service. Fort Jackson was named for the fortification on the Mississippi River that was taken by Flag Officer David Farragut on April 28, 1863. During her period in the shipyard, a string of officers were appointed to her command, seemingly as an administrative convenience rather than because there was any sailing to be done. On 17 April 1863, Commander R. W. Shufeldt was ordered to take command of Fort Jackson. On 19 June 1863, Captain John Rogers was ordered to replace him. On 25 July 1863, Captain Henry A. Walke was placed in charge of the ship, and he had the honor of commissioning Fort Jackson on 18 August 1863. However, he was succeeded on 22 August 1863 by Captain James Alden and it was he who finally took her to sea. On 2 September 1863 Fort Jackson departed New York for Fortress Monroe, where she arrived on 4 September. There she joined with steamer in an attempt to intercept British arms shipments from Bermuda to Wilmington, North Carolina. She arrived at Bermuda on 10 September 1863, and indeed found a Confederate steamer, Ella and Annie, in St. Georges harbor. Fort Jackson lay off the island waiting for the Confederate steamer to sail, but was blown off station by a gale. Having survived the storm, the ship was damaged due to an error by of one of the ship's engineers. Second Assistant Engineer John T. Wilson was dismissed from the Navy for gross neglect of duty for burning out one of the ship's boilers. Fort Jackson limped into Fortress Monroe and was sent on to New York for permanent repairs. She arrived there on 21 September 1863. In December 1863 Fort Jackson was assigned to the North Atlantic Blockading Squadron to cruise off the North Carolina coast. On 21 April 1864, Captain Benjamin F. Sands, her new commanding officer, organized a boat expedition in which her crew crossed the bar to Masonboro Sound, destroyed valuable salt works, and seized 56 prisoners. Fort Jackson captured the blockade runner Thistle between Bermuda and Wilmington after a 6-hour chase in June 1864. While the ship was taken as a prize, most of her cargo had been thrown overboard during the chase. Fort Jackson captured the blockade runner Boston on 8 July 1864, off Wilmington. She had a cargo of 450 sacks of salt, 100 boxes of soap, and twenty four barrels of copperas.