She got underway in January 1879 and reached Gibraltar on 2 February to begin a decade of service on the European Station, interrupted only by a brief visit home in the summer of 1881.

During this service she operated for the most part in the Mediterranean, steaming from the straits to the Levant and visiting numerous ports along both the European and African coasts of that ancient sea and center of culture.

She also usually made an annual cruise along the Atlantic Coast of Europe visiting ports in Spain, Portugal, France, England, Denmark and Germany.

Three of her crew received the Medal of Honor for rescuing shipmates from drowning during this period: Landsman Patrick J. Kyle at Mahón, Menorca, on 13 March 1879, and Seaman Apprentice Second Class August Chandron and Boatswain's Mate Hugh Miller at Alexandria, Egypt, on 21 November 1885.

This article incorporates text from the public domain Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships.