USS Kearsarge (1861) - Post War Service

Post War Service

Kearsarge recommissioned on 16 January 1868, and sailed on 12 February to serve in the South Pacific operating out of Valparaíso, Chile. On 22 August, she landed provisions for destitute earthquake victims in Peru. She continued to watch over American commercial interests along the coast of South America until 17 April 1869. Then she sailed to watch over American interests among the Marquesas, Society Islands, Navigators Islands, and Fiji Islands. She also called at ports in New South Wales and New Zealand before returning to Callao, Peru on 31 October. She resumed duties on the South Pacific Station until 21 July 1870, then cruised to the Hawaiian Islands before decommissioning in the Mare Island Navy Yard on 11 October 1870.

Kearsarge recommissioned on 8 December 1873, and departed on 4 March 1874 for Yokohama, Japan, arriving on 11 May. She cruised on Asiatic Station for three years, protecting American citizens and commerce in China, Japan, and the Philippines. From 4 September to 13 December, she carried Professor Asaph Hall's scientific party from Nagasaki, Japan, to Vladivostok, Russia, to observe the transit of Venus. She departed Nagasaki on 3 September 1877, and returned to Boston on 30 December via the Suez Canal and Mediterranean ports. She decommissioned at Portsmouth, New Hampshire on 15 January 1878.

Kearsarge recommissioned on 15 May 1879 for four years of duty in the North Atlantic ranging from Newfoundland to the Caribbean Sea and the coast of Panama. She departed New York on 21 August 1883 to cruise for three years in Mediterranean, Northern European waters, and along the coast of Africa. She returned to Portsmouth on 12 November and decommissioned in the Portsmouth Navy Yard on 1 December 1886.