The tug returned to waters off Wilmington early in December and took part in the abortive attack on Fort Fisher on Christmas Eve 1864.

She then received orders to Beaufort, North Carolina, where she served through the end of the Civil War and into the ensuing summer.

On the morning of 20 July, after USAT Quinnebaug had been seriously damaged while leaving Beaufort, Anemone's commanding officer, Acting Ensign A.O.

Kruge, and her executive officer, Mate George W. Briggs, commanded launches which rescued the crew and passengers—homeward-bound troops—from the doomed Army transport.

Shortly thereafter, Anemone sailed North to serve as a tug at the New York Navy Yard during the partial demobilization of the Union fleet.