Pilgrim was an iron—hulled, steam screw tug built by the Pusey and Jones Shipbuilding Company at Wilmington, Delaware. Launched on 1 November 1864, she was delivered to the U.S. Navy on 2 March 1865. Few records of Pilgrim's Navy service have been found. She was not ready for service until sometime after the American Civil War ended in April 1865, but no information about her service exists until she was commissioned at Key West, Florida, on 4 May 1870. She then operated primarily in the Florida Keys until the spring of 1871, when she steamed to New Orleans, Louisiana. In July 1871 she proceeded to Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, where she was decommissioned on 29 July 1871.