USS Margaret (ID-2510) – shortly thereafter known as USS Chatham (ID-2510) -- was a cargo ship acquired by the U.S. Navy during World War I

World War I

World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...

. She was used to carry cargo to Allied troops in Europe

Europe

Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...

 until the war’s end when she was returned to the U.S. Shipping Board for disposition.

Leased in New York

Margaret, a 3,372 gross ton (7,523 tons displacement) freighter, was built at Sparrows Point, Maryland, in 1916. She was acquired on charter by the Navy from A. H. Bull Steamship Co., New York, New York, 13 March 1918. She was commissioned in the Navy at New York City, as USS Margaret (ID # 2510) on 25 March 1918 with Lieutenant Commander T. J. Sammons, USNRF, in command.

Margaret was assigned to the 3d Naval District under Naval Overseas Transportation Service and was renamed USS Chatham on 18 April 1918, probably to avoid confusion with several other U.S. Navy vessels of the same name, most notably the converted yacht

Yacht

A yacht is a recreational boat or ship. The term originated from the Dutch Jacht meaning "hunt". It was originally defined as a light fast sailing vessel used by the Dutch navy to pursue pirates and other transgressors around and into the shallow waters of the Low Countries...

 Margaret (SP-527)

USS Margaret (SP-527)

USS Margaret was a yacht acquired by the U.S. Navy during World War I and in commission as a patrol vessel from 1917 to 1918. She was assigned to escort and patrol duty in the North Atlantic Ocean...

.

World War I service

On the same date the freighter arrived in the Gironde River in France

France

The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...

 at the end of her first transatlantic convoy

Convoy

A convoy is a group of vehicles, typically motor vehicles or ships, traveling together for mutual support and protection. Often, a convoy is organized with armed defensive support, though it may also be used in a non-military sense, for example when driving through remote areas.-Age of Sail:Naval...

 voyage from New York carrying Army supplies for the American Expeditionary Force

American Expeditionary Force

The American Expeditionary Forces or AEF were the United States Armed Forces sent to Europe in World War I. During the United States campaigns in World War I the AEF fought in France alongside British and French allied forces in the last year of the war, against Imperial German forces...

. Chatham made four more such trips, delivering French steel billets and supplies for the Motor Transportation Corps to Le Havre

Le Havre

Le Havre is a city in the Seine-Maritime department of the Haute-Normandie region in France. It is situated in north-western France, on the right bank of the mouth of the river Seine on the English Channel. Le Havre is the most populous commune in the Haute-Normandie region, although the total...

 in June for the Army of Occupation, general cargo to Rochefort

Rochefort, Charente-Maritime

Rochefort is a commune in southwestern France, a port on the Charente estuary. It is a sub-prefecture of the Charente-Maritime department.-History:...

 in August and October, and more general cargo to Brest

Brest, France

Brest is a city in the Finistère department in Brittany in northwestern France. Located in a sheltered position not far from the western tip of the Breton peninsula, and the western extremity of metropolitan France, Brest is an important harbour and the second French military port after Toulon...

 in December.

Post-service demobilization

Upon returning to New York in late December 1918 she entered a shipyard for a complete overhaul and was soon designated for demobilization. USS Chatham was decommissioned on 10 February 1919 and transferred to the U.S. Shipping Board.

Subsequent maritime career

Chatham was returned to her owners, the A.H. Bull Steamship Company of New York City. Reverting to the name Margaret, the ship appears to have continued to serve her original owners until she was sunk, without survivors, by the German submarine

Submarine

A submarine is a watercraft capable of independent operation below the surface of the water. It differs from a submersible, which has more limited underwater capability...

 U-571 on 14 April 1942 off Cape Hatteras

Cape Hatteras

Cape Hatteras is a cape on the coast of North Carolina. It is the point that protrudes the farthest to the southeast along the northeast-to-southwest line of the Atlantic coast of North America...

.