View source for Rum Patrol

{{Short description|Law enforcement operation in the United States}}
{{Infobox military operation
|name = Rum Patrol
|image =Rum Patrol ships Tucker and Cassin.jpg
|image_size =300px
|caption =Rum Patrol ships USCGD ''Tucker'' and USCGD ''Cassin'', circa 1930
|scope = 
|planned = 
|planned_by = 
|objective = Enforce [[prohibition]] in United States waters
|executed = 1920&ndash;1933
|executed_by = {{flag|United States}}
|outcome = 
|casualties = 
}}
{{Campaignbox United States Navy and Coast Guard patrols}}

The '''Rum Patrol''' was an operation of the [[United States Coast Guard]] to interdict liquor smuggling vessels, known as "rum runners" in order to enforce [[prohibition]] in American waters. On 18 December 1917, the 18th Amendment to the [[United States Constitution|Constitution]] was submitted to the states by [[United States Congress|Congress]]. On 16 January 1919, the amendment was ratified and the [[Eighteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution|Liquor Prohibition Amendment]], which prohibited the manufacture, sale, transportation, importation, or exportation of intoxicating liquors, came into effect on 16 January 1920.

==History==
===Origin===
The establishment of prohibition gave rise to smuggling of illicit liquor into the [[United States]] overland from Canada and from ships moored just outside the [[three-mile limit]] along the Atlantic seaboard. By 1921, "Rum Row" existed off New York City and the New Jersey shore as well as near Boston, and the Chesapeake and Delaware bays. The Florida coast and New Orleans were also points of entry used by rum runners. Smaller boats were used to transfer the cargos from the [[mother ship]]s on Rum Row under cover of darkness to the shore. In February 1922, the [[Commandant of the Coast Guard]], Rear Admiral [[William E. Reynolds]], informed the [[Assistant Secretary of the Treasury]], [[Roy Asa Haynes]] that although the Coast Guard was tasked with the enforcement of prohibition, Congress had not included any funding for the additional maintenance and operation of vessels. Since there was no funding, enforcement by Coast Guard vessels was in connection with other enforcement duties. The first important seizure was the British-registered [[schooner]] ''Henry L. Marshall'' by {{USCGC|Seneca|1908|6}} in 1921.<ref name=Johnson80>Johnson, p 80</ref>

===Funding problems===
Since the Coast Guard was tasked with prohibiting the importation of liquor through U.S. waters and it didn't have the resources to do so, Commandant Reynolds submitted a plan to [[Secretary of the Treasury|Treasury Secretary]] [[Andrew Mellon]] that called for 20 new cutters, 200 coastal patrol cutters and 90 fast picket boats. He also asked for 20 million dollars to fund new construction and an additional 3,500 personnel to man the new vessels.<ref name=Thiessen44>Thiessen, p 44</ref>

===Congress acts===
To deal with this problem, twenty-five [[destroyer]]s were transferred by the [[United States Navy]] to the [[United States Department of the Treasury|Treasury Department]] for service with the Coast Guard. Some began to show signs of wear and tear after the often arduous pace of operations on the Rum Patrol and required replacement. Accordingly, six of the newer flush deck destroyers were transferred to the Treasury Department in 1930&ndash;1932.

It was thought that adapting these older vessels for Coast Guard service would be less costly than building new ships. In the end, however, the rehabilitation of the vessels was costly because of the exceedingly poor condition of many of these war-weary ships. In many instances, it took nearly a year to bring the vessels up to seaworthiness. Additionally, these were by far the largest and most sophisticated vessels ever operated by the service, and trained personnel were nearly nonexistent. As a result, Congress authorized hundreds of new enlistees. These inexperienced men generally made up the destroyer crews.<ref name=Canney92 />

Some of the destroyers were pre-World War I 742-ton "flivvers", capable of over {{convert|25|kn|mph km/h|lk=in|abbr=on}} –  an advantage in the rum-chasing business. They were, however, easily outmaneuvered by smaller vessels. The destroyers’ mission, therefore, was to picket the larger [[mother ship]]s and prevent them from off-loading their cargo onto the smaller, speedier contact boats that ran the liquor into shore.<ref name=Canney92 />

On 20 February 1933, the [[Twenty-first Amendment to the United States Constitution|21st Amendment to the Constitution]], the repeal of Amendment 18, was proposed by Congress and ratification was completed on 5 December 1933. This eliminated prohibition, and therefore the need for the Rum Patrol. The remaining destroyers were returned to the Navy and sold for scrap.

==Ships of the patrol==
{| class="wikitable sortable"
!Coast Guard designation
!Navy designation
!Ship Class
!USCG Acquired
!USCG Commissioning
!USCG Decommissioning
|-
|{{hs|CG-01}}USCGD ''Cassin'' (CG-1)<ref name=Canney93>Canney, p 93</ref>
|{{hs|DD-043}}{{USS|Cassin|DD-43}}
|{{sclass|Cassin|destroyer|4}}
|{{Date table sorting|1924|April|28|format=dmy}}
|{{Date table sorting|1924|August|30|format=dmy}}
|{{Date table sorting|1933|June|5|format=dmy}}
|-
|{{hs|CG-02}}USCGD ''Conyngham'' (CG-2)<ref name=Canney93 />
|{{hs|DD-058}}{{USS|Conyngham|DD-58}}
|{{sclass|Tucker|destroyer|4}}
|{{Date table sorting|1924|June|7|format=dmy}}
|{{Date table sorting|1925|March|8|format=dmy}}
|{{Date table sorting|1933|June|5|format=dmy}}
|-
|{{hs|CG-03}}USCGD ''Cummings'' (CG-3)<ref name=Canney93 />
|{{hs|DD-044}}{{USS|Cummings|DD-44}}
|{{sclass|Cassin|destroyer|4}}
|{{Date table sorting|1924|June|7|format=dmy}}
|{{Date table sorting|1925|May|15|format=dmy}}
|{{Date table sorting|1932|April|30|format=dmy}}
|-
|{{hs|CG-04}}USCGD ''Downes'' (CG-4)<ref name=Canney93 />
|{{hs|DD-045}}{{USS|Downes|DD-45}}
|{{sclass|Cassin|destroyer|4}}
|{{Date table sorting|1924|April|28|format=dmy}}
|{{Date table sorting|1924|October|14|format=dmy}}
|{{Date table sorting|1930|November|18|format=dmy}}
|-
|{{hs|CG-05}}USCGD ''Ericsson'' (CG-5)<ref name=Canney93 />
|{{hs|DD-056}}{{USS|Ericsson|DD-56}}
|{{sclass|O'Brien|destroyer|4}}
|{{Date table sorting|1924|June|7|format=dmy}}
|{{Date table sorting|1925|May|28|format=dmy}}
|{{Date table sorting|1932|April|30|format=dmy}}
|-
|{{hs|CG-06}}USCGD ''McDougal'' (CG-6)<ref name=Canney93 />
|{{hs|DD-054}}{{USS|McDougal|DD-54}}
|{{sclass|O'Brien|destroyer|4}}
|{{Date table sorting|1924|June|7|format=dmy}}
|{{Date table sorting|1925|May|13|format=dmy}}
|{{Date table sorting|1933|May|26|format=dmy}}
|-
|{{hs|CG-07}}USCGD ''Porter'' (CG-7)<ref name=Canney93 />
|{{hs|DD-059}}{{USS|Porter|DD-59}}
|{{sclass|Tucker|destroyer|4}}
|{{Date table sorting|1924|June|7|format=dmy}}
|{{Date table sorting|1925|February|20|format=dmy}}
|{{Date table sorting|1933|June|5|format=dmy}}
|-
|{{hs|CG-08}}USCGD ''Ammen'' (CG-8)<ref name=Canney92>Canney, p 92</ref>
|{{hs|DD-035}}{{USS|Ammen|DD-35}}
|{{sclass|Paulding|destroyer|4}}
|{{Date table sorting|1924|April|28|format=dmy}}
|{{Date table sorting|1925|January|22|format=dmy}}
|{{Date table sorting|1931|May|18|format=dmy}}
|-
|{{hs|CG-09}}USCGD ''Beale'' (CG-9)<ref name=Canney92 />
|{{hs|DD-040}}{{USS|Beale|DD-40}}
|{{sclass|Paulding|destroyer|4}}
|{{Date table sorting|1924|April|28|format=dmy}}
|{{Date table sorting|1924|October|26|format=dmy}}
|{{Date table sorting|1930|June|1|format=dmy}}
|-
|{{hs|CG-10}}USCGD ''Burrows'' (CG-10)<ref name=Canney92 />
|{{hs|DD-029}}{{USS|Burrows|DD-29}}
|{{sclass|Paulding|destroyer|4}}
|{{Date table sorting|1924|June|7|format=dmy}}
|{{Date table sorting|1925|June|30|format=dmy}}
|{{Date table sorting|1931|February|14|format=dmy}}
|-
|{{hs|CG-11}}USCGD ''Fanning'' (CG-11)<ref name=Canney92 />
|{{hs|DD-037}}{{USS|Fanning|DD-37}}
|{{sclass|Paulding|destroyer|4}}
|{{Date table sorting|1924|June|7|format=dmy}}
|{{Date table sorting|1925|May|30|format=dmy}}
|{{Date table sorting|1930|August|12|format=dmy}}
|-
|{{hs|CG-12}}USCGD ''Henley'' (CG-12)<ref name=Canney92 />
