08/04/2026
Happy 236th Birthday to the U.S. Coast Guard! 🎉🎂
The United States Coast Guard traces its origins to August 4, 1790, when Treasury Secretary Alexander Hamilton persuaded Congress to pass the Tariff Act. President George Washington signed the law, authorizing a fleet of 10 cutters to enforce tariffs and curb smuggling along the American coastline.
Known initially as the Revenue-Marine (and later the U.S. Revenue Cutter Service), it served as the nation’s only armed maritime force until the U.S. Navy was established in 1798.
Today, the Coast Guard operates as a multi-mission armed service, handling law enforcement, search and rescue, defense operations, and environmental stewardship across more than 100,000 miles of coastline and 4.5 million square miles of ocean.
