Built in 1898, by Spedden Shipbuilding of Baltimore, Maryland as the Vidette for the United States Army Corps of Engineers.
The tug was was later acquired by the P.F. Martin Company of Philadelphia. Where she was renamed as the Mars.
In 1948, the P.F. Martin Company was acquired by the McAllister Brothers Towing Company of New York, New York. Where the tug retained her name
In 1958, the tug went out of documentation. Her current, and or, final disposition is unknown. She was a single screw tug, rated at 300 horsepower.