Alarm—an experimental torpedo boat

Torpedo boat

A torpedo boat is a relatively small and fast naval vessel designed to carry torpedoes into battle. The first designs rammed enemy ships with explosive spar torpedoes, and later designs launched self-propelled Whitehead torpedoes. They were created to counter battleships and other large, slow and...

 constructed at the New York Navy Yard—was launched on 13 November 1873 and commissioned in 1874.

Designed and constructed specifically for the experimental work of the Bureau of Ordnance

Bureau of Ordnance

The Bureau of Ordnance was the U.S. Navy's organization responsible for the procurement, storage, and deployment of all naval ordnance, between the years 1862 and 1959.-History:...

, Alarm served that purpose at Washington, D.C.

Washington, D.C.

Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly referred to as Washington, "the District", or simply D.C., is the capital of the United States. On July 16, 1790, the United States Congress approved the creation of a permanent national capital as permitted by the U.S. Constitution....

, until 1877 when she moved north to Newport, RI, to conduct experiments at the torpedo station. She returned to Washington the following year and resumed special service. In 1880, she began a tour of experimental work at New York

New York

New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...

 which she carried out until she was laid up at Norfolk, VA, in 1883. In 1881, William Elbridge Sewell

William Elbridge Sewell

William Elbridge Sewell was a United States Navy Lieutenant Commander, and the 6th Naval Governor of Guam from February 9, 1903 until his death on March 18, 1904. He was born in Colchester, New York and appointed to the United States Naval Academy from that state in 1867...

, who would later become Governor of Guam, was placed in command. However, she resumed her research duties at New York in 1884 and served there until she was placed out of commission in 1885 and berthed at New York.

The records are unclear, but Alarm probably remained out of commission from that time forward. In 1890 and 1891, she was undergoing conversion to a gunnery training ship. From 1892 to 1894, she remained at the New York Navy Yard. In 1895, she was listed as "in ordinary;" and, in 1897, her name was struck from the Navy list. She was sold on 23 February 1898.