From its founding in 1790 to the present time, the United States Coast Guard has played a significant part in shaping our nation's history. When it was originally established as a small coastal patrol of ten cutters, its chief duties were to collect revenue and prevent smugglers from landing contraband cargo. In no time at all, however, the members of the Revenue Marine—as the Coast Guard was then called—found themselves fighting the French and British navies, ridding the seas of pirates and quelling Indian disturbances in Florida.

From the original fleet of ten cutters the Coast Guard has grown until, as Admiral A.C. Richmond points out in his foreword to this book,, "today it serves not only as an armed force but also as our foremost agency for promoting maritime safety."

In the pages of The Story of the U.S. Coast Guard, the reader will find a dramatic account of some of the exciting incidents in the Coast Guard's past: their gallant service in all of the nation's wars, the humanitarian work of the Bering Sea Patrol, the scientific research carried on by the International Ice Patrol and the tireless rescue operations effected at sea. In peace, as in war, the members of the Coast Guard have at all times lived up to their famous motto—"Always Ready."

Foreword by Admiral A.C. Richmond U.S. Coast Guard Commandant

From the book