The frigate was commissioned in July 1795 under Captain William Luke to serve in the North Sea Fleet of Admiral Adam Duncan.

The ship's main role in the Indies was attacking the possessions of the French and their allies and as such she participated in a number of important events, including the Java campaign of 1806–1807 in which she fought the action of 18 October 1806.

[3] The ships were thought to be slightly faster than previous designs of Henslow, being capable of reaching 13 knots (24 km/h; 15 mph), but bought this speed with decreased stability.

[3][5] Similar to other ships designed in the 1790s, Caroline had solid barricades on the quarterdeck and forecastle to increase protection to the crew and provide extra space for guns.

[8] Caroline was commissioned by Captain William Luke in July 1795 to serve in the French Revolutionary Wars, beginning her career in the North Sea Fleet of Admiral Adam Duncan.

[19] The frigate continued throughout this period to serve on the Lisbon Station while also spending considerable time around Cadiz and the edges of the Mediterranean while assigned to Admiral Lord St Vincent's fleet.

[Note 1] Earlier in the day the frigate had retaken the merchant ship Bird of Liverpool, on her way to Africa, which had been taken by Le President Parker on 27 September.

[42] The frigate continued off Cadiz throughout 1801, forming part of the bolstered squadron there in August, retaking the merchantman Prince of Wales on 5 October, and going into Portsmouth from there on 1 December.

[48] She was refitted at Woolwich between March 1802 and February 1803, being recommissioned on 9 November 1802, shortly before the Peace of Amiens ended, beginning to serve in the Napoleonic Wars under Captain Benjamin William Page.

[50] The ship then received immediate orders to sail for the East Indies carrying the declaration of war upon France and instructions to detain all Dutch vessels.

[59][60] For the next few months into early 1804 Caroline escorted convoys through the Bay of Bengal, and then on 5 January captured the 8-gun privateer Les Frères Unis around sixty miles (97 km) south-west of Little Andaman.

[Note 7][62][63][50] During the pursuit one crewmember of Les Frères Unis was killed by a musket shot from the frigate; fifty-five members of her crew were actually soldiers who had travelled to Mauritius from Bourdeaux in July 1803.

On 4 February Caroline discovered the 26-gun privateer Le Général du Caen in the channel south of Preparis island; both ships used all their possible sail in the ensuing chase but the frigate used her superior sailing qualities to get close enough to fire into Le Général du Caen with her chase guns, at which point she surrendered.

[1][62] Les Frères Unis and Le Général du Caen were both taken soon after their arrival from France and did not have any time to attack British shipping before being captured.

The service of Caroline in stopping these privateers was rewarded in the presenting of swords worth 500 guineas to Page from both the Bombay and Madras merchant communities.

[Note 10][1][62] Zeerob was captured by Caroline, but the other brig was too close to the shore to be pursued and made her escape into Batavia, where she sheltered with Phoenix and the 36-gun frigate Maria Reijersbergen, the 20-gun sloop William, the 18-gun Patriot, and the 14-gun Zeeplong.

[78] Caroline entered the harbour and sailed for Maria Reijersbergen, determining her to be the largest threat, firing at her from the range of half a pistol shot; after around thirty minutes of bombardment the Dutch frigate surrendered.

[62][78] The ship had three seamen killed as well as four Dutch prisoners who were being held in the hold at the time; eighteen men were wounded with six mortally so, including the lieutenant of marines.

[Note 13][84] In capturing this valuable prize Caroline had only seven men wounded, of which one later died, but illness meant that she returned to port with only a small portion of her crew fit to serve.

[62] On 31 August Caroline shared by agreement in Psyche's capture of the Dutch corvette Scipio, which was bought into the navy as HMS Samarang.

[98] Despite having served for four years in the Indies, it was reported around this time that the crew had not become more seasoned to the climate and were still harshly affected by the heat, diseases and other effects present.

[101] On 21 December Captain Charles Gordon took over from Hart, and the frigate moved to operate in the Persian Gulf to combat pirates in November 1809.

[62] The frigate briefly served as the flagship of Rear-Admiral William O'Bryen Drury, who was now commander-in-chief, in April from where he organised the capture of Amboyna Island.

[62][109] After a passage of over six weeks, the ships entered the Java Sea on 23 July and approached Banda Neira on 8 August; Cole described the voyage as the most difficult he had ever made.

[112] Banda Neira was a heavily guarded island, having been reinforced since its previous capture by the British in 1796 with two major forts and ten other batteries of guns.

[113] It had originally been planned that the squadron's ships would enter the harbour under the cover of darkness, but while attempting such they were fired on by a gun battery on the nearby Rosensgen Island, which the British had not been aware of, and retired.

[62][119][120] The rain continued, making it impossible for the defending Dutch force to fire their cannons more than three times, but the attackers found their ladders too short to scale the inner walls of the fort.

[62][122] Caroline's first lieutenant, John Gilmour, commanded the frigate while Cole was ashore despite suffering from a severe illness, and took the captured colours of the forts to Drury.

[133] Cole was personally thanked for his actions by the Governor-General of India Lord Minto and the commander-in-chief of the forces Major-General Sir Samuel Auchmuty.

[Note 23][134] Cole was knighted on 29 May 1812 for his service, and the crew of Caroline presented him with a sword worth 100 guineas and an epistle thanking him for his kindess and bravery while in command of them.