Harriet Lane
The Name Harriet Lane
She was named for bachelor-President James Buchanan's niece, who
served as the "First Lady" of his administration.
Brass Railings of the Harriet Lane |

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Courtesy Texas Civil War Museum (photographed by the writer) |
Unique among First Ladies, Harriet
Lane (1830-1903) acted as hostess for the only President who never married, James Buchanan. Buchanan was her favorite
uncle and he became Lane's guardian when she was orphaned at the age of eleven. And of all the ladies of the White
House, few achieved such great success in deeply troubled times as this polished young woman in her twenties. She
had acquired a sizable art collection, largely of European works, which she bequeathed to the government. Accepted after
her death in 1903, it inspired an official of the Smithsonian Institution to call her "First Lady of the National Collection
of Fine Arts." In addition, she had dedicated a generous sum to endow a home for invalid children at the Johns Hopkins
Hospital in Baltimore. It became an outstanding pediatric facility, and its national reputation is a fitting memorial
to the young lady who presided at the White House with such dignity and charm. The Harriet Lane Outpatient Clinics serve
thousands of children today. The United States Revenue Cutter Harriet Lane was also named in her honor.
History the Harriet Lane
Pressure from public and private sources from New York persuaded Congress that
New York Harbor
needed a modern, fast Revenue steamer. Of particular concern were the slave vessels illegally outfitting in New York. The result of this pressure and subsequent Congressional
action was Harriet Lane, an elegant, 180-foot
brigantine-rigged, 674-ton side paddlewheel steamer. She was designed by Samuel Pook and built by William Webb of New York for $140,000.

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Courtesy Texas Civil War Museum (photographed by the writer) |
Harriet
Lane had a remarkable career. She participated in the
punitive expedition to Paraguay in 1858, transported dignitaries, including the young Prince of Wales (later King
Edward VII) in 1860, and sailed with the expedition to resupply Fort
Sumter in 1861.
She is credited with firing the first "naval" shot of the Civil War.
She was permanently transferred to the Navy in September 1861, and was eventually captured by Confederate forces, converted
into a blockade runner and renamed Lavinia. After the war, Revenue Captain John Faunce, her first commanding
officer, found her in Cuba and returned her to New York. Here her engines were removed and she was converted to a barque-rigged sailing
vessel. She was sold to a lumber merchant, Elliot Ritchie, who named her after himself. She was abandoned off
Pernambuco, Brazil,
"water-logged," in the spring of 1884. There are no known photographs
of this famous U.S. Revenue Cutter Harriet Lane.
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