Great Lakes Patrol
| Great Lakes Patrol | |
|---|---|
.jpg)
A postcard of USS Michigan after her name was changed to USS Wolverine in 1905
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| Objective | Suppress crime on the Great Lakes and protect the maritime border with Canada. |
| Date | 1844–1920 |
| Executed by |
 United States
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The Great Lakes Patrol was carried out by American naval forces, beginning in 1844, mainly to suppress criminal activity and to protect the maritime border with Canada. Only a small force of United States Navy, Coast Guard, and Revenue Service ships served in the Great Lakes throughout the operations, though they were involved in several incidents with pirates and rebels. The patrol ended in 1920 when the Coast Guard assumed full command of the operations as part of the Rum Patrol.
The USS Michigan led the patrol, mostly singlehandedly, from its beginning on October 1, 1844 until the ship was retired in 1912. Michigan was the only American gunboat to patrol the huge Great Lakes and she was the navy's first steam-powered, iron-hulled warship. The Michigan was built to defend the lakes due to the construction of two British steamers during the Canadian rebellions in 1837. Based out of Erie, Pennsylvania throughout her career, the gunboat was commissioned on September 29, 1844 under Commander William Inman. Because the Great Lakes are vast inland seas in the north of the continent, during every winter parts of the lakes would freeze over or icebergs would make navigation extremely hazardous and difficult. The Michigan usually sailed from about March to December before heading back for Erie for the winter where a type of house was built to protect the ship from the elements. The officers and crew of the ship either stayed at their homes in Erie or at a government owned hotel near the wharf.
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Wikipedia