USRC Seminole

USRC Seminole was a 188-foot, 845-ton steamer constructed by the Columbian Iron Works in Baltimore, MD for $141,000. She was commissioned in 1900 and saw service through 1934, when she was transferred to the Federal Emergency Relief Administration.

She was first based out of Boston and transferred to Wilmington, North Carolina, in late 1904. She then patrolled along the southeastern coast, including winter cruises from Cape Hatteras, NC to Charleston, SC and even down through Key West, FL. Her duties included derelict destruction, attending local ceremonies, patrolling regattas, and rendering assistance when needed, such as the 1914 rescue of schooner Thomas Winsmore.

With the outbreak of World War I, USRC Seminole enforced the neutrality laws of the US until the US entered the war. She then served under the Navy and patrolled off the Carolinas. In 1923 she was detached to Puerto Rico where she served as an independent unit and returned to her permanent station of Wilmington later that year. In 1929 she transferred for service on the Great Lakes. USRC Seminole was stationed at Sault Ste. Marie, MI until she was decommissioned in 1934.