Built at Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, by Bierly & Hillman, Relief was commissioned in 1867 and served what is known of her entire career homeported at Indianola, Texas.[2] She was the lead ship of the Relief-class of two revenue schooners built to her specifications.[Note 2]Relief and her sister ship, Rescue also built by Bierly & Hillman, were among the last strictly sail-powered cutters built for the Revenue Service.[3] On 18 September Relief was transferred temporarily to Key West, Florida due to an outbreak of yellow fever in the Indianola area. She returned from Key West on 5 December 1867. On 19 July 1870, she sailed for New Orleans for scheduled repairs. No Revenue Cutter Service record exists of her movements after 19 July 1870.[2][3]
Notes
Footnotes
^The last Revenue Service record of Relief was 19 July 1870[2]
^Colton claims that the Relief-class consisted of only two ships, Relief and USRC Rescue, both constructed at the Bierly & Hillman shipyard. Canney claims Relief was one of six cutters of the Active-class.[1] The other four cutters that Canney claims are in the Active-class were built in different yards and had different dimensions than the cutters built at the Bierly & Hillman shipyard. USRC Active and USRC Resolute were constructed by J.W. Lynn of Philadelphia and had a over all length of 90 ft (27 m); USRC Petrel and USRC Racer were built by W.H. Hawthorn of Williamsburg, New York and had an over all length of 85 ft (26 m).[4]
