 After a quick overhaul in drydock, Massachusetts was attempting to leave New York Harbor on 10 December 1898 when she struck Diamond Reef, flooding five of her forward compartments. She was forced to return to the navy yard, where she was placed in drydock again for repairs which took around three months. For a year Massachusetts served with the North Atlantic Squadron, visiting various cities on the Atlantic coast. In May 1900, she and Indiana were placed in reserve as the navy had an acute officer shortage and needed to put the new Kearsarge-class and Illinois-class battleships into commission. The battleships were reactivated the following month as an experiment in how quickly this could be achieved, and Massachusetts returned to service with the North Atlantic Squadron.
