Departing New York on 23 March 1899, the cruiser steamed down the coast of South America on patrol, stopping at numerous ports along the way. In the middle of her cruise, on 7 April, she was ordered to proceed through the Straits of Magellan to San Francisco. The ship, low on coal, was forced to put into Port Low, Chile, from 31 May to 22 June to cut wood(!) for fuel. Finally arriving Mare Island Navy Yard on 4 September, "Newark" underwent repairs and then sailed on 17 October via Honolulu for the Philippines arriving Cavite on 25 November to support the U.S. Army in the Philippine–American War. The warship took station off Vigan, Luzon, landed troops for garrison duty, then moved on to Aparri on 10 December, receiving the surrender of insurrectionists in the provinces of Cagayan, Isabela, and Bataan.