She sailed on 6 October under the command of Lieutenant W. E. McKenney to join the Brazil Squadron after a short cruise on the coast of Africa.

She joined her squadron on 21 February 1837, and was employed in the waters along the Atlantic coast of South America to protect the rights and property of American citizens.

Dolphin made two cruises off the coast of Africa to suppress the slave trade from 18 December 1839 to 14 July 1840, and again from 5 November 1840 to 25 May 1841.

She called at the Island of Mauritius in the Indian Ocean to repair damage suffered during a gale and arrived at Whampoa, China in February 1849.

Dolphin cruised in Chinese waters until 22 July 1850, when she sailed for New York by way of the California coast and Cape Horn, arriving on 24 June 1851.