She took part in the Crimean War and ferried Prince Napoléon to Iceland in 1856.

She was a joint venture by engineer Frédéric Sauvage, one of the inventors of the screw propeller, and shipbuilder Augustin Normand, who provided the shipbuilding facilities and insisted for a propeller with several blades.

[2] As the Navy was initially uninterested in a steam and sail propeller ship,[2] Normand protested to the Ministry of Finance, who agreed to commission Napoléon as a mail steamer under the condition that she would reach a speed of 8 knots; during her trials, Napoléon maintained an average speed or 9.7 knots and reached 12, largely exceeding ministerial specifications.

[3] She departed Toulon on 30 January 1850 for her new station in Brest, which she reached on 17 February.

[1] She served in the Littoral English Channel naval division, towing Basilic from Le Havre to Cherbourg on 26 April 1852, and Serpent two days later.