Hopley Yeaton

Hopley Yeaton was the first officer commissioned under the Constitution of the United States by George Washington into the Revenue-Marine, one of the forerunners of the modern-day United States Coast Guard. The Coast Guard was created when Congress merged the Revenue Cutter Service with the U.S. Lifesaving Service in 1915.

Naval service

Born in Somersworth, New Hampshire, Yeaton served as a lieutenant in the Continental Navy on board the frigates USS Raleigh and
USS Deane. After his commissioning in the newly formed Revenue-Marine he was appointed by President George Washington as the commanding officer of the Revenue-Marine cutter Scammel. Yeaton probably brought along his slave, Senegal Thompson, during Scammel's patrols, as this practice was permitted by the Treasury Department at this time. Yeaton fired three of his crew after their first few months of service. The men had been in "open rebellion" over issues of pay and daily food rations—particularly after they learned that their fellow sailors aboard USRC Massachusetts received more and varied foods each day than they did.

Retirement

Yeaton resigned his commission on September 11, 1809. He suffered from poor health and retired to a farm at Eastport, Maine at the age of seventy. He was active in community affairs and assisted in the incorporation of the town of Lubec. He died at the age of seventy three.

Monuments

Captain Hopley Yeaton Memorial

The tomb of Hopley Yeaton lies on the grounds of the U.S. Coast Guard Academy in New London, Connecticut. He was originally buried in Lubec, Maine, but in 1975 his burial site was threatened by modernization. The Corps of Cadets sailed the barque Eagle to Lubec, where his remains were exhumed and laid to rest at the Academy.

Hopley Yeaton Walk of History Plaque

On August 2, 2008, in a bid to help affirm Grand Haven, Michigan, as "Coast Guard City USA", the Walk of History was revealed to the public at Coast Guard Station Grand Haven. The first point of history on the walk was the Hopley Yeaton Plaque, which was ceremonially unveiled by Vice Adm. Clifford Pearson and Andrew Yeaton, a direct descendant of Hopley Yeaton.