Part of the original 16 destroyers authorized by Congress on 4 May 1898 for the fiscal year 1899 program, they were commissioned in 1902.

[2][3] During World War I the class was equipped with one or two depth charge racks for the convoy escort mission.

[5][6] Truxtun had four Thornycroft boilers supplying 240 psi (1,700 kPa) steam to two vertical triple-expansion engines totaling 8,300 ihp (6,200 kW) (design).

Instead, Hitner decided to sell them for motor fruit carriers; It made sense as the vessels were shallow enough to maneuver through the narrow fruit company waterways such as the Snyder Canal in Panama, and, with their engineering suite reduced and armament removed, were still fast and economical enough to get the job done.

The ships were rebuilt, scrapping their old VTE suites and boilers for a pair of economical 12-cylinder Atlas Imperial Diesels—a company known for outfitting tugs and trawlers—generating 211 NHP and allowing a sustained speed of 15 knots.

This removed all four of their coal funnels, replacing them with a number of tall cowl vents and a single diesel stack aft.

In 1922, the boats had been impounded by R.A. Harvin, the United States Marshal in Texas, after a libel proceeding, and sold at public auction to one Harry Nevelson, who in turn quickly resold them to the Mexican-American Fruit Company, and sometime shortly after they were sailing for the Southern Banana Co. By 1925, the trio was all part of the Vaccaro brothers’ upstart New Orleans–based Standard Fruit & S S Co (now part of Dole).

However, both ships survived, La Paz by being beached, and Worden, undamaged, remained in Lloyd's register.