USRC Hudson (1893)

The crew of the decommissioned New York harbor tug USRC Washington was sent to Hudson as the crew and she immediately sailed for New York to assume the duties of a harbor tug after commissioning on 15 September 1893.[2] Those duties included customs enforcement, checking ship documentation, quarantine enforcement, assistance to merchant ships, and search and rescue.[8]

USRC Hudson, led by Frank Hamilton Newcomb, moves to assist a disabled USS Winslow during the Second Battle of Cárdenas.

Hudson was assigned on 24 March 1898 to duty with the U.S. Navy for the Spanish–American War.[2][3] On 3 April she arrived at the Norfolk Naval Shipyard at Norfolk, Virginia and was outfitted with two six-pound rapid-fire guns and a Colt automatic machine gun.[1] Additionally, the pilothouse was armored with ⁵⁄₈-inch (16 mm) steel plate.[9] On 11 May 1898 Hudson, along with the U.S. Navy warships USS Winslow, USS Machias, and USS Wilmington, had pursued three Spanish gunboats into the Bay of Cardenas, Cuba. There, shore batteries fired on the U.S. vessels and disabled Winslow, knocking out her steering and a boiler, thereby putting Winslow adrift. The accurate Spanish fire wounded Winslow's commanding officer and killed Ensign Worth Bagley and three crewmen.[10] Although under fire from the Spanish guns for over thirty minutes, Hudson, commanded by First Lieutenant Frank H. Newcomb, sailed into the bay to save the disabled Winslow. Newcomb kept Hudson positioned in shoal waters near Winslow, until a line was passed to Winslow and made fast. Hudson then towed Winslow out of danger. During the time in the bay, both vessels continually fired on the Spanish positions. Hudson carried the bodies of those killed as well as the wounded, along with the dispatches of the squadron off Cardenas, to Havana, Cuba, arriving there on 14 May 1898. She remained there on blockade duty for a short time before departing to Key West, Florida. Another period of patrol ended 10 July as she returned to the blockading fleet with further dispatches. Hudson captured two fishing vessels that attempted to run the blockade off Havana. On 17 August Hudson was returned to Treasury Department control and she then departed for Norfolk, via Key West and Savannah, and arrived there on 21 August 1898.[1][2]

On 27 June 1898, President William McKinley recommended to Congress that the officers and crew of Hudson be awarded medals for their heroic actions at the Bay of Cardenas during the rescue of Winslow. Congress passed legislation awarding the Cardenas Medal to the crew of Hudson on 3 May 1900 (31 Stat. 717, 56th Congress).[11]

Hudson arrived at New York on 6 October 1898 where she continued with her traditional duties; however, on 24 October she was ordered to Philadelphia, Pennsylvania to participate in a naval parade. She returned to New York after repairs were completed on 27 October.[2] On 26 June she patrolled an intercollegiate regatta at Poughkeepsie, New York returning to New York harbor afterwards. On 26 January 1909 she had a collision with tow steamer Bouker off The Battery, New York City causing considerable damage to Bouker.[12] At the declaration of war on Germany by Congress on 6 April 1917 Hudson was once again assigned to the U.S. Navy for service during World War I.[2] On 6 April, she assisted the Collector of Customs at the Port of New York in transfer of the officers of the seized cruise liner Vaterland to Ellis Island for internment.[13] During the war she was assigned port security and customs boarding duties initially, but later outfitted for minesweeping duties near Port Jefferson, New York. After December 1917, Hudson was used to patrol explosive loading barges near the Port of New York.[14] She continued her service with the Navy until returned to Treasury Department control by Executive Order on 28 August 1919.[2] Hudson was sent to Norfork for repairs in 1922, and to the Coast Guard Depot in Curtis Bay, Maryland in 1928; after each yard availability she returned to New York City for regular duties.[2] She was decommissioned on 3 May 1935 and sold.[3]