The Coast Guard in the Southeast

For over two hundred years ships have sailed along the coasts of Delaware to the Chesapeake Bay to the low-lying sandy shores of Georgia. Within this area, lies a stretch a coastline that was greatly feared by even the most seasoned sailors for the hundred s of wrecks on its shores: the Outer Banks of North Carolina, called the “Graveyard of the Atlantic.”

In the late 1700’s, the United States’ government realized of hazards of sailing along the southeast Atlantic and formed four small maritime organizations that were devoted to law enforcement , rescue and safety for those who ventured out onto the sea. In time, these four services were combined into what is now the U.S. Coast Guard.