cutter Service to bear the name, she was named for the fourth U.S. Secretary of the Treasury, Albert Gallatin.[1]

USRC Gallatin
History
United States Revenue Cutter Service
Name	USRC Gallatin
Namesake	Albert Gallatin (1761–1849)
Owner	U.S. Revenue Cutter Service
Builder	David Bell Company, Buffalo, New York
Cost	US$65,000[1]
Launched	1871
Commissioned	1874[1]
Fate	Sank 6 January 1892<Canney40 />
General characteristics [2]
Class and type	Gallatin–class
Type	topsail schooner
Displacement	250 tons
Length	137 ft 0 in (41.76 m)
Beam	23 ft 6 in (7.16 m)
Draft	9 ft 4 in (2.84 m)
Propulsion	Horizontal, direct-acting steam engine 34" diameter x 30" stroke, single boiler (1874) with Fowler steering propeller; (removed 1874)
Complement	7 officers, 33 enlisted
Armament	1 x 6-pounder gun

Gallatin was laid down by the David Bell Company at Buffalo, New York, in 1871 and commissioned in 1874. She was equipped with an iron hull and a Fowler patent steering propeller, a six-bladed screw with a separate engine for steering and reversing. Installed in October 1871, the Fowler propeller proved unsatisfactory and required reconstruction. On 4 October 1873 a sea trial of the reconstructed Fowler steering propeller proved to be uneconomical failure and a contract to make alterations was negotiated in March 1874. The Fowler propeller was replaced by the David Bell Company. Gallatin was finally ordered to Boston, Massachusetts to begin patrol on 23 October 1874.[2][3]

Gallatin was home-ported at Boston. She cruised the United States East Coast from Portsmouth, New Hampshire, to Holmes Hole, Massachusetts. She sank off Cape Ann, Massachusetts, on 6 January 1892.[2]