He joined USS Ranger as a seaman in 1777 and served during John Paul Jones' daring raid into British waters.

Chase was appointed a midshipman on USS Bonhomme Richard on 18 March 1779, and took part in the historic victory over HMS Serapis on 23 September 1779.

The ships carried a maximum of 371 long tons (377 t) of fuel oil which was intended gave them a range of 2,500 nautical miles (4,600 km; 2,900 mi) at 20 knots (37 km/h; 23 mph).

She took part in the Presidential Fleet Review at Seattle, Washington, in 1923, and in 1927 cruised in Nicaraguan waters to protect American interests while civil war took place in that country.

In 1928 she cruised to Hawaii with members of the Naval Reserve on board for training, and in 1929 she operated off San Diego, California with Saratoga (CV-3) and Lexington (CV-2) assisting the development of US carrier aviation.