|{{hs|DD-039}}{{USS|Henley|DD-39}}
|{{sclass|Paulding|destroyer|4}}
|{{Date table sorting|1924|May|16|format=dmy}}
|{{Date table sorting|1924|November|14|format=dmy}}
|{{Date table sorting|1931|January|30|format=dmy}}
|-
|{{hs|CG-13}}USCGD ''Jouett'' (CG-13)<ref name=Canney92 />
|{{hs|DD-041}}{{USS|Jouett|DD-41}}
|{{sclass|Paulding|destroyer|4}}
|{{Date table sorting|1924|April|28|format=dmy}}
|{{Date table sorting|1924|August|23|format=dmy}}
|{{Date table sorting|1931|May|16|format=dmy}}
|-
|{{hs|CG-14}}USCGD ''McCall'' (CG-14)<ref name=Canney92 />
|{{hs|DD-028}}{{USS|McCall|DD-28}}
|{{sclass|Paulding|destroyer|4}}
|{{Date table sorting|1924|June|7|format=dmy}}
|{{Date table sorting|1925|June|17|format=dmy}}
|{{Date table sorting|1930|August|12|format=dmy}}
|-
|{{hs|CG-15}}USCGD ''Monaghan'' (CG-15)<ref name=Canney92 />
|{{hs|DD-032}}{{USS|Monaghan|DD-32}}
|{{sclass|Paulding|destroyer|4}}
|{{Date table sorting|1924|June|7|format=dmy}}
|{{Date table sorting|1925|June|30|format=dmy}}
|{{Date table sorting|1931|January|29|format=dmy}}
|-
|{{hs|CG-15}}USCGD ''Upshur'' (CG-15)<ref name=Canney106>Canney, p 106</ref>
|{{hs|DD-193}}{{USS|Abel P. Upshur|DD-193}}
|{{sclass|Clemson|destroyer|4}}
|{{Date table sorting|1930|November|5|format=dmy}}
|{{Date table sorting|1931|January|12|format=dmy}}
|{{Date table sorting|1934|May|21|format=dmy}}
|-
|{{hs|CG-16}}USCGD ''Patterson'' (CG-16)<ref name=Canney92 />
|{{hs|DD-036}}{{USS|Patterson|DD-36}}
|{{sclass|Paulding|destroyer|4}}
|{{Date table sorting|1924|April|28|format=dmy}}
|{{Date table sorting|1924|November|24|format=dmy}}
|{{Date table sorting|1930|April|1|format=dmy}}
|-
|{{hs|CG-16}}USCGD ''Badger'' (CG-16)<ref name=Canney106 />
|{{hs|DD-196}}{{USS|George E. Badger|DD-196}}
|{{sclass|Clemson|destroyer|4}}
|{{Date table sorting|1930|October|1|format=dmy}}
|{{Date table sorting|1931|March|20|format=dmy}}
|{{Date table sorting|1934|May|21|format=dmy}}
|-
|{{hs|CG-17}}USCGD ''Paulding'' (CG-17)<ref name=Canney92 />
|{{hs|DD-022}}{{USS|Paulding|DD-22}}
|{{sclass|Paulding|destroyer|4}}
|{{Date table sorting|1924|April|28|format=dmy}}
|{{Date table sorting|1925|January|23|format=dmy}}
|{{Date table sorting|1930|August|12|format=dmy}}
|-
|{{hs|CG-17}}USCGD ''Herndon'' (CG-17)(CG-16)<ref name=Canney106 />
|{{hs|DD-198}}{{USS|Herndon|DD-198}}
|{{sclass|Clemson|destroyer|4}}
|{{Date table sorting|1930|September|13|format=dmy}}
|{{Date table sorting|1931|March|7|format=dmy}}
|{{Date table sorting|1934|May|28|format=dmy}}
|-
|{{hs|CG-18}}USCGD ''Roe'' (CG-18)<ref name=Canney92 />
|{{hs|DD-024}}{{USS|Roe|DD-24}}
|{{sclass|Paulding|destroyer|4}}
|{{Date table sorting|1924|June|7|format=dmy}}
|{{Date table sorting|1925|May|30|format=dmy}}
|{{Date table sorting|1930|March|4|format=dmy}}
|-
|{{hs|CG-18}}USCGD ''Hunt'' (CG-18)(CG-16)<ref name=Canney106 />
|{{hs|DD-194}}{{USS|Hunt|DD-194}}
|{{sclass|Clemson|destroyer|4}}
|{{Date table sorting|1930|September|13|format=dmy}}
|{{Date table sorting|1931|February|5|format=dmy}}
|{{Date table sorting|1934|May|28|format=dmy}}
|-
|{{hs|CG-19}}USCGD ''Terry'' (CG-19)<ref name=Canney92 />
|{{hs|DD-025}}{{USS|Terry|DD-25}}
|{{sclass|Paulding|destroyer|4}}
|{{Date table sorting|1924|June|7|format=dmy}}
