Advance was built in 1847 as Augusta in New Kent County, Virginia and loaned to the Navy on 7 May 1850 by Henry Grinnell to participate in the search for Sir John Franklin's Arctic expedition which had been stranded in the frozen north since 1846.

However, both safely reached Disko Island, located off the west coast of Greenland where Davis Strait gives way to Baffin Bay.

By 25 August, she was off Cape Riley on Devon Island where she put ashore a landing party to search for clues to the whereabouts of the Franklin expedition.

While the searchers ashore were discovering the former campsite of some unidentified party, Advance was run aground by a strong current.

On 26 August, the two ships attempted the passage of Wellington Channel to search the area north of Cape Spencer.

Soon, however, they found the way north blocked by a solid mass of pack ice and prudently returned south to the vicinity of Point Innes.

While the leading officers were so engaged, a party sent ashore discovered three graves and "other unmistakable evidences of the missing expedition (Franklin's) having passed its first winter here."

At that point, she and Rescue entered Wellington Channel to pursue the search, but the pack ice quickly closed in upon the two ships.

For what remained of September and most of October, they drifted in Wellington Channel, discovering the northern peninsula of Devon Island which they named Grinnell in honor of the expedition's benefactor.

The expedition stopped at Upernavik, Greenland, to purchase supplies and, most importantly, sled dogs for searches ashore and on the solidly frozen floes.

At that point, Kane decided to pass the winter among a group of islets near the Greenland coast rather than to return south to some safer harbor.

Scurvy – that dread disease of the sea – riddled their ranks to the point that Kane and one other man "... only remained to attend upon the sick, and carry on the daily work of the ship, if that name could still appropriately designate the burrow which we inhabited."

At that point, Kane decided to abandon the ship – still frozen solidly in the floe – and make it across the ice to the Danish settlements of southern Greenland.

While the main group inched its way, Kane continued his more rapid trips – facilitated by the dogs – both back to the brig and to an Inuit camp located about 75 miles south of the ship.

In this manner, he moved the sick to the way station, brought additional supplies from the ship, and returned from the Inuit camp with fresh game.

He last visited the ship on 8 June 1855 and, by the middle of that month, all the sick gradually joined the main party then nearing Littleton Island.

During the journey south toward Cape Alexander, the party suffered numerous breaks through the ice as the spring thaw arrived.

There, they erected a rock monument in which they left information regarding their planned movements, a list of provisions on hand, and a brief summary of the expedition's findings.

They took passage from Upernavik in the Danish brig Marianne to Disko Island where they were met by the relief expedition made up of Arctic and Release under the command of Lt. Hartstene.