After being transferred back to the control of the Secretary of the Treasury, the Van Buren began to sail out of its homeport of Charleston, South Carolina.

The ship served as a river vessel, mainly supporting the United States Army forces battling the Seminole on land.

[1] After a year in the war, the Van Buren anchored in Norfolk, Virginia, on 23 July 1842, where it reentered the Revenue Cutter Service.

The Van Buren operated out of the port of Charleston, South Carolina for three years, undergoing repairs once at Baltimore, Maryland from May through June 1844.

[1] On 30 July 1846, the Van Buren set to harbor in Belize, where it joined the United States Revenue Marines squadron of Captain John A. Webster and aided in a blockade of Mexico's eastern coast.