33) was laid down on 16 March 1899 at Richmond, Va., by the William R. Trigg Co.; launched on 15 May 1900; sponsored by Miss Mary Thornton Davis; and commissioned on 9 June 1902.

Thornton participated in the summer maneuvers of the North Atlantic Fleet off the eastern coast of the United States.

In November and December, the torpedo boat moved south to the West Indies for combined winter maneuvers.

Recommissioned on 19 June 1907, she was assigned to the 3d Torpedo Flotilla; and, over the next several years, she operated along the eastern seaboard and cruised the Gulf of Mexico.

Fifteen months later, near the end of August 1920, she was sold to the Southern Oil & Transport Corp., of New York City.