While off Natchez, Vindicator and her squadron performed patrol and reconnaissance duties, and the mere presence and vigilance of the formidable Union gunboats there were credited with preventing a planned Confederate crossing of the river on 22 August.

During an expedition up the Yazoo River, Vindicator and the stern-wheeler Prairie Bird transported and covered Union cavalry forces in an attack on Confederate communications in western Mississippi on the 27th.

Major General Napoleon J. T. Dana praised the performance of the two gunboats, saying: "the assistance of the vessels of the Sixth Division Mississippi Squadron rendered the expedition a complete success.

"[citation needed] Vindicator remained in the 6th District for the duration of the war and conducted a spirited, though unsuccessful, pursuit of the ram William H. Webb off the mouth of the Red River in Mississippi on 23 and 24 April 1865.

During the chase, Acting Master D. P. Slattery of Vindicator stoked his boilers to near bursting point, commenting that, "such was the spirit animating every officer, man, and boy that all seemed to vie with each other in the rapid and intelligent execution of each order.