De Grasse was under construction as a wooden-hulled, steam turbine-powered private yacht by George Lawley and Sons at Neponset, Massachusetts, for J. L. Redmond of New York City on 7 June 1917 when the U.S. Navy ordered her taken over for World War I service upon completion and assigned her the Naval Registry Identification Number (Id.

She was completed in 1918, and Commandant, 1st Naval District, took control of her on 18 July 1918 in anticipation of commissioning her as USS De Grasse.

On 27 July 1918, the Commandant received orders to have De Grasse inspected for naval service.

Tests and sea trials quickly took place at the Boston Navy Yard in Boston, Massachusetts, and revealed, as stated in a report dated 31 July 1918, that De Grasse was "unseaworthy"[1] and of "no value for naval operations.

Some say that she was commissioned in July 1918 and briefly served in coastal waters along the central portion of the United States East Coast,[2][3] while others claim that the negative 31 July 1918 inspection report led to her never being commissioned or seeing naval service.