She captured or recaptured two vessels, and in 1812 repelled an attack by a US privateer in a single ship action.

Caledonia was launched on 1 October 1807 from the Chester shipyard of Carson, Forbes, Cortney & Company and first appeared in Lloyd's Register (LR) in 1807.

[2] Caledonia, under Captain Thompson, sailed from Glasgow for Demerara on 19 December 1807[5] En route, Thompson detained the full-rigged ship Neutrality,[a] Ellison, master, which was coming from Vera Cruz, Mexico and reported to be worth £120,000, including £100,000 of specie, destined for London and mostly insured at Lloyd's.

[6][10] On 18 October 1808 Caledonia was in the Mersey, preparing to leave for Demerara, when she had to cut her cables and get under weigh to escape a gale.

He had returned from Demerara to Liverpool, arriving on 25 June 1812 with sugar, rum, and bales of cotton.

Eventually, Retaliation, much damaged, withdrew to the mouth of the Orinocco River, where she watered and underwent repairs.

[b] On 7 February 1825, as Caledonia, Bispham, master, was endeavouring to go to sea, she missed her stays and grounded on the North Bank.

On 11 March she returned to Lima, very leaky, with water entering at a rate of 10 inches per hour.