Built under the personal supervision of Commodore Isaac Chauncey for duty as a dispatch boat on Lake Ontario carrying messages to Niagara, the schooner was seldom used as she was designed. Instead she saw considerable action on the Great Lakes throughout the War of 1812. Actively employed in Chauncey's squadron, she assisted in the assault on York, Canada, carrying some of General Henry Dearborn's troops and sailing close inshore to cover the troops with precision fire. A month later, after bringing supplies to troops at York, she joined in the attack on Fort George on 27 May, once again carrying troops and using her gun to advantage. She wreaked havoc among the English troops and forced them to withdraw, blowing up the fort behind them.