USS Pembina, a 691-ton Unadilla class screw steam gunboat, was built at New York City and commissioned in October 1861. She was immediately sent to participate in the attack on Port Royal, South Carolina, during which she engaged Confederate gunboats and fortifications. After Port Royal was taken in November, Pembina took part in operations to cut Savannah, Georgia, off from the sea. During the first four months of 1862, she remained active in Georgia and Florida waters, then shifted her efforts to the South Carolina coast, where she captured a blockade-running schooner in June.

In 1863, Pembina was sent to join the blockade of the Gulf coast. She took two sailing vessels off Mobile Bay, Alabama, in April 1863 and another off Texas late in 1864. In August 1864, Pembina also supported the penetration and capture of Mobile Bay's entrances. The gunboat was sent north after the end of the Civil War. She decommissioned in September 1865 and was sold in November. Renamed Charles E. Gibson, and soon converted to a schooner, she subsequently had a long career in the merchant service.