She was a screw steamer with full-rig auxiliary sail, built by John Roach & Sons in Chester, Pennsylvania from 1873 to 1875 and commissioned at Philadelphia Navy Yard on 15 November 1875.

Huron arrived on 11 December 1875 for duty at the Norfolk Navy Yard, and spent the next two years cruising in the Caribbean and the Gulf of Mexico.

After repairs at New York Navy Yard in August, the ship sailed to Hampton Roads, and departed on 23 November 1877 for a scientific cruise on the coast of Cuba.

Soon after her departure, Huron ran aground[2] off Nags Head, North Carolina in heavy weather, and was wrecked shortly after 1 a.m. next morning.

For a time, her crew worked in relatively little danger, attempting to free their ship, but she soon heeled over, carrying 98 officers and men to their deaths.