|{{Date table sorting|1925|June|30|format=dmy}}
|{{Date table sorting|1930|August|12|format=dmy}}
|-
|{{hs|CG-19}}USCGD ''Wood'' (CG-19)(CG-16)<ref name=Canney106 />
|{{hs|DD-195}}{{USS|Welborn C. Wood|DD-195}}
|{{sclass|Clemson|destroyer|4}}
|{{Date table sorting|1930|October|1|format=dmy}}
|{{Date table sorting|1931|April|15|format=dmy}}
|{{Date table sorting|1934|May|21|format=dmy}}
|-
|{{hs|CG-20}}USCGD ''Trippe'' (CG-20)<ref name=Canney92 />
|{{hs|DD-033}}{{USS|Trippe|DD-33}}
|{{sclass|Paulding|destroyer|4}}
|{{Date table sorting|1924|June|7|format=dmy}}
|{{Date table sorting|1924|June|24|format=dmy}}
|{{Date table sorting|1931|April|15|format=dmy}}
|-
|{{hs|CG-20}}USCGD ''Semmes'' (CG-20)(CG-16)<ref name=Canney106 />
|{{hs|DD-189}}{{USS|Semmes|DD-189}}
|{{sclass|Clemson|destroyer|4}}
|{{Date table sorting|1932|April|25|format=dmy}}
|{{Date table sorting|1932|April|25|format=dmy}}
|{{Date table sorting|1934|April|20|format=dmy}}
|-
|{{hs|CG-21}}USCGD ''Davis'' (CG-21)<ref name=Canney93 />
|{{hs|DD-065}}{{USS|Davis|DD-65}}
|{{sclass|Sampson|destroyer|4}}
|{{Date table sorting|1926|March|25|format=dmy}}
|{{Date table sorting|1926|September|4|format=dmy}}
|{{Date table sorting|1933|June|5|format=dmy}}
|-
|{{hs|CG-22}}USCGD ''Shaw'' (CG-22)<ref name=Canney93 />
|{{hs|DD-068}}{{USS|Shaw|DD-68}}
|{{sclass|Sampson|destroyer|4}}
|{{Date table sorting|1926|March|25|format=dmy}}
|{{Date table sorting|1926|July|13|format=dmy}}
|{{Date table sorting|1933|June|5|format=dmy}}
|-
|{{hs|CG-23}}USCGD ''Tucker'' (CG-23)<ref name=Canney93 />
|{{hs|DD-057}}{{USS|Tucker|DD-57}}
|{{sclass|Tucker|destroyer|4}}
|{{Date table sorting|1926|March|25|format=dmy}}
|{{Date table sorting|1926|September|29|format=dmy}}
|{{Date table sorting|1933|June|5|format=dmy}}
|-
|{{hs|CG-24}}USCGD ''Wainwright'' (CG-24)<ref name=Canney93 />
|{{hs|DD-062}}{{USS|Wainwright|DD-62}}
|{{sclass|Tucker|destroyer|4}}
|{{Date table sorting|1926|April|2|format=dmy}}
|{{Date table sorting|1926|July|30|format=dmy}}
|{{Date table sorting|1934|March|29|format=dmy}}
|-
|{{hs|CG-25}}USCGD ''Wilkes'' (CG-25)<ref name=Canney93 />
|{{hs|DD-067}}{{USS|Wilkes|DD-67}}
|{{sclass|Sampson|destroyer|4}}
|{{Date table sorting|1926|March|25|format=dmy}}
|{{Date table sorting|1926|August|23|format=dmy}}
|{{Date table sorting|1934|March|29|format=dmy}}
|}

==References==
===Citations===
{{reflist}}
===Sources===
{{refbegin}}
* {{cite book|last=Canney|first=Donald L.|title=U.S. Coast Guard and Revenue Cutters, 1790–1935|year=1995|publisher=Naval Institute Press, Annapolis, Maryland|isbn=978-1-55750-101-1}}
* {{cite book|last=Johnson|first=Robert Irwin|year=1987|title=Guardians of the Sea, History of the United States Coast Guard, 1915 to the Present|publisher=Naval Institute Press, Annapolis, Maryland|isbn=978-0-87021-720-3|url-access=registration|url=https://archive.org/details/guardiansofseahi00john}}
* {{cite journal |last1=Thiessen |first1=William H. |title=Busting Smugglers & Breaking Codes |journal=Naval History |date=February 2020 |volume=34 |issue=1}}
{{refend}}

{{US Coast Guard navbox}}
{{prohibition}}

[[Category:History of the United States Coast Guard]]
[[Category:United States Navy and Coast Guard patrols|Rum]]
[[Category:Prohibition in the United States]]