In April 1862 Jacob Bell accompanied five other Union ships to the Rappahannock River to gather information for Major General George B. McClellan, who was then launching his Peninsular Campaign and pondering over potential advantages of a second beachhead.

Jacob Bell became even more closely involved in the affairs of General McClellan's Army of the Potomac when she was transferred to the North Atlantic Blockading Squadron for duty on the James River.

The next day USS Aroostook (1861) joined the two ships in ascending the James to a point 3 miles below Drewry's Bluff, finding no obstructions or batteries on the passage but suffering some annoyance from riflemen on the left bank.

Meanwhile, Jacob Bell labored tirelessly in support of the Union cause, engaging batteries and pickets ashore, reconnoitering tributaries in hostile territory, and maintaining communications along the river.

[2] Always busy until the South's defeat, Jacob Bell decommissioned at Washington Navy Yard 13 May 1865, and was lost at sea 6 November while being towed by USS Banshee (1862) toward New York City.