Revenue Cutter Service in the context of "USCGC Bertholf"

USRC Salmon P. Chase was named after Abraham Lincoln's Secretary of the Treasury, Salmon Portland Chase. It was a three-masted bark with a hull length of 106 feet that was designed for use as a training ship for the cadets of the Revenue Cutter Service School of Instruction.

Shortly after the creation of the Revenue Cutter School of Instruction, Captain J. H. Merryman, the Revenue Cutter Service's Superintendent of Construction, began work on the design for a school ship to replace USRC James C. Dobbin. Chase went into service in the summer of 1878, with its homeport at New Bedford, Massachusetts. She made cadet cruises to Europe, the Azores, the West Indies, and along the eastern coast of the United States. When in New Bedford, she tied up just above the bridge at the north end of Fish Island, Massachusetts. Here she served as a berthing area for the cadets. The government leased buildings on the north end of the island and used the nearby Mitchell Boat Company buildings for classes, drills, and storage. Most classes, however, were held aboard the Chase which had accommodations for a dozen cadets.