The second USS Florida was a sidewheel steamer in the United States Navy. Florida was purchased and commissioned on 5 October 1861, with Lieutenant John R. Goldsborough in command. Florida stood out of New York Harbor on 19 October 1861 to join the South Atlantic Blockading Squadron in patrolling the coasts of South Carolina, Georgia, and Florida. She helped capture a ship and a schooner who were running the blockade. Returning to New York during November 1862, she was decommissioned for repairs, and was recommissioned 7 March 1863 for service with the North Atlantic Blockading Squadron. She was particularly successful in this assignment, capturing a steamer and a schooner off Wilmington, North Carolina, in June 1863, and aiding the destruction of a number of British steamers used as block