Between 1839 and 1844, he was principally engaged in surveying duties, until he was commissioned a Lieutenant in the U.S. Navy in November 1844, at which time he joined the sloop USS Portsmouth for a cruise which lasted until May 1848.

As Lieutenant Bartlett was a fluent speaker of Spanish, and was well read in legal matters, he was detailed by Commander Montgomery on August 14, 1846, to represent the military government as alcalde at Yerba Buena, in a position functionally similar to the office of prefect in the Mexican system.

Accordingly, Lt. Bartlett became the first U.S. citizen to be alcalde (an office combining functions of a strong mayor with those of a municipal court judge), of Yerba Buena.

[3] In one of his last acts as alcalde, Bartlett formally changed the name of Yerba Buena on January 30, 1847 to that by which it is known today: San Francisco.

Lt. Bartlett, upon his return to the United States, engaged in vigorous efforts to be restored to the Navy List, including the presentation in 1856 of a lengthy "Memorial" to Congress which outlined his service.

[8] To a certain extent, the Memorial was focused on rebutting charges that Lt. Bartlett had been engaged in financial irregularities when acting as agent for the Treasury, and when an officer in the African squadron.

The name was also attached to a satirical poem written by Edmund Clarence Stedman which appeared in The New York Tribune, which so enraged the father of the bride that an apology or "satisfaction" was demanded.

[14] As of 1904, Frances Amelia Bartlett de Oviedo von Gluemer was still alive, though in significantly reduced circumstances, pursuing claims under the Treaty of Paris, which ended the Spanish–American War, regarding property left to her by her first husband in Cuba.

However, upon reporting to the area of Fort Monroe, Virginia in the late spring of 1861, the brigade was rejected for service by the commanding officer, Major-General Benjamin F.