This Day in Coast Guard History – May 14

1908-An Act of Congress (35 Stat. L., 160, 162) delegated to the Lighthouse Board the duty of caring for and maintaining the anchorage buoys previously placed by the United States in the harbors of New York and Philadelphia.

1951- USS Valcour was rammed by the collier Thomas Tracy.  CGC Cherokee responded and assisted in extinguishing the resulting fires and towed the Valcour to Norfolk.  Thirty-seven Navy sailors perished.

1997- The 757-foot containership Ever Grade collided with CGC Cowslip 10 miles upriver from the mouth of the Columbia River near Astoria, Oregon.  The buoy tender suffered significant damage from a glancing blow along her port side.  Visibility at the time was less than 20 yards due to thick fog in the area.  The Cowslip was repaired and returned to service.

(Source: USCG Historian’s Office)