3, was a municipal sidewheel icebreaker built in 1873 to assist in keeping Philadelphia's waterways free of ice during the winter months.

3 was briefly commissioned into the U.S. Navy as the coastal patrol vessel USS Arctic, before returning to her normal duties under her original name.

Accordingly, the council ordered a new vessel from the recently established iron shipbuilding firm of Wood, Dialogue & Co. of Camden, New Jersey.

Almost immediately thereafter, the ice boat entered service in the vicinity of New Castle, Delaware, towing two vessels, a bark bound for Hamburg and a brig for Matanzas, on 3 February.

3, operating under the command of Captain Henry F. Virden near the Delaware Breakwater, went to the assistance of two pilot boats, Bavard and Knight, towing them into harbor, and later aided an imperilled lightship.

[2] Later, the ice boat took aboard the crew of Arundel and resumed tow of the vessel, returning it to the port of Philadelphia on 8 February.

3 arrived at the Delaware Breakwater with the Reading Railroad steamer Panther in tow, which had experienced continual westerly winds and snowstorms since departing Newburyport, Massachusetts ten days earlier.

[6] In July 1896, the navy organized training exercises for the Pennsylvania Naval Militia to be held aboard USS Indiana, which was anchored off the Delaware Breakwater for the purpose.

[16] In March 1898, in anticipation of war with Spain, the U.S. Navy began preparations for the establishment of a Naval Auxiliary Force, known colloquially as the "mosquito fleet", for the defence of the United States East Coast.

In the Delaware region, the Navy requested and received plans for the three Philadelphia ice boats, with a view to determining their suitability as patrol craft.

[20] A couple of days later, naval officers at the yard reportedly described the vessel as slow, unwieldy, vulnerable to shellfire, and of little apparent use militarily.

[22] The conversion work included the mounting of a 60-pounder breech loading gun—converted from a Civil War Parrott rifle[23][24]—and two 47 mm guns.

[5][24] During the time the boat was undergoing conversion, rumours circulated that she would be sent to Cuba for use as a gunboat or blockade ship,[25][26] but the Navy eventually confirmed her role as a Naval Auxiliary Force coastal patrol vessel with the Fourth Lighthouse District.

[e] The newly commissioned vessel was manned by six officers and 58 men from the Pennsylvania Naval Reserve, Philadelphia division,[29] Lt. George C. Stout in command.

[30] USS Arctic appears to have made only one voyage for the Navy, to the Delaware Breakwater and back, via New Castle and Lewes, between 28 July and 16 August,[1] but whether this constituted a formal patrol or some other mission is unclear.

[30] Following the cessation of hostilities between Spain and the United States in August, a "Peace Jubilee" including a naval review was held at the port of Philadelphia on 25 October.

[20] The winter of 1899 on the Delaware began mildly,[32] but a cold snap and heavy snow falls from 7 February led to the rapid formation of thick ice.

3 was recommissioned for the day, embarking 475 passengers[37]—mostly city councillors and their friends[36]— from Arch Street at 1:15 pm[37] and proceeding to League Island, the parade's designated starting point, where lunch was served aboard the boats.

The parade then steamed upriver to the Arch Street wharf where it circled the anchored Raleigh, to the cheers of thousands of onlookers ashore, after which guests from the various watercraft were invited aboard the cruiser for an inspection.

3 returned her passengers to their embarkation point before proceeding to her usual berth at the House of Corrections wharf, arriving there 6:15 pm.

More repairs were made during the summer, including replacement of worn or defective hand rails and decking, and scaling and painting of the boiler room.

3, skippered by Captain Henry E. Melville, superintendent of the city ice boats,[40] embarked guests from Pier 3, South Wharves at 10:30 am.

3 collided with the steamboat John A. Warner, striking the latter "about fifteen feet from her stern, cutting through her plank sheer and clear into her deck.

[42] The 1901 winter season began mildly, but a sudden drop in temperatures in February led to some of the worst conditions on the Delaware in memory.

Conditions on the river were at their most severe between 9 and 13 February, when the three ice boats operated together to assist no fewer than fifty vessels through the Horseshoe.

3 was sent to the assistance of several tugs attempting to refloat the British steamer Craigneuk, which had grounded near Reedy Island on her way from Leith to Philadelphia.

3 was again the first of the ice boats to resume service, re-entering commission on 6 January with a full crew and being despatched immediately to Newcastle following a sudden fall in temperature two days earlier.

3, under the command of Captain W. F. P. Jacobs, arrived at the Delaware Breakwater "under orders to convey a fleet of ice-bound steamers, tugs, barges and schooners up to Philadelphia.

[51] Stranded on the floes, and in "imminent danger" of drifting out to sea, the ice boat's crew tried desperately for four hours to raise the alarm until finally being sighted from shore.

All 31 crew members were rescued, though the ice boat's firemen, thinly clothed for their work in the engine room, had suffered both steam scalds and exposure from the cold during their ordeal.