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Rum-running is the business of smuggling or transporting of alcoholic beverages illegally, usually to circumvent taxation or prohibition. Smuggling, also known as trafficking, is the clandestine transportation of goods or persons past a point where prohibited such as out of a building into a Prison Prohibition of alcohol, often referred to simply as prohibition, also known as Noble Experiment, refers to a Sumptuary law which prohibits Alcohol The term usually applies to transport of goods over water, over land it is commonly referred to as bootlegging.

Contents

History

Rum runner sloop "Kirk and Sweeney" with contraband stacked on deck
Rum runner sloop "Kirk and Sweeney" with contraband stacked on deck

It wasn't long after the first taxes on alcoholic beverages that someone began to smuggle them. The British government had "revenue cutters" in place to stop smugglers as early as the 1500s. The United States Revenue Cutter Service was established by Secretary of the Treasury Alexander Hamilton in 1790 as an armed Maritime law enforcement Pirates often made extra money running rum to heavily taxed colonies. Piracy is Robbery committed at sea or sometimes on shore without a commission from a sovereign Nation (as distinct from Privateering This article is about a type of political territory For other uses see Colony (disambiguation. There were times when the sale of alcohol was limited for other purposes, such as laws against sales to American Indians in the old West, or local prohibitions like the one on Prince Edward Island between 1901 and 1948. Prohibition of alcohol, often referred to simply as prohibition, also known as Noble Experiment, refers to a Sumptuary law which prohibits Alcohol Prince Edward Island (ˌprɪns ˌɛdwɚd ˈaɪlɨnd ( PEI or P Year 1901 ( MCMI) was a Common year starting on Tuesday (link will display calendar of the Gregorian calendar (or a Common year starting Year 1948 ( MCMXLVIII) was a Leap year starting on Thursday (link will display the 1948 calendar of the Gregorian calendar.

Women were also expert smugglers and transporters. Some would hide a flask in their garters and some attached bottles to their hips.

One of the most famous periods of rum-running began in the United States with the 18th Amendment (ratified January 16, 1919) and the Volstead Act (passed October 28, 1919). The United States of America —commonly referred to as the Amendment XVIII (the Eighteenth Amendment) of the United States Constitution, along with the Volstead Act (which defined "intoxicating liquors" Events 27 BC - The title Augustus is bestowed upon Gaius Julius Caesar Octavian by the Roman Senate. Year 1919 ( MCMXIX) was a Common year starting on Wednesday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar (or a Common The Volstead Act, which reinforced the Prohibition of alcohol in the United States of America, was popularly named after Andrew Volstead, Chairman of the Events 306 - Maxentius is proclaimed Roman Emperor. 312 - Battle of Milvian Bridge: Constantine Year 1919 ( MCMXIX) was a Common year starting on Wednesday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar (or a Common Prohibition began on January 16, 1920, when the Eighteenth Amendment went into effect. Prohibition of alcohol, often referred to simply as prohibition, also known as Noble Experiment, refers to a Sumptuary law which prohibits Alcohol Events 27 BC - The title Augustus is bestowed upon Gaius Julius Caesar Octavian by the Roman Senate. Year 1920 ( MCMXX) was a Leap year starting on Thursday (link will display 1920 of the Gregorian calendar

At first, there was little action on the seas, but after several months the Coast Guard began reporting increased smuggling activity. This was the start of the Bimini–Bahamas rum trade and the introduction of Bill McCoy.

"The Real McCoy"

Rum-runner William S. McCoy
Rum-runner William S. McCoy

Captain William S. McCoy was a boat builder and excursion boat captain in the Daytona Beach, Florida, area from 1900 to 1920. William Frederick McCoy (died December 30, 1948) also known as "Bill" McCoy was an American sea captain and rum runner Smuggler He was also reputed to be a non-drinker.

With the start of Prohibition Captain McCoy began to bring rum from Bimini and the Bahamas into south Florida through Government Cut. Rum is a Distilled beverage made from Sugarcane by-products such as Molasses and sugarcane Juice by a process of fermentation Bimini (ˈbɪmɨni is a district of the Bahamas composed of a chain of islands The Bahamas, officially the Commonwealth of The Bahamas, is an independent sovereign English -speaking country consisting of two thousand Cays and Government Cut 2008jpg|thumb|300px|right|Government Cut as seen from the Macarthur Causeway on 15 March, 2008 The Coast Guard soon caught up with him, so he began to bring the illegal goods to just outside of the U. S. territorial waters and let smaller boats and other captains such as Habana Joe take the risk of bringing it into shore.

