She was the 248th liberty ship authorized by the United States Maritime Commission and was named in honor of Samuel Huntington, a Founding Father and signer of the American Declaration of Independence.

SS Samuel Huntington was launched in 1942 and sailed to ports in the Pacific, South America, Africa, and the United Kingdom.

[3] After arriving at that Caribbean port on 1 December, the Huntington waited for a week before sailing in convoy TAG-27 to Guantanamo Bay with 12 other ships.

[6] After calling at Belfast Lough in early April, Samuel Huntington made her way to Liverpool to join Convoy ON 181 to New York.

[12] Damage to the ship was apparently minor enough that she was ready to sail nine days later, when she joined Convoy GUS-12—which had originated in Alexandria and was destined for Hampton Roads, Virginia—to return to the United States.

Shifting to Hampton Roads in early December, Samuel Huntington prepared to depart on what would be her last sailing from the United States.

One week later, Samuel Huntington sailed to Anzio where she anchored one-quarter mile (400 m) off the beach on 29 January with 7,181 long tons (7,296 t) of cargo, including ammunition, canned gasoline and TNT.

[3][16] At sunset on 29 January, Luftwaffe bombers armed with Henschel Hs 293 anti-shipping glide bombs attacked the ships at anchor off Anzio.

[17] Soon after Spartan was hit, another Hs 293 slammed into Samuel Huntington, penetrating to her boiler room before exploding and killing four men.

[16] The force of the explosion blew out two of her cargo hatches, launching a jeep into the stricken ship's flying bridge in the process.

[20] By the early morning hours on 30 January, any hope of salvaging Samuel Huntington or her cargo ended when the fires reached her load of canned gasoline.