Macedonian first delivered a company of soldiers to Lisbon, Portugal, then remained in the area, guarding against the possibility of French naval attack.

[2] While Macedonian operated off Portugal, FitzRoy made personal profit by falsification of records of ships' stores, for which he was court-martialled in March 1811 and dismissed from the service.

In January 1812, Macedonian was ordered to secretly deliver some bills of exchange to Norfolk, Virginia, and to bring back an equivalent quantity of gold and silver currency, as part of a scheme to keep the Bank of England solvent.

During the visit, Carden socialised with the notables of Norfolk, including Captain Stephen Decatur, but bungled the mission by inadvertently revealing what was planned, and had to return to Lisbon empty handed.

Captain Carden dined frequently with Decatur and his wife Susan and jokingly bet a beaver hat on the outcome of a battle of their ships.

In September 1812, Macedonian was ordered to accompany an East Indiaman as far as Madeira, then to cruise in search of prizes as long as his supplies permitted.

Decatur then brought the captured ship into Newport, Rhode Island, as a prize on 4 December 1812, causing an immediate national sensation.

Early in May after receiving needed repairs Macedonian, along with United States and the sloop Hornet hoped to make their way to sea from the anchorage of Staten Island by way of Sandy Hook but were unable because of the British Blockade.

From January 1819 to March 1821 the frigate operated off the Pacific coast of South America, giving aid and protection to the commercial ships in the area during the disorders following the Latin American colonial revolts, before returning to Boston in June 1821.

[citation needed] The men complained bitterly about their treatment, writing of how they were forced to eat mealy grain while counting hundreds of thousands of dollars in specie.

Secretary of the Navy Smith Thompson had assigned the squadron to guard United States merchant shipping and suppress piracy.

The Macedonian crew upon arrival were provided medical care and quarantined at Craney Island[5][6][7]She next cruised in the West Indies, where she helped suppress piracy, into 1826.