In attempting to cross the bar, both "Vincennes" and "Richmond" grounded and were taken under fire by Confederate gunners afloat and ashore. Fortunately, the Army transport, "McClellan", arrived with long range rifled guns on loan from Fort Pickens; and halted the second Confederate attack. "Richmond" then cruised off the mouth of the river, blockading Confederate forces and aiding Army engineers erecting batteries on the banks of the South and Southwest passages. In mid-November 1861, she returned to Pensacola Bay for temporary repairs. On 22 November "Richmond" joined the steam sloop of war "Niagara" and the guns of Fort Pickens to bombard Pensacola Navy Yard, the Confederate defenses at Fort McRee, and the town of Warrington. On the second day of firing "Richmond" had one man killed and seven wounded when hit twice by shore fire. One shell hit forward, destroying railing and hammock nettings, and one aft on the starboard side glanced under her counter, exploding underwater, damaging her bottom and causing serious leaks. "Richmond" retired to Key West, Florida, and stood out from that port 27 November 1861 for repairs at the New York Navy Yard. "Richmond" departed New York on 13 February 1862. "Richmond" joined the West Gulf Blockading Squadron off Ship Island on 5 March as Flag Officer David Farragut prepared to seize New Orleans, Louisiana. "Richmond" crossed the bar on 24 March with the fleet and began making preparations for battle. On 16 April, Farragut's fleet moved to a position below Forts Jackson and St. Philip. Mounting over 100 guns, these forts were the principal shore defenses of New Orleans. The Confederates had also gathered a flotilla of requisitioned gunboats and were trying to complete the powerful casemate ram as well. They further counted on using fire ships to disrupt the large Union squadron. Hidden by intervening woods, the Union mortar flotilla under Commander David D. Porter began a six-day bombardment of the Confederate forts on 18 April 1862. The Confederates began sending fire rafts downstream, and "Richmond" reported dodging one in the early morning of 21 April which "passed between us and the "Hartford", the great flames shooting as high as the masts." On 24 April Farragut's fleet ran past the forts, engaged and defeated the Confederate flotilla, and continued upriver for about .