In November 1912, Newton was ordered to the New York Navy Yard in Brooklyn, where he served as Aide to the Commandant of the Yard, Lewis Sayre Van Duzer. He remained in this capacity until May 1914, when he was assigned to the newly commissioned battleship USS "New York" under Captain Thomas S. Rodgers. Newton participated in her shakedown cruise along the East Coast of the United States, but when nine American sailors were arrested by the Mexican government in Veracuz, President Woodrow Wilson demanded apology and ordered the naval blockade of Veracruz, when "New York" took part in the blockade from July to November 1914.