With reports current that the coast guard cutter Seminole, which returned to Wilmington yesterday afternoon from a five-day cruise, had been scouting in conjunction with the newly created coast guard rum chasing fleet that is said to be operating off the south Atlantic coast, Capt. E.S. Addison, commandant, absolutely refused to reveal any information concerning the purpose of the cruise.
Declining to discuss the Seminole’s mission or to admit that the cutter had been chasing rum runners, Captain Addison would only talk about the weather experienced during the voyage and the excellent manner in which the Seminole’s engines acted on the long cruise.
He stated that the Seminole encountered unusually rough weather and that there was 12 hours of continuous thunder and lightning Sunday night, when the strong southeaster, which changed at midnight to a southwest storm, stirred up a rough sea. The Seminole was tossed about like a chip, but the engines worked “like a charm,” he said.
Just the day prior to the Seminole’s hasty departure under sealed orders Thanksgiving afternoon, the Baltimore Sun carried an article stating that the fleet of revenue cutters would be used to catch liquor smugglers off the south Atlantic coast, providing a recommendation was made last Wednesday by Robert A. Fulwiler, the federal prohibition director of Virginia, was adopted.
In view of the sealed orders received by the Seminole and her hurried departure on the day following the conference held on Wednesday by Prohibition Commissioner Haynes, in Washington, belief was expressed locally that the fleet was created immediately and that it had already started combing the coast for rum runners.
It is believed here that 10 revenue vessels will constitute the rum chasing squadron that will operate between New York and Key West and it is thought likely that the following boats will be included in that number: Seminole of Wilmington; Pamlico of New Bern; Manning of Norfolk; Yamacraw of Savannah; Tallapoosa of Key West; Seneca and Gresham of New York; Apache of Baltimore; and Mascoutin of Lewes, Delaware. The latter is now being outfitted in New York harbor by Lieut. J.I. Hutson, who as formerly a member of Captain Addison’s staff, who will be in command of the Mascoutin, whose home station will be Lewes.
The Seminole was “swung” at sea on Friday for the purpose of completing a deviation of the compass. However, Captain Addison refused to state the location of the Seminole at the time this was done or to admit or deny the report that the Seminole had cruised as far south as Georgia.
From the Wilmington Morning Star, Nov. 29, 1921. The photo of the Seminole is from the Cape Fear Museum's online collection at https://www.flickr.com/photos/capefearmuseum/8389979584/.
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