Meade's U.S. Navy service became intermittent in the mid-1840s, with a long period of "waiting orders" broken in 1847 by assignment to the steamer USS Scourge.

Meade resigned his commission in December 1851, but was again in U.S. Navy service in 1854–1855 as commanding officer of the steamer USS Massachusetts in the Pacific Squadron.

After the American Civil War broke out in April 1861, Meade returned to active duty in the U.S. Navy with the rank of commander, apparently backdated to September 1855.

Promoted to captain in 1864, with the date of rank again apparently backdated, this time to July 1862, he was commanding officer of the steam frigate USS San Jacinto until she was wrecked in the Bahamas on 1 January 1865.

This article incorporates public domain material from websites or documents of the Naval History and Heritage Command.