The rum-running business was very good, and McCoy soon bought a Gloucester knockabout schooner named Arethusa at auction and renamed her Tomika. A schooner (ˈskuːnɚ is a type of sailing vessel characterized by the use of fore-and-aft sails on two or more masts Schooners were first used by the He installed a larger auxiliary, mounted a concealed machine gun on her deck and refitted the fish pens below to accommodate as much contraband as she could hold. For other uses of the phrase see Machine Gun (disambiguation. She became one of the most famous of the rum-runners, along with his two other ships hauling mostly Irish and Canadian whiskey, as well as other fine liquors and wines, to ports from Maine to Florida. The State of Maine ( is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States of America, bordering the Atlantic Ocean Florida ( is a state located in the southeastern region of the United States, bordering Alabama to the northwest and Georgia to the

In the days of rum running, it was common for captains to add water to the bottles to stretch their profits, or to re-label it as better goods. Any cheap sparkling wine became French champagne or Italian Spumante; unbranded liquor became top-of-the-line name brands. Champagne is a Sparkling wine produced by inducing the in-bottle Secondary fermentation of Wine to effect Carbonation. McCoy became famous for never watering his booze, and selling only top brands. This is one of several reputed origins of the term "The Real McCoy. "The real McCoy" is an Idiom used throughout much of the English-speaking world to mean "the real thing" or "the genuine article" e "

On 15 November 1923, McCoy and Tomika encountered the U. Events 655 - Battle of Winwaed: Penda of Mercia is defeated by Oswiu of Northumbria. Year 1923 ( MCMXXIII) was a Common year starting on Monday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar. S. Coast Guard Cutter Seneca, just inside U. S. territorial waters. A boarding party attempted to board, but McCoy chased them off with the machine gun. Boarding, in its simplest sense refers to the insertion onto a ship's deck of people Tomika tried to run, but the Seneca placed a shell just off her hull, and Bill McCoy's days as a rum-runner were over.

U.S. Coast Guard Cutter Seneca
U. S. Coast Guard Cutter Seneca

The Rum Line

McCoy is credited with the idea of bringing large ships just to the edge of the three-mile (5. 6 km) limit of U. S. jurisdiction, and there selling his wares to "contact boats", local fishermen and small boat captains. The small, quick boats could more easily outrun Coast Guard ships and could dock in any small river or eddy and transfer their cargo to a waiting truck. They were also known to load float planes and flying boats. Soon others were following suit; the three-mile (5. 6 km) limit became known as "the Rum Line" and the ships waiting were called "Rum Row". The Rum Line was extended to a 12-mile (22. 2 km) limit by an act of the United States Congress on April 21, 1924, which made it harder for the smaller and less seaworthy craft to make the trip. The United States Congress is the bicameral Legislature of the federal government of the United States of America, consisting of two houses Events 753 BC - Romulus and Remus found Rome ( traditional date) Year 1924 ( MCMXXIV) was a Leap year starting on Tuesday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar.

The Rum Line wasn't the only front for the Coast Guard. Rum-runners often made the trip through Canada via the Great Lakes and the Saint Lawrence Seaway, and down the west coast to San Francisco and Los Angeles. Country to "Dominion of Canada" or "Canadian Federation" or anything else please read the Talk Page The Laurentian Great Lakes are a chain of freshwater lakes located in eastern North America, on the Canada–United States border. The St Lawrence Seaway is the common name for a system of Canals that permits ocean-going vessels to travel from the Atlantic Ocean to the Great Lakes The City and County of San Francisco is the fourth most populous city Los Angeles (lɑˈsændʒələs los ˈaŋxeles in Spanish) is the largest City in the state of California and the American West The French islands of Saint-Pierre and Miquelon, located south of Newfoundland, were an important base used by well-known smugglers including Al Capone and Bill McCoy. France was a dominant empire in the world from the 1600s to the late 1960s possessing many colonies in various locations around the world The Territorial Collectivity of Saint Pierre and Miquelon (Collectivité territoriale de Saint-Pierre-et-Miquelon is a group of small islands in the North Atlantic Ocean, the Alphonse Gabriel "Al" Capone (January 17 1899 &ndash January 25 1947 commonly nicknamed Scarface, was an Italian American Gangster who The Gulf of Mexico also teemed with ships running from Mexico and the Bahamas to the Louisiana swamps and Alabama coast. The United Mexican States ( or commonly Mexico (ˈmɛksɪkoʊ () is a federal constitutional Republic in North America. The Bahamas, officially the Commonwealth of The Bahamas, is an independent sovereign English -speaking country consisting of two thousand Cays and The State of Louisiana ( or, État de Louisiane, pronounced) is a state located in the southern region of the United States of America Alabama (formally the State of Alabama;) is a State located in the southern region of the United States of America. By far the biggest Rum Row was in the New York/Philadelphia area off the New Jersey coast, where as many as 60 ships were seen at one time. New Jersey ( is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern regions of the United States. One of the most notable New Jersey rum runners was Habana Joe, who could be seen at night running into remote areas in Raritan Bay with his flat-bottom skiff for running up on the beach, making his delivery, and speeding away.

