"Cincinnati"s first cruise, along the east coast, and then in the Caribbean, found her enforcing neutrality laws at Tampa and Key West during the Cuban Revolution from September 1895 to January 1896. From September 1896 to July 1897, she served in the eastern Mediterranean, returning to the South Atlantic Station in September 1897. In April 1898, the opening month of the Spanish–American War, "Cincinnati", commanded by Captain Colby Mitchell Chester, joined the blockade off Havana, Cuba, and bombarded Matanzas. The next month, she scouted throughout the West Indies searching for the Spanish fleet known to be approaching Cuba.