[10][11] He performed another tour as a Naval Academy instructor from 1879 to 1882,[12] teaching astronomy and navigation,[13] then served in the North Atlantic Squadron aboard the screw frigate USS Tennessee from 1882 to 1884.

After leaving ONI in 1889, Rodgers served until 1892 aboard the protected cruiser USS Chicago, which at the time was the flagship of the Squadron of Evolution.

From October 1892 until 1897, he served consecutively as U.S. naval attaché to France in Paris, to the Russian Empire in Saint Petersburg, and to Spain in Madrid, and was promoted to lieutenant commander in July 1894.

Aboard Iowa, he saw action in the Spanish–American War of 1898, participating in the bombardment of San Juan, Puerto Rico, on 12 May 1898 and the blockade of the Cuban port of Santiago de Cuba.

In 1901, he became aide to Admiral George Dewey, who was serving as President of the General Board of the United States Navy at the time.

[20] Promoted to captain in 1903, Rodgers spent two years as commanding officer of the battleship USS Kearsarge in the North Atlantic Fleet.

Rodgers was reappointed Chief Intelligence Officer and returned to ONI in April 1906, succeeding Commander Seaton Schroeder, and was promoted to rear admiral on 4 July 1908.

In retirement, Rodgers lived abroad, and died in Monte Carlo, Monaco, where he made his home at the time, on 28 December 1925.