The double-ended gunboat joined the North Atlantic Blockading Squadron at Hampton Roads on the afternoon of January 2, 1862. On January 11, Admiral Louis M. Goldsborough ordered "Southfield" to proceed to Hatteras Inlet, North Carolina, the staging area for an expedition against Roanoke Island, which controlled navigation in the North Carolina sounds. The gunboat was detained at Hampton Roads awaiting troops to fill out her complement until about sunset on January 16 when she got underway south. She reached Hatteras Inlet the next day.