Rubuta ci gaba ga wannan sakin layi - Ya kasance a cikin yakin Florida
a 1841, kuma ya kasance a kan jirgin ruwa don kewaye duniya a 1843-1845, yana dauke da sojojin Amurka na farko da suka sauka a kasar Sin. A cikin Yakin Mexico da Amurka, ya shiga cikin kama Alvarado, Veracruz, da Tuxpan. Ya zama maigidan a ranar 15 ga Yuli, 1847, kuma laftanar a ranar 5 ga Fabrairu, 1848. Yayin da yake aiki a kan jirgin ruwa, ya tafi tare da Matthew C. Perry zuwa Japan a 1853, lokacin da Preble ya bincika tashar jiragen ruwa daban-daban a Gabas ta Tsakiya.