"alpha" left the james in july 1865 and steamed to washington, d.c. she was sold at public auction at the washington navy yard on 23 september 1865 to william l. wall and company of baltimore, maryland. redocumented as "alpha" on 7 october 1865, she operated as a merchant tug for more than two decades. her career was finally ended when she was destroyed by fire on 5 june 1886. other details of her loss have not been found.