USS Alarm—an experimental torpedo boat 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, Alarm served that purpose at Washington, D.C., until 1877 when she moved north to Newport, RI, to conduct experiments at the torpedo station.

In 1880, she began a tour of experimental work at New York which she carried out until she was laid up at Norfolk, VA, in 1883.

In 1881, William Elbridge Sewell, who would later become Governor of Guam, was placed in command.

The records are unclear, but Alarm probably remained out of commission from that time forward.