She was used by the Union Navy as a gunboat to patrol navigable waterways of the Confederacy to prevent the South from trading with other countries.

Immediately after commissioning, Maratanza saw service in support of General George B. McClellan's Peninsula Campaign, operating on the York and James rivers from April to September 1862.

After participating in the capture of Yorktown on 3 May 1862, Maratanza shelled various points, including Wormley's Creek, Murrell's Inlet, and Fort Darling (Drewry's Bluff).

En route to scouting Turkey Bend on 4 July 1862, she engaged and captured the Confederate steamer CSS Teaser at Haxall's.

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