In the post-war period, USS Hartford entered a period of decommissioning as she required repair work. She then served as flagship of the Asiatic Squadron before seen another decommission order. From 1890 until 1899, Hartford was at rest at Mare Island (California) while being rebuilt to help extend her sailing career. In October of that year the warship was recommissioned and sent to Atlantic waters to serve new naval recruits before being berthed at Charleston, South Carolina from 1912 onward. She was decommissioned once more in 1926 and relocated to Washington, D.C. waters in 1938 in the hopes that she would form an important component of a planned museum championed by then-President Franklin Roosevelt. The museum was never realized and its plans ended with the President's death.
From there, Harford was relocated to the Norfolk Navy Shipyard and fell apart under the abuse of the elements. She sank where she rested in November of 1956 and was deemed a complete loss.
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