With that much competition, the suppliers often flew large banners advertising their wares and threw parties with prostitutes on board their ships to draw customers. Prostitution is the act of performing Sexual activity in exchange for Money. Rum Row was completely lawless, and many crews armed themselves not against government ships but against the other rum-runners, who would sometimes sink a ship and hijack its cargo rather than make the run to Canada or the Caribbean for fresh supplies.

The ships

Typical 75-foot CG-100 patrol boat
Typical 75-foot CG-100 patrol boat

On the government's side were an assortment of patrol boats, inshore patrol and harbor cutters. A patrol boat is a small naval vessel generally designed for coastal defense duties Most of the patrol boats were of the "six-bit" variety: 75-foot craft with a top speed of about 12 knots. There were also an assortment of launches, harbor tugs and miscellaneous small craft.

At the start, the rum-runner fleet consisted of a ragtag flotilla of fishing boats, excursion boats, and small merchant craft. But as prohibition wore on, the stakes got higher and the ships became more specialized. Large merchant ships like McCoy's Tomika waited on Rum Row, but specialized high-speed craft were built for the ship-to-shore runs. These high-speed boats were often luxury yachts and speedboats fitted with powerful aircraft engines, machine guns, and armor plating. A yacht is a recreational boat It designates two rather different classes of Watercraft, sailing and power yachts A motorboat is a vessel propelled by an Internal combustion engine driving a jet pump or a Propeller. Rum-runners often kept cans of used engine oil handy to pour on hot exhaust manifolds, in case a smoke screen was needed to escape the revenue ships.

The rum-runners were definitely faster and more maneuverable. Add to that the fact that a rum-running captain could make several hundred thousand dollars a year. In comparison, the Coast Guard Commandant made just $6,000 annually, and seamen made $30/week. Commandant (pronounced /'cɒmʊndɑnt/ or /'cɒmʊndænt/ COM-un-dahnt, -dant is a military or police title or rank These huge rewards meant the rum-runners were willing to take big risks. They ran without lights at night and in fog, risking life and limb. Often the shores were littered with bottles from a rum-runner who hit a sandbar or a reef in the dark at high speed and sank. A shoal or sandbar (also called sandbank) is a somewhat Linear Landform within or extending into a body of Water, In nautical terminology a reef is a rock, sandbar, or other feature lying beneath the surface of the water (six fathoms or less at low water

The Coast Guard relied on hard work, excellent reconnaissance and big guns to get their job done. It was not uncommon for rum-runners' ships to be sold at auction shortly after a trial — often right back to the original owners. Some ships were captured three or four times before they were finally sunk or retired. Plus the Coast Guard had other duties, and often had to let a rum-runner go in order to assist a sinking vessel or other emergency.

The end of Prohibition

On December 5, 1933, the 21st Amendment ended Prohibition, and with it the rum-running business. Events 63 BC - Cicero reads the last of his Catiline Orations. Year 1933 ( MCMXXXIII) was a Common year starting on Sunday (link will display full calendar of the Gregorian calendar. The Twenty-first Amendment ( Amendment XXI) to the United States Constitution repealed the Eighteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution, Most of the rum ships were sold or scrapped, and their crews either went into the merchant marine or the U.S. Navy. Surprisingly, the Navy welcomed the ex–rum-runners as skilled and experienced seamen (some with battle experience), often giving them non-commissioned officer ranks. One of the targeted rum runners to convert was Habana Joe who frequented the New Jersey rum line. However, Habana Joe resisted the offer and created a clothing company based in New Jersey after his rum running adventures.

The Coast Guard emerged from Prohibition a new service, larger and more effective. Many of the skills they learned battling the rumrunners went to defend the U. S. coastline during the war.

External links

References and further reading

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