USCGC GALLATIN (WHEC 721)
CHARLESTON,
SOUTH CAROLINA
SHIP'S HISTORY
USCGC GALLATIN is home ported
at the old Charleston Naval Complex, located in North Charleston, South Carolina
in the Seventh Coast Guard District.
The Charleston
area, founded in 1670, often called the Low Country, is loaded with history and beauty.
Charleston
has been the site of numerous historic “firsts.”
During the Revolutionary War, the first decisive victory for America
was at the Battle of Fort Sullivan.
The first regularly scheduled passenger train service was established in
1830.
Fort
Sumter
was the site of the first shots of the Civil War, where Union troops were fired
upon in Charleston
Harbor.
The South Carolina Golf Club was the first golf club established in America
in 1786.
These firsts have lead to the development of an exciting and interesting
city.
Downtown
Charleston
streets are lined with Victorian style houses; the city contains numerous
churches, museums, famous homes and parks, including the “Battery."
The "Battery" now a beautiful park at the southern end of the city,
was once the main canon emplacement for the protection of the city.
The Old City Market is home to many locals’ crafts and famous hand-made
sweetgrass baskets.
Surrounding areas of
Charleston, including
North Charleston, West Ashley,
Mt.
Pleasant, Isle of Palms, John and
James
Islands, and Folly
Beach
contain a large number of historic sites and are home to many beautiful and
famous Southern Plantations.
Isle of Palms and Folly Beach have beautiful semi-tropical climates and
are popular for various water activities, including surfing, swimming,
windsurfing, surfcasting, offshore-fishing, crabbing and shrimping.
In all, Charleston
is full of activity, history and unbeatable beauty.
In 1996,
GALLATIN
became part of
Charleston.
 |
GALLATIN
is the sixth Coast Guard
Cutter to be named after Albert Gallatin, who served as Secretary of the
Treasury under the Presidents Jefferson and Madison.
Gallatin
was born in
Switzerland
in 1761 and came to America
in 1780. In his long career of
dedicated public service, he held office as Representative and Senator from the
great state of
Pennsylvania, Ambassador to
France
and
the court of Saint James (Great Britain), and President
of the
National Bank. |
He
founded
New York
University
and helped negotiate the treaty of Ghent
to end the War of 1812. Albert
Gallatin died in 1849 and is buried at
Trinity
Church, in
New York City, where GALLATIN
was home ported until 1996.
Avondale Shipyard in
New Orleans,
Louisiana, built the present
GALLATIN in 1968 with an eye toward the changing world in which
GALLATIN
must carry on the traditions of America's oldest sea going service.
GALLATIN
was designed and constructed as one of 12 multi-mission HAMILTON Class Cutters,
which incorporate modern concepts of naval architecture and engineering.
Although rigorous missions, including Search and Rescue and Law
Enforcement, keep the
GALLATIN
crew busy, GALLATIN’s design allows the ship to maintain the highly sophisticated operational
capabilities while still providing comfort and convenience for her crew.
GALLATIN is equipped with a helicopter flight deck, retractable hangar, and the
facilities to support helicopter deployments.
In addition,
GALLATIN
carries a Cutter Boat Over-the-Horizon (CB-OTH) RHI with the capability to go
in excess of 40 knots, and carry out missions far from the cutter. The 378-foot
High Endurance Cutter (WHEC) has four main engines and can be driven by either twin Fairbanks Morse 12-cylinder
diesel engines or twin Pratt and Whitney gas turbines via two controllable-pitch propellers. The
Cutter GALLATIN was introduced into the Coast Guard inventory on 20 December
1968 as a highly versatile and capable ship that has performed many missions
such as weather station, fisheries enforcement, search and rescue, migrant
interdiction, drug interdiction, escort duty in the Mediterranean, Homeland
Security patrols, disaster relief, and international training.
Adobe Acrobat Reader (PDF)