Records of the United States Revenue Cutter Service (USRCS)

The Revenue Cutter Service employed federal cutters* to enforce maritime laws. The service was established in 1790 to collect much-needed revenue for a post-Revolutionary War U.S. Department of the Treasury and to terminate well-established smuggling activities along the Atlantic Coast. The Revenue Cutter Service initially operated under the authority of the U.S. Department of the Treasury. On January 28, 1915, the service was merged by an act of Congress with the United States Life-Saving Service to form the United States Coast Guard.

The National Archives houses logbooks, muster rolls, and shipping articles for the Revenue Cutter Service. These records are found in Record Group 26: Records of the U.S. Coast Guard.

*The term cutter appeared in the early 18th century as a description of a hull type. These vessels were designed for speed, and the name clipper was used in a similar way in the next century.

Records Overview

Select the National Archives Identifier links below for descriptions of the records in the National Archives Catalog. For questions about these records, please contact the National Archives in Washington, DC (Archives 1), Reference Branch at archives1reference@nara.gov.

Logbooks

• “Logs of Revenue Cutters and Coast Guard Vessels 1819–1941” (Entry NC-31 159; National Archives Identifier 585454)
  • A list of existing logs is in the National Archives Catalog. The list is also available in the Archives 1 research consultation room (finding aids room).
• See also Logs of the U.S. Revenue Cutter Service and U.S. Coast Guard.

Muster Rolls

• “Muster Rolls, 1848–1910” (Entry NC-31 188; National Archives Identifier 2125037)
• “Muster Rolls, 1833–1932” (Entry NC-31 189; National Archives Identifier 2194510)

Shipping Articles

• “Shipping Articles of Revenue Cutters, 1863–1915” (Entry NC-31 255; National Archives Identifier 2217644)

Additional Resources

• Revenue Cutter Service Employees, 1790–1915
• “Tales of the Revenue Cutter Service and True Crime from The Collector of Customs at Boston” (The Text Message, 2021)
• “Lantern Slides of the Revenue Cutter Service, 1900–1915” (The Text Message, 2020)
• Vessel and Station Log Books at the National Archives
• Logbooks of U.S. Lightships and Buoy Tenders
• Navy/Maritime Records in Washington, DC