The roots of the academy lie in the School of Instruction of the Revenue Marine Service which was started near New Bedford, Massachusetts in 1876, using the ship
Dobbin for its exercises. With changes to new training vessels, the school moved to Maryland in 1900 and then to an army
installation near New London in 1910. The modern academy dates to the 1915 merger of the Lifesaving Services with the Revenue
Cutter Service. The school moved into its current location high above the west bank of the Thames River in New London in 1932. In
1947, the academy received as a war reparation the German barque
Eagle, a magnificent 295 foot "tall ship" which continues
as the main training vessel for academy cadets.