Tuhia he haere tonu mō tēnei wāhanga - I te tau 1861, i tae atu a Irwin ki te mahi i runga i te kaipuke kaipuke. I pakaru te Pakanga o Amerika i te Paenga-whāwhā o te tau 1861, a, i kite a Irwin i te nui o nga mahi ki nga ope Confederate i runga i te "Wabash". I te haerenga a Irwin, i uru a "Wabash" ki te hopu i nga Forts Hatteras me Clark
I Hatteras Inlet, North Carolina, i te 29 o Akuhata 1861, i mua i te noho hei rangatira mo te South Atlantic Blockading Squadron, tetahi o nga roopu i uru ki te aukati a te Uniana o nga tauranga Confederate. I whai wāhi a "Wabash" ki te hopu i a Fort Walker, Fort Beauregard, me Port Royal Sound, South Carolina, i te Pakanga o Port Royal i te 7 o Noema 1861. I muri mai ka whakahau a Irwin i nga kaipuke kaipuke "Wabash" i whakanohoia ki uta i te Pakanga o Port Royal Ferry, South Carolina, i te 1 o Hanuere 1862, a kei runga i te "Wabash" mo te Pakanga o Fort Pulaski i Cockspur Island, Georgia, i te 10-11 o Paenga-whawha 1862. I whakatairangahia ia ki te rangatira rangatira i te 16 o Hurae 1862.