The first Thornton (Torpedo Boat No. 33) was laid down on 16 March 1899 at Richmond, Va., by the William R. Trigg Co.; lanched on 15 May 1900; sponsored by Miss Mary Thornton Davis; and commissioned on 9 June 1902, Ens. Samuel Brown Thomas in command.

Thornton participated in the summer maneuvers of the North Atlantic Fleet

United States Fleet Forces Command

The United States Fleet Forces Command is an Atlantic Ocean theater-level component command of the United States Navy that provides naval resources that are under the operational control of the United States Northern Command...

 off the eastern coast of the United States

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

. In November and December, the torpedo boat

Torpedo boat

A torpedo boat is a relatively small and fast naval vessel designed to carry torpedoes into battle. The first designs rammed enemy ships with explosive spar torpedoes, and later designs launched self-propelled Whitehead torpedoes. They were created to counter battleships and other large, slow and...

 moved south to the West Indies for combined winter maneuvers. On 28 January 1903, she returned to Norfolk

Norfolk

Norfolk is a low-lying county in the East of England. It has borders with Lincolnshire to the west, Cambridgeshire to the west and southwest and Suffolk to the south. Its northern and eastern boundaries are the North Sea coast and to the north-west the county is bordered by The Wash. The county...

, and she was assigned to the Reserve Torpedo Flotilla on 16 February.

On 19 June 1905, Thornton was placed back in full commission; and, the following month, she made a brief visit to Annapolis, Md. On 21 July, she was again decommissioned and entered the Norfolk Navy Yard. Three months later, the torpedo boat rejoined the Reserve Torpedo Flotilla at Norfolk. 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

Gulf of Mexico

The Gulf of Mexico is a partially landlocked ocean basin largely surrounded by the North American continent and the island of Cuba. It is bounded on the northeast, north and northwest by the Gulf Coast of the United States, on the southwest and south by Mexico, and on the southeast by Cuba. In...

. In the fall of 1909, she joined several other torpedo boats in ascending the Mississippi River

Mississippi River

The Mississippi River is the largest river system in North America. Flowing entirely in the United States, this river rises in western Minnesota and meanders slowly southwards for to the Mississippi River Delta at the Gulf of Mexico. With its many tributaries, the Mississippi's watershed drains...

 as far as St. Louis. The following December, she entered Charleston, S.C., and, on the 22d, was decommissioned and assigned to the Reserve Torpedo Flotilla at Charleston.

Though the Reserve Torpedo Flotilla was abolished in 1914, Thornton remained inactive at Charleston until 1917,She was in reserve until 14 March 1914 when the Reserve Torpedo Flotilla was disbanded. After that, she was placed in commission, in ordinary, at the Charleston Navy Yard until 1917.

With America's entry into 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...

, Thornton was placed back in full commission on 7 April 1917. She was converted to a minesweeper

Minesweeper (ship)

A minesweeper is a small naval warship designed to counter the threat posed by naval mines. Minesweepers generally detect then neutralize mines in advance of other naval operations.-History:...

 and, on 22 May, departed Charleston for Norfolk. Attached to the 5th Naval District, she performed minesweeping operations in Hampton Roads

Hampton Roads

Hampton Roads is the name for both a body of water and the Norfolk–Virginia Beach metropolitan area which surrounds it in southeastern Virginia, United States...

 and off Cape Henry

Cape Henry

Cape Henry is a cape on the Atlantic shore of Virginia north of Virginia Beach. It is the southern boundary of the entrance to Chesapeake Bay.Across the mouth of the bay to the north is Cape Charles...

. On 8 April she collided with USS Joseph F. Bellows (SP-323)

USS Joseph F. Bellows (SP-323)

USS Joseph F. Bellows was a fishing boat purchased by the U.S. Navy during World War I. She was outfitted as an armed minesweeper and was assigned to the Virginia coast. Post-war she served as a tender and supply ship until sold in 1919....

 in Hampton Roads. Because of extensive damage, Thornton was towed to the Norfolk Navy Yard where she was decommissioned on 11 May 1918. On 1 August 1918, she was redesignated Coastal Torpedo Vessel No. 16 A board of inspection and survey examined her in March 1919 and recommended that she be sold. On 12 May her name was struck from the Navy list

Navy List

A Navy List or Naval Register is an official list of naval officers, their ranks and seniority, the ships which they command or to which they are appointed, etc., that is published by the government or naval authorities of a country....

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

New York City

New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...

.