 She got underway on 29 May, carrying Henry A. Wise, the new Ambassador to Brazil and his family, arriving at Rio de Janeiro on 2 August after making two port visits along the way and remaining there to pack away supplies for the planned journey. She sailed again on 8 September, making port calls at Madagascar, Mozambique, and Zanzibar, and arriving at Sumatra on 1 January 1845. Many of her crew began to suffer from dysentery and fevers, causing several deaths, which led Percival to set course for Singapore, arriving there 8 February. While in Singapore, Commodore Henry Ducie Chads of HMS Cambrian paid a visit to Constitution, offering what medical assistance his squadron could provide. Chads had been the Lieutenant of Java when that ship surrendered to William Bainbridge thirty-three years earlier.
