 She was purchased by the Union Navy at New York City on 3 September 1861, and was commissioned at the New York Navy Yard on 3 February 1862, Acting Master Abraham Christian in command.The schooner was assigned to Commander David Dixon Porter's mortar flotilla and proceeded to Ship Island, Mississippi to support Flag Officer David Farragut's attack on New Orleans, Louisiana.The mortar schooners shelled the Southern riverside forts for a week before Farragut's deep draft ships raced past the Confederate batteries and captured New Orleans, Louisiana.