The first USS Kingfisher was purchased by the Navy at Boston, Massachusetts, 2 August 1861; and commissioned at Boston Navy Yard 3 October 1861, Acting Lt. Joseph P. Couthouy in command. That day she was ordered to Key West, Florida, for duty in the Gulf Blockading Squadron. On 21 January 1862, she joined USS Ethan Allen in capturing the bound from Cedar Keys to Nassau, Bahamas, with a cargo of turpentine. She again cooperated with Ethan Allen on 26 January 1862 in manning and equipping a boat expedition to the mouth of the Manatee River which captured the sloop and burned Confederate cavalry barracks. Three days later, she took Spanish brig of Havana bound for Matamoros, Tamaulipas with a contraband cargo. On 25 February 1862, Kingfisher overtook blockade runner in the Gulf of Mexico