U.S. Secretary of the Navy Gideon Welles called "Alert" back to the Potomac River to strengthen the forces which were to meet Lee, but the steamer was undergoing repairs at Newport News, Virginia, and was unable to get underway until after Union soldiers had stopped Lee at Antietam Creek. With Lee's decision to retire into Virginia, the need for "Alert" in the Potomac disappeared, and she remained in the North Atlantic Blockading Squadron.