Reposo II was built as the civilian steam yacht Sophia in 1882. She later was renamed Empress. In 1902 she was rebuilt and enlarged by the Greenpoint Construction Company at Greenpoint on Long Island, New York, and renamed Onondaga. She later was renamed Turbese and then Reposo II.
The U.S. Navy acquired Reposo II on 7 April 1917 for World War I service as a patrol vessel. She was commissioned as USS Reposo II (SP-198) sometime around 21 May 1917.
Reposo II patrolled the coastline between Key West, Florida, and Brunswick, Georgia, until May 1918.
From May to December 1918, Reposo II remained at anchor at the Charleston Navy Yard in Charleston, South Carolina. She was decommissioned there on 24 December 1918 and was sold on 8 August 1919 to John Pelly of Brooklyn, New York.