Alaska and the U.S. Revenue Cutter Service, 1867-1915

by Truman R. Strobridge, Dennis L. Noble

Not long after Alaska was purchased by the United States from Russia in 1867, the U.S. Revenue Cutter Service (USRCS) made its first appearance in the Bering Sea. Over the next forty-eight years the ships and men of the USRCS firmly established U.S. sovereignty in the area and performed amazing acts of rescue and humanitarian aid-contributions that have received little attention until the publication of this book. Bringing together widely scattered documentation and records, maritime historians Dennis Noble and Truman Strobridge chronicle events in the service's colorful history. Filled with high drama as well as historical significance, the story includes a number of notable figures, among them Capt. Michael A. "Hell Roaring Mike" Healy, the black revenue cutter captain who became a legend of the Alaskan frontier and was memorialized in James Michener's novel Alaska . The cuttermen explored vast unknown areas in their multimission role, providing humanitarian relief after earthquakes and volcanic eruptions, bringing medical care to isolated areas, feeding starving North American natives, and rescuing shipwrecked sailors, whalers beset in the ice, lost explorers, and others in trouble in the hostile environment. Among the many projects described in the book is a noble social experiment carried out by these early U.S. Coast Guardsmen. They imported reindeer from Siberia and taught the Alaskan natives how to herd to assure a steady food supply and to avoid future famines. They also transported federal judges and their staffs to isolated settlements to bring a veneer of civilization to the rough frontier. The authors describe and analyze these events in colorful narrative detail. Readers will quickly come to understand why the USRCS became so admired throughout the new territory and appreciate the effect the service had on the political, economic, and social life of the North Pacific region.

223 pages, Hardcover

First published June 1, 1999

About the author

Truman R. Strobridge's many positions in the federal government included command historian of the joint-service Alaska Command and also the U.S. Army, Alaska

Reviews

[Mark Luongo · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interesting but lacking in some areas. For example, information on enlisted men, the ships and of, course, more maps.
But I believe some of these lapses may have been due to the lack of records and the confusion that took place at the time of the combining of the U.S. Lifesaving Service and the U.S. Revenue Cutter Service into the U.S. Coast Guard in 1915. For that the authors can be forgiven.
The reader does c0me away understanding difficulty of service in such a remote place and the work of officers like Michael Healey aboard ships like the Bear.

[Rachel · Rating 2 out of 5]

This was a very comprehensive history of the U.S. Revenue Cutter Service. I found it very interesting that the Cutter Service ever existed! Definitely an overlooked piece of American history, and I learned a great deal. However, this book was not what I expected. I was thinking of something along the lines of 'In the Heart of the Sea' or 'Endurance.' I felt this book was written much more as a list of facts than an adventure story/tale until the last chapter, which gave a great account of the end of the career of Michael A. Healy. It seemed that many times it brushed the surface of a larger story, while never really delving into the details. I guess it was the stories I was looking for as opposed to the factual history.