The third USS Tigress was a screw steamer of the United States Navy, chartered during 1873 to mount an Arctic rescue mission.

She was so well-suited structurally for cruising icy Arctic waters that she was chartered by the United States Navy for service during the search for Polaris and the remainder of that ship's company.

Tigress' orders were to make her way as near to Polaris' last reported position and there to begin the main portion of the search.

On the 16th, the steamer shaped a course to the south and, following a stop at Melville Bay to communicate with the authorities at Tessuisak, reentered Godhaven on 25 August.

[1] This article incorporates text from the public domain Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships.