. Coast Guard history. United States. Coast Guard. gence, and legal branches, and a captain was detailed to head the bureau. About the same time, the service began building cutters with iron hulls and auxili- ary steam power. The first, the Legare, was launched in time to be ordered into action in the Mexican War in 1846. The Forward and McLatte aided Commodore Perry in carrying out an amphibious as- sault at the mouth of the Tabasco River in 1847. In the operation, however, the McLane ran aground and had to be pulled off, which may be why Perry reserved his praise for the Forward. "I am
. Coast Guard history. United States. Coast Guard. gence, and legal branches, and a captain was detailed to head the bureau. About the same time, the service began building cutters with iron hulls and auxili- ary steam power. The first, the Legare, was launched in time to be ordered into action in the Mexican War in 1846. The Forward and McLatte aided Commodore Perry in carrying out an amphibious as- sault at the mouth of the Tabasco River in 1847. In the operation, however, the McLane ran aground and had to be pulled off, which may be why Perry reserved his praise for the Forward. "I am gratified," he wrote, "to bear witness to the valuable services of the Revenue Schooner For- ; There was no word for the Steamer McLane. Ill-starred steamers Not only the McLane but all the first steam cutters were ill-starred. The B/bb, like the AicLane, Dallas, and Spencer, equipped with a novel and untried under- water paddle-wheel, began to leak so badly on her way to Mexico that she had to be beached. The Polk leaked on launching and was never used. The Spencer, found defective, was used as a lightship at Hampton Roads. The McLane had her machinery removed and was converted into a lightship in 1848. The Woodbury and Van Biiren, though not steamers, were condemned as not worth repairs. The Legare was withdrawn from service be- cause of a dangerous boiler and trans- ferred to the Coast Survey. The Walker, also turned over to the Coast Survey, was run down and foundered off Barnegat. Modern engineering officers say that, con- sidering early steamships used sea water in square-shaped boilers with no safety devices, it's a wonder they didn't all just blow up. Tabasco River landings in which the Forward and tAcLane Please note that these images are extracted from scanned page images that may have been digitally enhanced for readability - coloration and appearance of these illustrations may not perfectly resemble the original United Stat
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