Coast guard

A coast guard or coastguard is a maritime security organization of a particular country. The term implies widely different responsibilities in different countries, from being a heavily armed military force with customs and security duties to being a volunteer organization tasked with search and rescue functions and lacking any law enforcement powers. However, a typical coast guard's functions are distinct from typical functions of both the navy (a pure military force) and a transportation police (a civilian law enforcement agency).

History

The modern Her Majesty's Coastguard of the United Kingdom was established in 1809 as the Waterguard, and was originally devoted to the prevention of smuggling as a department of the HM Customs and Excise authority. It was, however, also responsible for giving assistance to shipwrecks.

Each Water Guard station was issued with Manby's Mortar which was invented by Captain George William Manby in 1808. The mortar fired a shot with a line attached from the shore to the wrecked ship and was used for many years up and down the coastline. This began the process in which the Coastguard assumed a life saving role. In 1821 a committee of inquiry recommended that responsibility for the Preventative Water Guard be transferred to the Board of Customs. The Treasury agreed and in a Minute dated 15 January 1822, directed that the preventative services, which consisted of the Preventative Water Guard, cruisers, and Riding Officers should be placed under the authority of the Board of Customs and in future should be named the Coast Guard. In 1845 the Coastguard was subordinated to the Admiralty.

United States Coast Guard

The United States Coast Guard (USCG) is a branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the country's seven uniformed services. The Coast Guard is a maritime, military, multi-mission service unique among the U.S. military branches for having a maritime law enforcement mission (with jurisdiction in both domestic and international waters) and a federal regulatory agency mission as part of its mission set. It operates under the U.S. Department of Homeland Security during peacetime, and can be transferred to the U.S. Department of the Navy by the U.S. President at any time, or by the U.S. Congress during times of war. This has happened twice, in 1917, during World War I, and in 1941, during World War II.

Created by Congress on 4 August 1790 at the request of Alexander Hamilton as the "Revenue Marine", it is the oldest continuous seagoing service of the United States. As Secretary of the Treasury, Hamilton headed the Revenue Marine, whose original purpose was as the collector of customs duties in the nation's seaports. By the 1860s, the service was known as the U.S. Revenue Cutter Service and the term Revenue Marine gradually fell into disuse.

Cape May

Cape May is a peninsula and island (divided by a narrow channel); the southern tip of the island is the southernmost point of the U.S. state of New Jersey. The peninsula resides in Cape May County and runs southwards from the New Jersey mainland, separating Delaware Bay from the Atlantic Ocean. The cape is named for Cornelius Jacobsen Mey, a Dutch explorer who was working for the Dutch East India Company.

The city of Cape May is located on the island (south of the peninsula) and home of the oldest seaside resort in America, with historical roots dating back to the 18th century. The entire city was designated as a National Historic Landmark on May 11, 1976, and many of the buildings throughout the town are original Victorian structures that have been maintained in pristine condition.

The peninsula comprises the municipalities of Middle Township, Avalon, Dennis Township, Stone Harbor, North Wildwood, West Wildwood, Wildwood, Lower Township, Wildwood Crest, North Cape May, West Cape May, Cape May, and Cape May Point. The region is a popular destination for Québécois tourists. It is part of the Southern Shore Region.