Promoted to captain on 2 May 1848, Ryder became commanding officer of the frigate HMS "Dauntless" in the Channel Squadron, in December 1853. In HMS "Dauntless" he saw action in the Black Sea and then took part in the Battle of Kinburn in October 1855 during the Crimean War. During the War Admiral Sir Charles Napier threatened to court-martial him for letting an enemy ship escape but the Admiralty refused to support this course of action. After the war Ryder sought leave and travelled to Malta to meet his wife, who was dying of tuberculosis only to find that she had died before his arrival, leaving a two-year-old child. He was awarded the Turkish Order of the Medjidie, fourth class on 3 April 1858. At this time he also wrote a paper on methods of ascertaining the distance between ships at sea.