Preston, attached to Destroyer Force, Atlantic Fleet, conducted peacetime patrols and participated in various individual, squadron, and fleet exercises until assigned to neutrality duties prior to the entry of the United States into World War I.

Then reassigned to Destroyer Force, Atlantic, she performed coastal escort and patrol duties for two months.

In July, she sailed east, and from 1 August to 5 October she patrolled and performed escort work off the strategically located Azores.

Later shifted to Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, she decommissioned on 17 July and her name was struck from the Naval Vessel Register on 15 September.

This article incorporates text from the public domain Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships.