Although plagued by the presence of smallpox among her crew, R. R. Cuyler participated in the capture and burning of Finland in Apalachicola Bay on 26 August.

In December, the sloops Advocate, Express, and Osceola and the schooners Delight and Olive met a similar fate.

While proceeding on that mission on 4 December, she stopped and captured the steamer Armstrong and after a search revealed contraband cargo, seized the vessel.

One of the 30-pound cannon that was part of the armament of R. R. Cuyler was presented to the town of Oyster Bay, New York, by the United States Department of the Navy and unveiled by President Theodore Roosevelt in June 1903.

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