[1] In 1839 the brig Dolphin, under his command, ascended an African river and compelled a native chief to pay for goods that had been taken from a U.S. vessel.

During the Mexican-American War he commanded a sloop-of-war named Yorktown along the African coast, to disrupt the slave trade.

[2] His commands included the Constellation in 1855, and the Norfolk Naval Shipyard from 30 April 1859 to 1 August 1860.

On January 3, 1862 he was promoted to the newly established rank of Flag Officer (equivalent to the rank of Commodore) and he received command of the Pacific Squadron in July 1862 (replacing John B. Montgomery), which he held until 1864.

He was promoted to commodore on July 16, 1862, and in 1864 was transferred to the command of ships serving on the James River in Virginia.