Harold Tantaquidgeon was born on June 18. 1904, in the Mohegan Indian Reservation in southeastern Connecticut’s village of Uncasville. He was the fourth of the seven children of John and Harriet Tantaquidgeon. Harold was a direct descendant of Uncas, a 17th century sachem (chief) of the Mohegans and the person for whom Uncasville was named. It was Uncas who played a pivotal role in making the Mohegans the dominant tribe in that region of Connecticut.
Harold Tantaquidgeon’s formal education came to an end after he completed eighth grade. At around this time, the United States entered World War I on the side of Allied Powers. Since he was too young to enlist in the U.S. Armed Forces and take part in the fighting overseas, Tantaquidgeon instead joined the Home Guard in Norwich, Connecticut.
During his time with the Home Guard, Tantaquidgeon used every chance he had to visit the docks of the U.S. Coast Guard (USCG) in the Constitution State’s city of New London. Whenever he spent time at those docks, he carefully studied the USCG cutters there. Tantaquidgeon eventually developed a strong interest in someday enlisting in that uniformed service.
Tantaquidgeon’s enthusiasm for a maritime career was hardly surprising, given the seafaring endeavors of at least a few members of his family tree. His great-grandfather (remembered simply as “Old Man Tantaquidgeon”), for example, had served on board the schooner General Putnam in the fight against the British during the American Revolutionary War. In addition, a brother of Harold’s father was part of the crew of a ship named Pequot. This vessel would routinely sail out of New London and then travel across the globe to hunt whales in the Pacific Ocean.
The opportunity for Harold to make good on his dreams of joining the USCG unexpectedly transpired one day in 1921. This was when a friend stopped by the Tantaquidgeon family farm, where Harold and his father were busy splitting logs. The friend explained that the USCG was in need of one more person to serve on board a recently acquired boat – coincidentally named Pequot – that was being converted in New London for use as a cable-laying vessel. Harold, who evidently saw the shared name of this vessel and his uncle’s ship as a good omen, excitedly packed up his belongings and left his home to sign up with the USCG – but only after he had finished splitting all of those logs with his father.
After arriving in New London, Tantaquidgeon made his way to the U.S. Customs House and told the recruiting officer there that he had two requests: to join the USCG and serve on board Pequot. He was granted both requests and, as part of Pequot’s crew, found himself both laying and repairing underwater telegraph cables in a vast area between Lubec, Maine, and Galveston, Texas. Tantaquidgeon also performed other duties as needed. These ranged from responding to emergency calls for assistance from lighthouses to chasing down waterborne bootleggers who sought to violate what was then the constitutional prohibition against distributing alcohol.
Tantaquidgeon, who was one of the few Native Americans in the USCG at the time, was promoted to seaman first class after two years of service on Pequot. He continued to rise steadily through the ranks and, in 1927, achieved a big milestone when he advanced to chief boatswain’s mate.
This promotion made Tantaquidgeon the first Native American to serve as a chief petty officer. He also became one of the youngest chief petty officers in the history of the USCG. In his new role, Tantaquidgeon took command of a 75-foot (22.9-foot) cutter designated as CG-289. He remained in charge of vessel until his honorable discharge in 1930. Tantaquidgeon then returned to the Mohegan Indian Reservation to be with his family again and also to help contribute to his tribe’s daily activities and overall quality of life.
Following the United States’ entry into World War II on the side of the Allies, Tantaquidgeon again answered the call to serve in uniform. This time around, he joined the U.S. Army and ended up being stationed in the Pacific Theater as part of the 418th Night Fighter Squadron of that military branch’s 5th Air Force.
An especially harrowing experience occurred on July 27, 1944, while Tantaquidgeon was on a B-25 Mitchell bomber as its tail gunner. This plane was shot down over a swamp in New Guinea and crash-landed. Tantaquidgeon was not injured and proved to be instrumental in helping the other four airmen survive in the jungles there before they were all rescued 23 days later. Tantaquidgeon subsequently received a distinguished service medal for his courage during this time.
In his later years, Tantaquidgeon continued to be as active and engaged as ever among his fellow Mohegans in Connecticut. He maintained this high level of involvement up until his death on April 4, 1989, at the age of 84. He was even made an honorary chief of the tribe. “Mr. Tantaquidgeon was a physically robust person most of his life,” stated his obituary in the New London-based newspaper The Day. “He seemed frail recently but his mind was sound and he never lost his enthusiasm for talking about the history of the Mohegans.” This obituary also included something that Tantaquidgeon had said shortly he passed away: “Every day is a good day.”
Photo Credit: U.S. Coast Guard
For more information on Harold Tantaquidgeon, please check out https://www.history.uscg.mil/Research/THE-LONG-BLUE-LINE/Article/2861225/the-long-blue-line-harold-tantaquidgeon-chief-boatswains-mate-and-chief-of-the/
Transportation History 
Leave a comment