Smith was laid down on 18 March 1908, by William Cramp & Sons, Philadelphia, and launched on 20 April 1909, sponsored by Mrs. Edward Bridge Richardson.

With war imminent, Smith was ordered on 1 April 1917, to anchor in the North River, to assist the Collector of Customs in preventing the German ships at New York from escaping or destroying themselves.

For the remainder of the war, Smith escorted eastbound and westbound convoys through the submarine danger area extending about 500 mi (800 km) to the westward of Brest.

On 1 July, she rescued survivors from Covington while other destroyers circled the two ships at high speed to deter submarine attack.

She was ordered sold on 28 February 1920, but was withdrawn from sale on 9 June, in response to a request from the Bureau of Construction and Repair for a destroyer, a submarine, and a battleship for exhaustive bombing experiments.