She was designed with excellent sea-keeping qualities, a long cruising range, good towing capabilities, and by necessity the capacity to store a large amount of munitions.

[7][8][9] Floating wrecks, derelicts, were a common menace with international discussions and agreements concerning their elimination and some special cruises made to locate and destroy them.

[8] The United States Congress appropriated $250,000 for a vessel to be dedicated exclusively as a "derelict destroyer" equipped and crewed to most effectively eliminate the menace to navigation.

[11] She was powered by a triple-expansion steam engine with two Scotch boilers rated at 180 pounds per square inch (1,200 kPa).

Seneca was fit with four 6-pounder rapid-fire guns and an unusually large ammunition magazine for the express purpose of destroying floating shipwrecks.

On 17 May 1910 Seneca visited the United States Military Academy at West Point, New York, and on 28 June she patrolled the Harvard–Yale Regatta at New London, Connecticut.

In June 1911, she escorted the presidential yacht USS Mayflower, which had President William Taft and his party on board, from Manhattan Beach to Fall River, Massachusetts.

[9][16] The RMS Titanic disaster of 14 April 1912, and the loss of 1,517 lives, raised a universal demand for the patrol of the ice zone.

[19] On 12 April 1914, while on ice patrol, Seneca rescued four survivors from a lifeboat which had been drifting in the North Atlantic for ten days.

Originally 14 survivors of the British freighter Columbian had put to sea in this boat, but ten had died of hunger, thirst, and exposure.

[1] On 10 August 1914 she was ordered to cooperate with the USS Florida in the enforcement of the neutrality of the United States after the outbreak of war on the European continent.

[1] The United States declared war on Germany on 6 April 1917 and Seneca and her crew, along with the rest of the Coast Guard, were transferred to the Navy Department.

[21] On 18 July she was reassigned to Seventh Naval District headquartered at Miami, Florida and assumed coastal patrol duties.

[Note 2] She was overhauled and refitted with depth charge equipment at the Morse Dry Dock and Repair Company shipyard in New York.

[1] Early in the morning of 25 March the men on Seneca heard a loud explosion within their convoy, and shortly afterward saw distress rockets in the air.

So badly was the Queen hit that within five minutes of the explosion she was completely out of sight under the water, taking 25 of her men with her, including the commodore of the convoy.

[26] On 16 September at 11:30 hours the steamship Wellington, a ship in convoy OM-99, was torpedoed and Seneca proceeded at full speed to her assistance.

Arriving aboard Wellington, Lieutenant Brown posted lookouts, broke out ammunition and started drilling a gun crew, for they were still in sub-infested waters, and on a stricken ship carrying valuable cargo to the allies.

He continued signaling with a hand flashlight to Warrington about 1,200 yards (1,100 m) away as the ship's keel turned to a sixty degree angle.

[1] Responding to cries for help he swam about, and finding men clinging to planks advised them to keep their mouths closed to keep out the sea water.

"[1] "Seldom in the annals of the sea has there been exhibited such self-abnegation, such cool courage and such unfailing diligence in the face of almost insurmountable difficulties.

[1] She was at Gibraltar on 11 November 1918 when the Armistice was signed, ending World War I. Seneca's wartime service included escorting 30 convoys consisting of about 580 ships.

[1][32] On 15 November 1923 the Commandant ordered the Coast Guard to seize the vessel Tamoka (ex-Arethusa) and arrest her crew.

This vessel belonged to William S. McCoy, notorious rum-runner, and had been hovering along the coast between Nassau, Bahamas and Canadian ports, peddling liquor.

[1] At 1030 hours on the morning of 24 November Seneca hailed Tomoka in latitude 40° 21.6' North, longitude 73° 49.7' West and ordered her to heave to and be prepared to be boarded and examined.

The shell landed alongside a few feet from Tomoka, and the schooner immediately stopped engines, hauled down the fore staysail and headed into the wind with her foresail idly flapping.

On 26 July 1927 she was placed out of commission at Curtis Bay, Maryland but on 20 April 1928 she was recommissioned and reported for duty with the New York Division.

[1][33] On 1 June 1934 her permanent station was changed once again when she moved to Mobile, Alabama, where she served until 28 January 1936, when she was selected to be decommissioned.

Proceeding to the depot at Curtis Bay, Seneca had one last opportunity for service when a big freeze came over the Virginia and Maryland coasts.

[1] On 21 March 1936 she was decommissioned at the Coast Guard Depot and on 3 September 1936, she was sold to the Boston Iron and Metal Company of Baltimore for US$6,605.00.