[1] Her first action came the year after her launch, as part of the Baltic Squadron, in which she assisted in the bombardment of the port of Flushing (Vlissingen) in what is now the Netherlands.

The naval bombardment was just a part of a much larger operation; the land force consisted of some 30,000 men, and the objectives were simply to assist the Austrians by invading the Low Countries and to destroy the French Fleet at their believed location of Flushing.

Over 4,000 British soldiers were killed during the expedition, 106 due to combat, the rest because of an illness known as Walcheren Fever.

[2] Victorious served as part of Rear Admiral Sir George Cockburn's fleet in Chesapeake Bay during the War of 1812.

She participated in the blockade of the Elizabeth River, keeping USS Constellation at her berth in Norfolk, Virginia during the conflict.