The Smith was bought at Norfolk in 1861 and renamed Weldon N. Edwards in honor of the President of the North Carolina Secession Convention.

She was ordered to Hatteras Inlet by Flag Officer Samuel Barron on July 27, 1861: from which place you will make every exertion to defend the coasts of that State and harass and annoy the commerce of the enemy.

In August 1861, Cooke reported to Flag Officer Barron that his ship was "entirely worthless, the boilers worn out and the timbers of his vessel rotten.

"[2] By early October, the tug was back in Norfolk, where on the 3rd she received orders from Flag Officer French Forrest to return quickly to Roanoke Island and place the gunboat at the service of local CSN commander William Lynch.

She was part of a five gunboat fleet that attempted to provoke the Union forces at anchor at Hatteras Inlet on November 3, 1861.