passed the Sunda Strait on 10 November — only a day after Wyoming had sailed for Christmas Island. At noon that day, Alabama and Wyoming had been only 25 miles apart. Writing from Batavia on 22 November, McDougal later reported that Wyoming had scoured the waters of the East Indies, visiting "every place in this neighborhood where she (Alabama) would likely lay in case she intended to remain in this region." Although acknowledging that the condition of Wyoming's boilers prevented a heavy pressure of steam from being carried, McDougal promised to make every effort in his power to find and capture Alabama. Wyoming then cruised to Singapore in search of the Confederate raider, but found nothing, and continued on to the Dutch settlement of Rhio, near Sunda Strait. She subsequently sailed north, putting into Cavite, Luzon, in the Philippine Islands, on Christmas Eve. There, through the courtesy of the Spanish Navy, Wyoming underwent much-needed boiler repairs and coaled. She then sailed for Hong Kong and Whampoa, China. Wyoming continued her search for the elusive Alabama into February 1864. She sailed to Foochow, China, to protect American interests and proceeded thence, via Hong Kong, to the East Indies. When the sloop-of-war reached Batavia, however, CDR McDougal found that there was now no alternative but to return to the United States for repairs, because the ship's boilers were in such poor condition. Accordingly, Wyoming began her long-delayed return voyage to the United States, via Anjer, the Cape of Good Hope, St. Helena, and St. Thomas. After a voyage of almost three months, she arrived at the Philadelphia Navy Yard on 13 July 1864; having completed a circumnavigation of the globe begun when she left that port following her commissioning. The presence of CSS Florida off the East Coast, however, meant another change in plans for the weary Wyoming. Commodore Cornelius Stribling, Commandant of the Philadelphia Navy Yard, ordered the newly arrived screw sloop to sea to search for Florida. "It is with regret that I send you on this service," Stribling wrote McDougal, "After so long a cruise, and one in which you have rendered such important service, yourself, officers and crew, were entitled to a respite from active service; but the great importance of capturing the rebel privateer will, I hope, be an incentive to all under your command cheerfully to perform this service." Although Wyoming required extensive repairs, she nevertheless