USS Arago was a schooner

Schooner

A schooner is a type of sailing vessel characterized by the use of fore-and-aft sails on two or more masts with the forward mast being no taller than the rear masts....

 borrowed by the Union Navy

Union Navy

The Union Navy is the label applied to the United States Navy during the American Civil War, to contrast it from its direct opponent, the Confederate States Navy...

 from the United States Coast Survey during the American Civil War

American Civil War

The American Civil War was a civil war fought in the United States of America. In response to the election of Abraham Lincoln as President of the United States, 11 southern slave states declared their secession from the United States and formed the Confederate States of America ; the other 25...

. She was outfitted as a gunboat

Gunboat

A gunboat is a naval watercraft designed for the express purpose of carrying one or more guns to bombard coastal targets, as opposed to those military craft designed for naval warfare, or for ferrying troops or supplies.-History:...

 and used by the Union Navy as a picket and patrol vessel on Confederate

Confederate States of America

The Confederate States of America was a government set up from 1861 to 1865 by 11 Southern slave states of the United States of America that had declared their secession from the U.S...

 waterways.

Construction and early United States Coast Survey service

Arago was built for the Coast Survey in 1854 by Fardy and Brothers in Baltimore

Baltimore

Baltimore is the largest independent city in the United States and the largest city and cultural center of the US state of Maryland. The city is located in central Maryland along the tidal portion of the Patapsco River, an arm of the Chesapeake Bay. Baltimore is sometimes referred to as Baltimore...

, Maryland

Maryland

Maryland is a U.S. state located in the Mid Atlantic region of the United States, bordering Virginia, West Virginia, and the District of Columbia to its south and west; Pennsylvania to its north; and Delaware to its east...

. She served along the Atlantic coast of the United States

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

.

Civil War service in the United States Navy

Early in the Civil War, the Coast Survey schooner Arago was ordered to report to Flag Officer Samuel F. Du Pont to assist him by conducting surveys and providing him with oceanographic data of the Confederate coast for guidance in blockade duty and amphibious operations.

Arago departed Eastport

Eastport, Maine

Eastport is a small city in Washington County, Maine, United States. The population was 1,640 at the 2000 census. The principal island is Moose Island, which is connected to the mainland by causeway...

, Maine

Maine

Maine is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States, bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the east and south, New Hampshire to the west, and the Canadian provinces of Quebec to the northwest and New Brunswick to the northeast. Maine is both the northernmost and easternmost...

, on 15 October 1861 and proceeded to the New York Navy Yard at Brooklyn, New York

New York

New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...

, where she received weapons of unrecorded size and number.

Arago then joined the expedition destined to capture Port Royal

Port Royal, South Carolina

Port Royal is a town in Beaufort County, South Carolina, United States. Largely because of annexation of surrounding areas , the population of Port Royal rose from 3,950 in 2000 to 10,678 in 2010, a 170% increase. As defined by the U.S...

, South Carolina

South Carolina

South Carolina is a state in the Deep South of the United States that borders Georgia to the south, North Carolina to the north, and the Atlantic Ocean to the east. Originally part of the Province of Carolina, the Province of South Carolina was one of the 13 colonies that declared independence...

. The information that she and USS Vixen

USS Vixen (1861)

USS Vixen was acquired by the Union Navy from the Coast Survey on 26 August 1861 for use as a reconnaissance vessel during the American Civil War; and was later commissioned on 31 July 1862.- Coastal Survey operations :...

 obtained was invaluable to Du Pont during that successful operation, which provided the South Atlantic Blockading Squadron with its most important base for the remaining years of the conflict.

Few other records containing details of Aragos naval operations have survived, although it is known that she continued to serve the South Atlantic Blockading Squadron into February 1863.

Retuern to Coast Survey duty

Apparently Arago left active naval service in 1863. She rejoined the U.S. Coast Survey in 1866, and served until 1881.