Propelled by radial paddle wheels, Iris was built at New York in 1847 and purchased there by the Navy in the same year. She commissioned at New York Navy Yard on 25 October 1847, Commander Stephen B. Wilson in command. Iris departed Vera Cruz on 8 November and arrived Norfolk, Virginia 16 December. She decommissioned there on 16 December 1848 and was sold soon thereafter. She was documented as carrying the name Osprey on 9 March 1849. The ship was destroyed by fire at Kingston, Jamaica on 18 April 1856.