United States Life-Saving Service
On 14 August, 1848, Congress approved funds for equipment for volunteers to provide life-saving rescues on the coastlines of New Jersey, New York and Massachusetts. Some funds went to the Massachusetts Humane Society because of their leadership in providing rescues for shipwreck victims. In 1850, a lifeboat station was built in Rhode Island and others were built in North Carolina, South Carolina, Florida and Texas. In 1854, Congress approved $12,500 for metal surfboats for use in the Great Lakes. While Congress was providing funds from time to time, the efforts to save shipwrecked crews was still largely unorganized. Lifeboat stations and equipment were not kept up. Some equipment was stolen while the buildings were suffering from neglect and the effects of the weather on the shorelines. When the ship Powhattan was lost on April 16, 1852 and over 200 people died, the wreck happened just  from a lifeboat station. To make matters worse, the bodies that washed up on shore were robbed of their belongings and left there. This got Congress to begin thinking about creating a federal life-saving service. In 1854 they began to take actions toward creating such a service. But progress on the idea stalled during the American Civil War.