The cutter was christened and entered the water for the Revenue Service in 1859 out of New York City, and saw action during the Civil War at Fort Sumter, New Orleans, Galveston, Texas, and Virginia Point.

Her new assignment took her to Paraguay with a squadron ordered to support the discussions of U.S. Special Commissioner James B. Bowlin with Dictator Carlos Antonio López concerning reparations for damages incurred during an attack on Water Witch by a Paraguayan fort, February 1, 1855.

In his report, Flag Officer William B. Shubrick singled out Harriet Lane for special commendation on the invaluable service she rendered in extricating his other ships that repeatedly ran aground in the treacherous waters of the Paraná River.

[2] In September 1860 she embarked Edward Albert, Prince of Wales, the first member of the British Royal Family to visit the United States, for passage to Mount Vernon, where he planted a tree and placed a wreath on the tomb of George Washington.

USRC Harriet Lane again transferred to the Navy on March 30, 1861, for service in the expedition sent to Charleston, South Carolina, to supply the Fort Sumter garrison after the outbreak of the American Civil War.

The next morning, Harriet Lane, Monticello, and Pawnee slipped close inshore to directly support the landings, while heavier ships pounded the forts from deeper water.

Of greater importance was the fact that this combined operation opened the inland waterways to Union ships and gave the North Atlantic Blockading Squadron a base deep in Southern waters.

Harriet Lane ran aground while attempting to enter Pamlico Sound through Hatteras Inlet on August 29 and suffered severe damage while fast on the shoal.

Harriet Lane sailed February 10, 1862, to join Commander David Dixon Porter's Mortar Flotilla at Key West, where units were assembling for an attack on Confederate forts in the Mississippi River Delta below New Orleans.

During her passage to Hampton Roads, Harriet Lane was taken under fire by the Confederate battery at Shipping Point, Virginia, which inflicted such damage to her port wheel that her departure for Key West was delayed another two days.

Harriet Lane then targeted the Confederate fleets in Louisiana and Texas as part of the West Gulf Squadron under the command of Commodore Farragut, a duty for which her firepower was upgraded as mentioned above.

At four o'clock that morning, in what would come to be known as the Battle of Galveston, the reoccupied Confederate forts opened fire on the Union fleet while ground troops attempted to board the anchored ships.

The late arrival of a Confederate fleet enabled the troops to board the Harriet Lane, which was raked by gunfire and rammed, leaving Wainright dead and Lea mortally wounded.

During the Battle of Galveston, Harriet Lane sank the Rebel tugboat Neptune, leaving one-half of the two-vessel Confederate fleet lying on the bottom of the harbor.

The flagship Westfield was later exploded, and the remaining Union ships fled to New Orleans, leaving Harriet Lane, along with a copy of the United States signal service code book in her cabin, in Confederate hands.

[13] According to an account by a captured member of the Confederate boarding party: Amongst the first men struck down were the gallant Captain Wainwright and Lieutenant Lee, who both fought with desperation and valor.

Captain Levi C. Harby of the Texas Maritime Service, 69 years old, was in command of the Neptune, and was the last to leave that vessel after ramming the Harriet Lane portside.

[14] After a week of repairs, Harriet Lane was placed under the command of Captain Thomas C. Saunders and dispatched to fight the Union vessels at sea, despite lengthy legal discussions regarding the capture of the prize which had not yet drawn to a close.