This Day in American Military History

4 August 1790: At the instigation of Secretary of the Treasury Alexander Hamilton, Congress created the Revenue-Marine to enforce tariff laws and combat smuggling. Renamed the U.S. Revenue Cutter Service in 1894, it became today’s Coast Guard after merging with the U.S. Life-Saving Service. The Coast Guard is the oldest seagoing service in the United States and now operates within the Department of Homeland Security.

Brandus, Paul. This Day in U.S. Military History (p. 191). Bernan Press. Kindle Edition.