She returned in February of the following year and before heading home put into Shanghai where she sent a party ashore to support a coordinated British-American expedition against hostile forts in the area.

Returning to Norfolk, Virginia, 11 January 1855, Plymouth began an extended tour in the Atlantic Ocean.

After Virginia seceded from the Union, she was scuttled and partially burned there, 20 April 1861, to prevent her capture by the forces of the Confederate States of America when the Gosport Navy Yard fell into their hands.

[2] The Confederates raised her by 23 June 1861, despite her being 30 feet (9.1 meters) deep in mud and water,[3] and planned to sail her up the James River to Richmond.

[5] This article incorporates text from the public domain Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships.