In the early 1870s, he commanded the Marine detachment aboard the first U.S. warship to visit Cochin-China (now Vietnam) with the mission of deterring pirates from attacking American shipping in the area.

During the Spanish–American War he served as fleet Marine officer on the cruiser USS New York and participated in the Battle of Santiago de Cuba.

[1] Immediately after the Spanish–American War, Meade was sent to the Philippines as part of a Marine detachment intended to counter the rising tensions between Filipino Muslim rebels and the government.

President Theodore Roosevelt, undoubtedly remembering the insubordination of Major Meade in the affair involving a construction contract at the Boston Navy Yard, instead appointed Colonel George F. Elliott to be the new Commandant.

Robert Leamy Meade retired from the Marine Corps on June 29, 1906 after 43 years of service and having taken part in every major military action that took place from the Civil War through the Boxer Rebellion.