Coast Guard celebrates 235 years protecting nation’s waterways

A Coast Guard Higgins boat lands troops assigned to the 1st Infantry Division onto Omaha Beach, Normandy, France, on D-Day, June 6, 1944. The Coast Guard marks its 235th birthday Aug. 4, 2025 Photo by Coast Guard Chief Robert F. Sargent
A Coast Guard Higgins boat lands troops assigned to the 1st Infantry Division onto Omaha Beach, Normandy, France, on D-Day, June 6, 1944. The Coast Guard marks its 235th birthday Aug. 4, 2025 Photo by Coast Guard Chief Robert F. Sargent

The Coast Guard was established as the Revenue-Marine, Aug. 4, 1790, when President George Washington signed a bill drafted by Treasury Secretary Alexander Hamilton, authorizing the construction of 10 cutters that would be part of the Treasury Department.

The new fleet was used to clamp down on smuggling, resulting from the high tariffs the U.S. had placed on Europe. From 1790 to 1798, the Revenue-…