USS Pinta was an iron-hulled screw tug

Tugboat

A tugboat is a boat that maneuvers vessels by pushing or towing them. Tugs move vessels that either should not move themselves, such as ships in a crowded harbor or a narrow canal,or those that cannot move by themselves, such as barges, disabled ships, or oil platforms. Tugboats are powerful for...

 of the United States Navy

United States Navy

The United States Navy is the naval warfare service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the seven uniformed services of the United States. The U.S. Navy is the largest in the world; its battle fleet tonnage is greater than that of the next 13 largest navies combined. The U.S...

, launched on October 29, 1864, by Reaney, Son & Archbold

Reaney, Son & Archbold

Reaney, Son & Archbold was a short-lived 19th-century American iron shipbuilding company located on the Delaware River at Chester, Pennsylvania...

, Chester, Pennsylvania

Chester, Pennsylvania

Chester is a city in Delaware County, Pennsylvania, United States, with a population of 33,972 at the 2010 census. Chester is situated on the Delaware River, between the cities of Philadelphia and Wilmington, Delaware.- History :...

, completed in October 1865, and commissioned there, Lt. Comdr. Henry H. Gorringe in command.

1866–1876

Except for a period in ordinary during 1867, Pinta served on harbor duty at the Philadelphia Navy Yard from 1866 until laid up in 1872. She recommissioned at Philadelphia on November 22, 1873, and operated out of Key West

Key West

Key West is an island in the Straits of Florida on the North American continent at the southernmost tip of the Florida Keys. Key West is home to the southernmost point in the Continental United States; the island is about from Cuba....

 on various duties including messenger service, naval drill in Florida Bay and towing and freight services. She decommissioned at Norfolk Navy Yard on April 15, 1876, and was laid up there until reactivated as a yard tug in 1878.

1878–1897

Overhauled at the Norfolk Navy Yard from 1881 until February 24, 1883, in preparation for duty off Alaska

Alaska

Alaska is the largest state in the United States by area. It is situated in the northwest extremity of the North American continent, with Canada to the east, the Arctic Ocean to the north, and the Pacific Ocean to the west and south, with Russia further west across the Bering Strait...

, Pinta arrived Sitka, Alaska, and relieved Adams on August 17, 1884. She patrolled Alaskan waters protecting the seal fisheries until April 10, 1889, when she sailed for the Mare Island Navy Yard for repairs. She returned to her home port, Sitka, on October 17, 1889, and continued to engage in patrol operations in the Bering Sea

Bering Sea

The Bering Sea is a marginal sea of the Pacific Ocean. It comprises a deep water basin, which then rises through a narrow slope into the shallower water above the continental shelves....

. Among the Alaskan ports she frequently visited were: Fort Wrangel

Fort Stikine

Fort Stikine was a fur trade post and fortification in what is now the Alaska Panhandle, at the site of the present-day of Wrangell, Alaska, United States...

, Fort Rupert, Port Simpson, Port Protection, Port Chester, William Henry

William Henry

William Henry may refer to:*William Henry , American gunsmith and Pennsylvania delegate to Continental Congress*William Henry , representative in the House of Burgesses...

, Juneau, Killisnoo, Ketchikan, Shakan, Loring

Loring

Loring may refer to:In places:*Loring Park, located in Minneapolis, Minnesota*Loring Air Force Base, located in Limestone, Aroostook County, Maine, active from 1953-1995*Port Loring, Ontario, a community in Parry Sound District, Canada...

, Hoonah, and Killimo.

Pinta returned to Mare Island Navy Yard on July 17, 1897, and decommissioned there on August 4, 1897. In 1898 she underwent repairs. She served with the Naval Militia

Naval militia

A naval militia in the United States is a reserve military organization administered under the authority of a state government. It is often composed of Navy, Marine Corps, and Coast Guard reservists, retirees and volunteers. They are distinguishable from the U.S. Coast Guard Auxiliary, which is a...

 at San Diego, California from 1898 to January 2, 1908, when she was struck from the Naval Vessel Register

Naval Vessel Register

The Naval Vessel Register is the official inventory of ships and service craft in custody of or titled by the United States Navy. It contains information on ships and service craft that make up the official inventory of the Navy from the time a vessel is authorized through its life cycle and...

.