On 1 August 1861, Arthur—a bark built at Amesbury, Massachusetts, in 1855—was purchased at New York City by the Union Navy.

Fitted out at the New York Navy Yard, she was commissioned there on 11 December 1861, Acting Volunteer Lieutenant John W. Kittredge in command.

The prize—which had left Veracruz, Mexico, with a cargo of coffee and tobacco—was sent to Ship Island, Mississippi, and on to New York City for adjudication.

About noon on 21 April, Kittredge led an expedition of three boats into Cedar Bayou, Texas, where they chased the schooner Burkhart which escaped because of her master's knowledge of nearby channels.

Besides these tenders, General Butler—a lugger about which little is known—was also at Kittredge's disposal for operations in the shallow inlets, bays, and bayous found in Arthur's sector.

(sometimes spelled A. Bee) which had run aground in the narrow and shallow channel that leads to Nueces Bay near Corpus Christi.

Finally, shortly after dawn on 24 August, the yacht Corypheus—still working under the direction of Kittredge—captured Water Witch of Jamaica as that schooner attempted to enter Aransas Bay with a cargo including a large quantity of gunpowder.

Early in September, David Farragut asked Kittredge to attempt to arrange the release of the family of Judge Edmund Jackson Davis, a prominent political leader in Texas who had remained loyal to the Union and had left his home to serve the Federal cause.

The following morning, Kittredge again went ashore where he and his party of seven men were captured by a large group of Southern soldiers.

This article incorporates text from the public domain Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships.