Governor Russell, a 485-ton ferry boat built in 1898 at East Boston, Massachusetts, was purchased by the Navy in May 1898 and converted into a shallow-draft auxiliary gunboat. She was commissioned in June 1898 as Governor Russell. While en route to the Cuban war zone in July 1898, she encountered a heavy storm and required extensive repairs. A second storm in September proved that she was unfit for the open sea and Governor Russell was decommissioned late in that month. She was stricken from the Navy List in July 1899.