[2][3] Dom Afonso's first commander was the then frigate captain Joaquim Marques Lisboa, future Marquis of Tamandaré and patron of the Brazilian Navy.

It was around eleven o'clock in the morning that the crew began the rescue of the American ship Ocean Monarch, which was carrying 396 people, English immigrants who were bound for the city of Boston.

The captain of sea and war Joaquim Marques Lisboa, still in command of Dom Afonso, set out to help the ship, overcoming large waves that were forming.

After several attempts, Dom Afonso managed to extend a tow line, safely bringing the Portuguese ship to Guanabara Bay, without losing a single crew member.

[7] In gratitude for the rescue, members of a Portuguese colony in Rio de Janeiro organized themselves and presented Marques Lisboa with a golden sword.

[7] By the notice of the Brazilian Navy of 6 June 1849, the command of Dom Afonso was handed over to the captain of sea and war Jesuíno Lamego da Costa, future Baron of Laguna.

[8] Shortly after the surrender of Manuel Oribe in Uruguay, the allied army consisting of Uruguayan troops, Argentine infantry and artillery commanded by Justo José de Urquiza and the 1st Brazilian division commanded by brigadier Manuel Marques de Sousa, future Count of Porto Alegre, gathered in Colonia del Sacramento, in the south of Uruguay and opposite to Buenos Aires.

[9] On 17 December 1851, the Brazilian fleet, commanded by Grenfell, was near the ravines of Acevedo, on the Paraná River, with the intention of breaking through the Argentine defenses at the Tonelero pass.

Against the Brazilian fleet there were 16 guns manned by two battalions and an artillery squadron and by the 6th Carabineros Regiment,[11] which together amounted to about 2,000 Argentine soldiers, under the command of Lucio Norberto Mansilla.

[12] On 17 January 1852, Dom Afonso, with Luís Alves de Lima e Silva on board, advanced on the port of Buenos Aires, finishing this attack intact.

[3] On 20 September 1852 Dom Afonso left for Maranhão in order to undergo cleaning and repairs, being commanded on that occasion by captain lieutenant José Antônio de Siqueira, reaching its destination on November 4.

On that day, there was a violent storm that hit Dom Afonso, causing it to sink, leading to the death of second lieutenant Antônio Francisco Araújo and two soldiers of the crew.