 She remained in the Yazoo River until 2 January 1863 when she followed the transports and other gunboats downstream, covering their withdrawal to the Mississippi River.On 6 January Rear Admiral David Dixon Porter assigned "Juliet" to 1st Division of Light Draft Gunboats where she served the Mississippi Squadron as an escort vessel maintaining communications along the river and protecting the vital flow of shipping which sustained military and naval strength throughout the campaigns and cut the Confederacy in two with the fall of Vicksburg and Port Hudson.The most dangerous service during the faithful tinclads’ career came during the Red River Expedition.