She was laid down 8 December 1913 by the Mare Island Navy Yard, Vallejo, California; launched 11 July 1914; sponsored by Miss Dorothy Bennett; and commissioned 5 June 1915.

After the United States entered World War I on 6 April 1917, the oiler was assigned to Commander, Destroyer Force, Atlantic Fleet, as an escort for the first A.E.F.

The oiler cruised in Atlantic waters until 1 November supplying fuel oil to the cruiser force and escorting convoys to Europe.

For the rest of the war, the oiler, ignoring torpedo warnings, carried fuel oil from Halifax to United Kingdom and French ports.

On 6 November 1918, the patrol vessel USS Jolly Roger suffered irreparable damage while being loaded onto the deck of the Kanawha.

For the following six years she cruised along the United States West Coast supplying oil and gasoline to ports in the Panama Canal Zone, the Caribbean, and Hawaii.

Throughout the summer she cruised to New Caledonia, Espiritu Santo, and Efate, providing fuel for destroyers and transports en route to the Pacific campaigns.

On 7 April a group of Japanese Vals slipped through fighter defenses and zeroed in on Kanawha as she awaited an escort in Tulagi harbor.