Return to History

Bering Sea Patrol

History

1880 – Present In 1865, the Lighthouse Service’s tender Shubrick, then operating under the Revenue Cutter Service, became the service’s first unit to touch Russia’s Alaskan coastline. The tender was the flagship supporting Western Union’s expedition to string a telegraph cable from North America to St. Petersburg, Russia. The plan was overtaken by the laying …

Mike Healy

Revenue Captain Michael A. Healy, commanding officer of the cutters Chandler, Corwin, Bear, McCulloch and Thetis, became a legend enforcing federal law along Alaska’s 20,000 mile coastline. In addition to being a friend to missionaries and scientists, he was a rescuer of whalers, natives, shipwrecked sailors, and destitute miners. Born the son of a slave …

USRC Bear

USRC Bear (AG-29) was a steam barkentine, 199 feet overall in length, of heavy oak construction, powered by a compound reciprocating steam engine which produced 300 horsepower. Built in Scotland in 1847, Bear served 10 years in the seal hunts in the Canadian Arctic. In 1884, Bear was purchased by the US Government to rescue …