USS Potomac, a 785-ton tug, was built in 1897 at West Bay City, Michigan, as the civilian tug Wilmot. Purchased by the Navy in April 1898, she served in the West Indies during the Spanish-American War. After that conflict, the tug was active along the U.S. east coast and in the Caribbean area. Designated AT-50 in 1920, Potomac was decommissioned in June 1922 and sold in December of that year.