USS Accomac (YTL-18)
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| Career | 
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| Ordered: | |
| Laid down: | |
| Launched: | 1891 |
| Commissioned: | 2 April 1898 |
| Decommissioned: | 3 April 1946 |
| Fate: | Sold for scrap |
| Struck: | 17 April 1946 |
| General Characteristics | |
| Displacement: | 187 tons |
| Length: | 90 ft (27 m) |
| Beam: | 19 ft (6 m) |
| Draft: | 9 ft (3 m) |
| Speed: | 10 knots (19 km/h) |
| Complement: | 12 |
| Armament: | 1 6-pounder |
The first USS Accomac (YT-18/YTL-18) was a small harbor tug in the service of the United States Navy, named after Accomac, Virginia.
She was built as SS El Toro at Newport News, Virginia by Newport News Shipbuilding, acquired by the Navy on 26 March 1898 and renamed USS Algonquin, and commissioned on 2 April 1898 with Ens. W. S. Crowley in command.
After being outfitted at the New York Navy Yard, the tug reported for duty with the North Atlantic Squadron at its base at Key West, Florida on 13 April. On 15 June 1898, she was renamed Accomac. The vessel served at Key West through end of the year. In January 1899, she was reassigned to the Cuban occupation forces and was based at Havana, Cuba.
Between late 1900 and December of 1911, the small ship successively served as a yard tug at Port Royal, South Carolina, Key West, and Pensacola, Florida. On 4 December 1911, Accomac arrived at the Boston Navy Yard where she spent the remainder of her active career. In July 1920, when the Navy adopted the alphanumeric system of hull designations, Accomac received the hull number YT-18. At about the same time, she was renamed Nottoway. On 5 October 1942, her name was cancelled, and she became simply YT-18. On 15 May 1944, the tug was redesignated a small harbor tug, YTL-18. She served at Boston as a yard tug through the end of World War II. YTL-18 was placed out of service at Boston on 3 April 1946, and her name was struck from the Navy list on 17 April 1946. On 15 October 1946, she was sold to Mr. Arthur M. Hall, of Boston, Mass., presumably for scrapping.
See USS Accomac, USS Algonquin, and USS Nottoway for other ships of the same names.
This article includes text from the public domain Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships.