Arctic II (Screw Steamer)
The region surrounding the North Pole. It extends outward from the pole to 70° north latitude.
II
At the outbreak of war between the United States and Spain, Ice Boat No. 3, a sidewheel steamer built in 1873 by Wood, Dialogue, and Co., was owned by the city of Philadelphia. Leased by the Navy Department, Ice Boat No. 3 was renamed Arctic and commissioned on 9 July 1898, Lt. George C. Stout in command.
Assigned to the Auxiliary Naval Force, Arctic served as a refrigerator ship, headquartered at Philadelphia, and made one trip to the Delaware Breakwater and back, via New Castle and Lewes, Del., between 28 July and 16 August. Decommissioned on 23 August 1898, Arctic was returned to the city of Philadelphia soon thereafter and resumed her prewar pursuits, presumably as Ice Boat No. 3.
