“Sir, I hasten to inform you that War was this day declared against Great Britain.”
— Treasury Secretary Albert Gallatin to U.S. Customs Collectors, 1812
When the United States entered the War of 1812, its naval forces were small and stretched thin. The nation had roughly 16 naval vessels and about a dozen revenue cutters charged with protecting coastal trade, enforcing customs laws, and responding to threats. These modest ships and their crews not only faced the might of the British Royal Navy but also hunted privateers—privately owned armed vessels commissioned to disrupt American commerce. Those privateers posed a persistent danger to merchant shipping and coastal communities, making the work of revenue cutters essential to the young country’s survival.
One of the most dramatic and consequential encounters involving a revenue cutter during this conflict was the capture of the privateer Dart by the 60-foot cutter Vigilant. That action took place on the afternoon of Oct. 4, 1813, off Newport, Rhode Island. Vigilant’s captain, John Cahoone, and his small crew of 17 men, joined by local militiamen armed with muskets, set out from Newport Harbor in pursuit of the brig. Word of the sighting spread along the waterfront, and by the afternoon the cutter was underway in hopes of intercepting the privateer that had been preying on local shipping.
The encounter unfolded on a clear, moonlit night. Around 10 p.m., a lookout on Vigilant spotted Dart sailing east of Block Island. Dart was well-armed for a privateer of its class, mounting cannons and swivel guns that made a direct gunfight very risky for the smaller revenue cutter. The two vessels closed, and a sharp exchange of fire followed; one officer aboard Dart was killed in the opening broadside. That initial strike demonstrated the danger posed by privateers and the courage required from the cutter’s crew to engage such a foe.
Recognizing that his vessel was outgunned, Captain Cahoone opted for a bold and decisive tactic. He brought Vigilant alongside Dart and ordered a boarding. The cutter’s crew, supplemented by the militiamen, swarmed onto the privateer’s deck. What followed was a brief but bloody hand-to-hand confrontation. Despite the privateer’s heavier armament, Cahoone’s men prevailed: they drove Dart’s crew below decks and secured the vessel. The victory cost the attackers but ended with the privateer captured and its threat removed from that stretch of coastline.
Contemporary reports praised the action. A correspondent for the Columbian Patriot wrote that “Capt. Cahoone, with the volunteers under his command, deserves the highest credit for the spirit and promptitude with which this affair was conducted.” The boarding of Dart is notable not only for its immediate tactical success but also because it represents the last recorded successful boarding carried out by a revenue cutter in the Age of Sail. That act of daring and discipline became part of the legacy that would later inform the traditions and ethos of the U.S. Coast Guard.
Revenue cutters like Vigilant performed a wide range of duties during the War of 1812: enforcing customs regulations, protecting commerce, conducting rescues, and engaging enemy vessels when necessary. Their versatility and the willingness of their crews to take calculated risks underpinned many local successes against privateers and smugglers. The capture of Dart illustrates how small, well-led crews could use seamanship, courage, and seaborne tactics to overcome larger or more heavily armed opponents—qualities still valued by modern maritime services.
The story of Vigilant and Dart has been preserved in part through art. The painting depicting the boarding action is held in the Coast Guard’s permanent collection, where it helps tell the service’s early history. Its artist, Walter Jones, was a member of the Coast Guard Art Program and brought his experience as a Marine Corps radio operator and combat artist in the South Pacific during World War II to his work. Several of Jones’s pieces also belong to the Marine Corps’ permanent collection, underscoring the intersection of military service and artistic recording of naval history.
Today, the image of the Vigilant’s boarding of Dart remains a powerful example of how revenue cutters—and later the Coast Guard—defended American maritime interests at a time when the nation had limited naval resources. The episode highlights a combination of preparedness, local support, and bold leadership that allowed a modest cutter and its crew to make a significant contribution to coastal defense during the War of 1812.
This article originally appeared in the May 2017 issue.