The first Reid (Torpedo Boat Destroyer No. 21) was laid down by the Bath Iron Works, Bath, Maine, 3 August 1908; launched 17 August 1909; sponsored by Miss Lina Andrews; and commissioned 3 December 1909, Ensign V. V. Woodward in temporary command. Assigned to the Atlantic Torpedo Flotilla, an organization redesignated many times in the years which followed, Reid operated along the East Coast—primarily engaged in training exercises and drills—until the United States entered World War I.

On 6 April 1917, Reid was attached to the Southern Patrol Force, operating out of Key West. On the 14th, she moved north and on the 18th joined Squadron 1, Patrol Force at Boston. Transferred to Squadron 2 in early May, she patrolled the northeast coast of the United States until detached from the Patrol Force, 15 May and assigned to the Destroyer Force. Reporting on the 17th, she escorted coastal traffic and patrolled the approaches to New York City until ordered to Charleston to prepare for distant service on 5 July.

Reid sailed east 21 July and, between 1 August and 30 September, provided escort and patrol services in the vicinity of the Azores. Detached in October, she proceeded to Brest, whence she resumed her patrol and escort mission. On the 23rd, she was rammed and damaged above the waterline by minesweeper W. T. James (SP-429), but repairs were completed quickly at Brest and she continued her work without further interruption until the end of the war. During that period she made several attacks on submarines, the most notable being against UB-55 on 18 March 1918 and U-86 on 1 July 1918, but sank none.

Relieved after the Armistice, Reid departed Brest for Charleston and inactivation 11 December. Arriving on the 31st, she later shifted to Philadelphia where she was decommissioned on 31 July 1919. She was struck from the Navy list on 15 September and was sold to T. A. Scott & Co., New London, Connecticut, on 21 November.

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Source: Naval History & Heritage Command including Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships.