Renshaw was laid down 8 May 1918 by the Union Iron Works, San Francisco, California; launched 21 September 1918; sponsored by Mrs. Frank Johnson; and commissioned 31 July 1919.

Her brief service was none too active, since small appropriations limited most units of the Fleet to routine target practice and engineering competition.

The destroyer participated in exercises off the California coast, performed patrol and dispatch duty, transported prisoners, and made one training cruise with naval reservists out of Portland, Oregon.

Renshaw cruised to Hawaii from 25 March to 28 April 1920, with Destroyer Flotilla 11, to conduct a thorough reconnaissance of the islands with a view toward establishing an operating base for the Fleet.

She was struck from the Navy list 19 May 1936, sold 29 September to Schiavone Bonomo Corporation, and reduced to a hulk 2 December 1936.