This movement eventually reached President Roosevelt; his decision was not to act on the petition. On December 16, 1902, Sebree was granted a leave of absence to return to the United States and care for his wife who had been badly hurt in a fall. In his place, Lieutenant Commander Henry Minett, Sebree's executive officer, was made acting commandant of the station and therefore acting governor of the territory. He was also given command of the "Wheeling". Captain Edmund Beardsley Underwood was selected as Sebree's replacement, but that decision was not made official immediately, and Underwood remained in Washington to consult with Sebree and President Roosevelt on the governance of the territory. Underwood's selection was not announced until May 1903. Following his wife's recovery, Sebree returned to service and was given command of on February 11, 1903. The "Wisconsin" was the flagship of the North Squadron of the Pacific fleet under Robley D. Evans. While under Sebree's command, the "Wisconsin" and her crew were evaluated as one of the best, according to annual targeting exercises. In the late summer of 1903, Paymaster Rishworth Nicholson of assaulted a German Consul at a ball in Yantai, China. He was promptly brought up on charges of "drunkenness", "scandalous conduct tending to the destruction of good morals", and "falsehood" and taken to the "Wisconsin" for his court martial. Sebree and a group of six other officers found him guilty of the first charge, guilty of a lesser offense for the second charge, and not guilty on the third. His sentence was determined to be a reduction in grade equivalent to one year of seniority. Three of the officers, not including Sebree, wrote a supplementary opinion requesting clemency for Nicholson. However, Rear Admiral Evans, the commander of the Asiatic Squadron, rejected the verdict as inadequate and requested that the court reconsider the decision. The court reconvened and returned the same judgment and sentence. In response, Evans wrote a scathing critique of the process, calling it a "travesty of justice" and stating that Nicholson's actions were "less reprehensible than his judges". This critical essay was required to be posted at every naval base and on every ship in the Pacific and was reprinted in full by "The New York Times" and other civilian newspapers. Evans banned the three officers who had publicly requested clemency from participating in future courts martial. Press reports questioned whether Evans had that authority as the military justice system was intended to be impartial.