USS Yankee was a steam-powered side-wheel tugboat acquired by the Union Navy just prior to the outbreak of the American Civil War.

She departed New York on 8 April 1861 and arrived off Charleston Bar on the 15th, a few hours after Major Robert Anderson's command had evacuated the fort and embarked in Federal transport Baltic.

After further reconnaissance duty along the eastern shore of Virginia and the James River, Yankee proceeded to the Washington Navy Yard on 25 May 1861 to deliver prize schooners General Knox and Georgeanna.

She sailed for Hampton Roads on the last day of May 1861 and arrived on 2 June 1861 but was sent north a week later for major repairs at the Philadelphia Navy Yard.

Yankee participated in the capture of the strong Confederate position at Hill's Point, Virginia, on the Nansemond River on 20 April 1863, even though the armed tug's length and draft impaired her maneuverability.

Yankee assisted in landing Union cavalry and infantry under General Gilman Marston on the Potomac-Rappahannock peninsula on 12 January 1864 and helped destroy a Confederate encampment under construction at Carter's Creek, Virginia, on 29 April 1864.