 The ship was initially assigned to the Mississippi River Squadron and spent the summer off the mouth of the Red River . She was transferred to the West Gulf Blockading Squadron on 1 October . Although the victory at the Battle of Mobile Bay on 5 August had closed the port of Mobile to blockade runners , the city itself had not been taken . The Confederates fortified the approaches to the city and heavily mined the shallow waters surrounding it . Lieutenant Commander <unk> P. Jones relieved Woods on 23 December . 
