U.S. Coast Guard Historian's Office

Resources of the Historian's Office

The Historian's office maintains a collection of material that complements, and to some degree, duplicates the holdings in the National Archives. The collection consists of approximately 500,000 unique and accessible images and a much smaller number of documents.   The office is also responsible for managing the Coast Guard's artifact collection and the Service's museum at the Coast Guard Academy.

The collection is open to researchers by appointment but walk-ins are welcome during our core business hours (0700-1600). Letter, email and telephone inquiries are answered to the most complete degree possible given the limited number of staff. The major categories of material in the office are broken down into several major categories.

1. Cutter Files--these files consist of all or part of the following: photography, brief histories, news clips, decommissioning documents, and operational highlights.

2. Disaster Files--predominantly maritime disasters, fires, floods, hurricanes, oil spills and major rescue operations. This includes photography and marine investigations. Most of these files represent post-World War II events.  

3. Personnel Files--files on senior officers and famous personnel.

4. Aircraft Files--almost exclusively photography that relates to the aircraft flown by the Coast Guard along with some Aviation Subject Files.

5. Aids to Navigation Files--including lighthouses and lightships.

6. District Files--primarily photography of various depots, offices, small boat/lifesaving stations and air stations.

7. Subject Files--collections of material pertaining to a diverse number of subjects. These are maintained alphabetically and range from files on the Coast Guard Academy to World War II.  

8. Manuscript Collection--collections of personal papers, photography, mementos, scrap books, etc., of former Commandants, officers, and personnel.

Reference Collection

This collection consists of several thousand books, pamphlets, manuals, directives, newsletters, etc. that deal specifically with the Coast Guard or are Coast Guard publications. Most significant are the old manuals and service publications.

Photography Archive

Coast Guard Archival Photos: Click here to access information on ordering photography from the collection of the Coast Guard Historian's Office.  Please feel free, however, to visit our office and use the copy stand we have available to make your own copies of any image in our collection!  You'll need to bring your own camera and film.

Publications

The Historian's Office has monographs pertaining to varied topics of Coast Guard history that are accessible through the web site. 

Artifacts

Curatorial Services manages the Coast Guard's artifact loan program. Museums wishing to locate items for display should contact the Curator for guidance and procedures for loans. Click here for more information on the Coast Guard Artifact Program.

Access:

The office is open to the public for research from Monday through Friday, 8:00 am until 4:00 pm. We suggest that individuals wishing to use the collection call and make an appointment in advance but walk-ins are welcome during our business hours.  

There are no restrictions to the use of the collections of the Coast Guard Historian's Office.

How to Contact Us:

By Mail:

Please note that all incoming mail to Coast Guard Headquarters is irradiated and any enclosed photographs, slides, artifacts and documents will be destroyed!!  Please contact the staff directly before mailing anything to us.

By Telephone:

(202) 372-4651
(202) 372-4653
FAX: (202) 372-4984

Via Email:

When contacting our office via email, please remember to include your postal mailing address.  We currently receive many email requests.  Since the staff are few it may take some time for you to receive a reply.  Please be patient and allow at least 10 business days to receive a response.  Thank you. 

                       Email: U.S. Coast Guard Historian's Office

Other Addresses:

• Coast Guard Atlantic Area Historian
  William H. Thiesen, Ph.D.
  Commander (Ae), Coast Guard Atlantic Area
  431 Crawford Street
  Portsmouth, VA  23704
  (757) 398-6643     Fax: (757) 391-8109       
  Email:  U.S. Coast Guard LANTAREA Historian

• Coast Guard Pacific Area Historian
  Dave Rosen, Ph.D.
  Coast Guard Pacific Area, Public Affairs Office
  U.S. Coast Guard Island, Building 42
  Alameda, CA  94501
  (510) 437-5888   Fax: (510) 437-5918         
  Email:  U.S. Coast Guard PACAREA Historian

• Coast Guard Curator
  Ms. Arlyn Danielson, Curator
  Curatorial Service Office
  U.S. Coast Guard Exhibit Center
  7445 Fernham Lane
  Forestville, MD  20747
  (301) 763-4009
  Email: U.S. Coast Guard Curator
  

• Coast Guard Museum
  Ms. Jennifer Gaudio, Curator
  U.S. Coast Guard Academy
  15 Mohegan Avenue
  New London, CT 06320
  (860) 444-8511
  Email: U.S. Coast Guard Museum