The Long Blue Line (WINTER 2020)

ELLSWORTH
BERTHOLF
SECOND FOUNDER OF
THE COAST GUARD
William H. Thiesen, Historian
Coast Guard Atlantic Area
Commodore Bertholf served the United States in its Revenue Cutter and
Coast Guard service from early manhood, never failing a call to duty, no
matter what the danger, always acting in a notably distinguished and at times
heroic manner, as evidenced in the special award given to him by Congress
of its Gold Medal of Honor. He finally reached the highest command in the
Coast Guard and retained to the last his vital interest in the cause of that
service.
−American Bureau of Shipping, 1921
IN THE QUOTE ABOVE the American Bureau
of Shipping commented on the productive
career of Ellsworth Price Bertholf, first
commandant of the modern Coast Guard and
first flag officer in Service history. No individual may
claim sole credit for establishment of the United
States Coast Guard as a military service. However,
like the Service’s original founder, Alexander
Hamilton, Bertholf bore the greatest responsibility
for the planning, establishment, oversight and
initial success in the second founding of the Coast
Guard in 1915.
Ellsworth Bertholf was born in New York City on
April 7, 1866. In 1882, at the age of 16, he entered
the U.S. Naval Academy, but was court-martialed
and dismissed after a hazing incident. In 1885, he
entered the Revenue Cutter School of Instruction
and matriculated with the Class of 1887. After
graduation, he was assigned to the cutter Levi
Woodbury and, as was customary at the time, he
served two years at sea before receiving a third
lieutenant’s commission in the U.S. Revenue Cutter
Service. During his career, he would serve on cutters
stationed around the United States and Alaska.
16 WINTER 2020
THE LONG BLUE LINE