On 11 December 1862, "Albatross" sailed for the Mississippi River where the tempo of operations to free the river for Union shipping was increasing. On 17 December, she, , , , and supported the uncontested landing of Major General Nathaniel Prentiss Banks' troops at Baton Rouge, Louisiana. Ever since the previous spring, when his thrusts upriver had been nullified by a lack of ground forces, Farragut had been awaiting army support for clearing the Mississippi. After the surrender of Baton Rouge, he was eager to move on to the next Confederate river stronghold, Port Hudson, Louisiana, but no soldiers were made available for the operation.