Coast Guard Cutter Harriet Lane fires commemorative shot near Fort Sumter​

The crew of the Coast Guard Cutter Harriet Lane fired a commemorative shot Thursday to honor the 158th anniversary of its namesake’s action near Fort Sumter.

On April 11, 1861, United States Revenue Cutter Harriet Lane made history by firing the first naval shot of the Civil War. Cutter Lane fired across the bow of the merchant steamship Nashville. Nashville was attempting to enter Charleston Harbor without displaying a flag indicating its nationality. Congress merged the Revenue Cutter Service with the United States Lifesaving Service in 1915 to form today’s United States Coast Guard.

The crew of the​ Coast Guard Cutter Harriet Lane​ sails past​ Fort Sumter​ near Charleston, South Carolina, May 30, 2019. Harriet Lane's crew fired a blank round in order to honor the​ 158th anniversary​ of when its predecessor​ of the same name fired the first naval shots of the Civil War. Coast Guard Auxiliary photo by John Swink.

The cutter Harriet Lane, a 270-foot medium endurance cutter, is returning to its homeport of Portsmouth, Virginia after conducting a successful 80-day counter-narcotics patrol of the Caribbean Sea. The cutter saved the lives of two mariners in distress, conducted several boardings on the high seas, and seized 2,069 pounds of cocaine valued at $27 million.

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