 After the U.S. Navy abolished the distinction between engineering and line officers, Bayleys rank was converted to lieutenant commander on 3 March 1899.Leaving "Massachusetts" in November 1900, he reported to the Bureau of Steam Engineering on 27 November 1900 for inspection duty, and was promoted to commander on 3 March 1901.From September to November 1903, Bayley was a member of a board of inquiry examining the 15 February 1898 destruction of the battleship in Havana harbor, which precipitated the outbreak of the Spanish–American War.