[1] Santee departed Portsmouth, New Hampshire on 20 June 1861, stopped at Hampton Roads, Virginia to load ammunition, and resumed her voyage to the Gulf of Mexico on 10 July.

[1] Shortly before midnight on 7 November, boats left the frigate and entered Galveston Bay hoping to capture and burn the Confederate armed steamer, General Rusk.

[1] Since he had lost the advantage of surprise, the expedition's commander, Lt. James Edward Jouett, cancelled his plans to attack General Rusk and turned his attention to the chartered Confederate lookout vessel, CS Royal Yacht.

After a desperate hand-to-hand fight, he captured Royal Yacht's crew, set the armed schooner afire, and retired to Santee with about a dozen prisoners.

At Newport, midshipmen lived, studied, and attended classes in frigates Santee and Constitution as they prepared for positions of leadership in the Union Navy.

[1] After the close of the Civil War, the Naval Academy returned to Annapolis, Maryland, and Santee, carrying midshipmen, sailed for that port and moored near Fort Severn on 2 August 1865.

After six months of effort, she was finally raised; and, on 8 May 1913, Santee departed the Severn River under tow and proceeded to Boston, where she was burned for the copper and brass in her hull.