After visiting Southampton, England, Swatara anchored at Bremerhaven, Germany, 3 August to 8 September, representing United States concern over uneasiness in Europe in the aftermath of the Austro-Prussian War.

Subsequently, cruising southward, Swatara, called at Den Helder, Netherlands; Southampton, England; and the major French Atlantic seaports: Cherbourg, Brest, Lorient, Rochefort, and Bordeaux.

After calling at Ferrol, Spain, Swatara arrived at Vigo on 26 October where the United States consul came on board to visit the ship on 6 November.

On word that John Surratt, wanted for conspiracy in the assassination of President Abraham Lincoln, had been arrested in Rome, Swatara called at Civitavecchia, Papal States.

Swatara cruised down the West African coast in early 1868, calling at Monrovia, Liberia, on 28 February and subsequently putting in at Fernando Po and St. Paul Loanda before returning northward to Puerto Praya, Cape Verde Islands, on 27 April.

Returning to New York on 12 January, Swatara was again deployed in the Caribbean into 1871, where her principal service was protecting United States interests in Dominican waters.