Sampson's fleet then formed column to the northwest and retired. "Amphitrite" returned to Key West, her base of operations, on 19 May, and remained there until the 24th. Over the next two and a half months, "Amphitrite" operated put of Key West on blockade duty, expanding her area of operations to include waters off Cap-Haïtien, Haiti, in late July, shortly before she was ordered to Cape San Juan, Puerto Rico on August 2, the designated landing site for the U.S. Army invasion of Puerto Rico.