From collection Elmer Montgomery Collection
USCGC KICKAPOO WAGL-56
USCG KICKAPOO being hauled out on Snow's big railway. The 157' KICKAPOO was built by Bethlehem Steel in 1919 originally as the seagoing tug BALDRIDGE. It was taken over by the U. S. Coast Guard, reconditioned as a cruising cutter, and renamed on November 9, 1921. It was first assigned to duty at Cape May, where it intercepted several rumrunners. On January 2, 1925, it rescued the entire crew and all 227 passengers on the American steamer MOHAWK at Brandywine Shoals, Delaware, landing them safely at Lewes, Delaware. In 1926, KICKAPOO was modified for light icebreaking and its hull widened by 8.5'. It was transferred to Rockland, Maine, where it served as an icebreaker. During World War II, it was classified as a buoy tender and given the hull number and designation WAGL-56. It was assigned to Buzzard's Bay, Massachusetts, where it continued to serve as an icebreaker and also carried out general aids to navigation duties. KICKAPOO was decommissioned in August 1945.
