steamship Constantia in tow at Cienfuegos, Cuba and delivered her to the naval station at New Orleans, Louisiana on 8 September. Tallapoosa was then assigned to Key West, Florida where the Navy used her for search and rescue work and towing. She towed barges from Key West to Norfolk, from New Orleans to Bermuda, and from Panama to Norfolk. After repairs at the Coast Guard Depot, she towed the naval ordnance barge Sargent from the Washington Navy Yard to New London, Connecticut and Portsmouth, New Hampshire. In September 1918 she was sent to Boston, Massachusetts where a battery of 3-inch guns were installed along with depth charges and releasing gear. On 7 November she was transferred to Halifax, Nova Scotia for anti-submarine operations. After the armistice was signed ending the war on 11 November, she participated in search and rescue work in the North Atlantic. The cutter was almost crushed by ice during one incident involving the rescue of a group of stranded fishermen near Forteau Harbor. After breaking through the ice to the village and giving food and medical supplies to the natives and picking up the fishermen, she was caught in a snow storm in the sub-zero weather and almost crushed by ice before she could return to Halifax. Post-war Gulf of Mexico service On 4 March 1920, Tallapoosa resumed her patrols and returned to her old home port of Mobile. On 11 October 1920, she was assigned to the Gulf Division. On 3 August 1921 Tallapoosa arrived at Norfolk, Virginia, towing sub chasers, on the 29th she arrived at Tampa towing the cutter Arrow from Key West. On 3 December 1922, she returned to Key West from a cruise to Sanibel, Florida. On 10 December her cruising district was again established as that portion of the coast bordering on the Gulf of Mexico and extending from Port Eads to Tampa, with headquarters still at Mobile, Alabama. On 30 January 1924, Tallapoosa participated in the Gasparilla Carnival at Tampa. Sometime in 1924 she was in a collision with Japanese cargo ship off Pensacola, Florida resulting in some damage to Malta Maru. On 23 February 1925, she also participated in the Mardi Gras celebration at Mobile. During September 1926 she was part of a task force organized to aid hurricane victims in Florida; her crew helping maintain order, improvising hospitals, and assisting in the search for the missing. On