USS Wilbert A . Edwards ( SP - 315 ) USS " Wilbert A . Edwards " ( SP - 315 ) , sometimes called USS " W . A . Edwards " , was a United States Navy patrol vessel in commission from 1917 to 1919 . Construction , acquisition , and commissioning . " Wilbert A . Edwards " was built as a wooden - hulled commercial steam fishing vessel of the same name in 1911 by M . M . Davis at Solomons Island , Maryland , for the W . A . Edwards Corporation . The U . S . Navy purchased her from the W . A . Edwards Corporation in 1917 for World War I service as a patrol vessel . She was commissioned as USS " Wilbert A . Edwards " ( SP - 315 ) on 10 August 1917 at the Norfolk Navy Yard in Portsmouth , Virginia , with Lieutenant D . C . Kindell , USNRF , in command . Career . Attempted use on " distant service " . Lieutanant Robert Phillips , NNV , relieved Lieutenant Kindell as commanding officer on 17 September 1917 while " Wilbert A . Edwards " was at Gravesend Bay , New York . Assigned to " distant service " — meaning service outside the United States — she departed Gravesend Bay on 19 September 1917 , transited the Cape Cod Canal on the morning of 20 September 1917 , and arrived at the Boston Navy Yard in Boston , Massachusetts , later that day . After voyage repairs , she left for Halifax , Nova Scotia , Canada , on 25 September 1917 on what was probably supposed to be the first leg of a voyage to Ponta Delgada in the Azores to take up patrol duties from that port . However , on 26 September 1917 she suffered an engine casualty and notified the nearby United States Coast Guard Cutter USCGC " Algonquin " of her plight . " Algonquin " took the disabled " Wilbert A . Edwards " in tow that afternoon and took her to Halifax , where they arrived on 27 September 1917 . There , " Wilbert A . Edwards " coaled before getting underway in tow of " Algonquin " on 1 October 1917 . The ships ran into a heavy storm on the afternoon of the first day out of port . Weather conditions had worsened rapidly , and " Wilbert A . Edwards " rolled and labored heavily , shipping much water . By 0500 hours on 2 October 1917 , the chief engineer on board reported to Lieutenant Phillips that the ship was taking water and that he was unable to keep the flooding under control . At 0800 hours , the executive officer , Lieutenant , junior grade , Henry J . Porter , USNRF , and the ship ' s carpenter examined the steering gear and found the quadrant working loose on the rudder , the stuffing box slack in its bed , and all bolts loose in the woodwork . They tried to repair the damage but could not . Meanwhile , the flooding continued below decks as the ship rolled and pitched at an alarming rate . By noon , though , the water in the engine room had not gained on the pumps . At last the ship seemed to be holding her own . " Algonquin " kept " Wilbert A . Edwards " in tow as she steamed ahead at slow speed , and the two ships eventually returned to Halifax on 4 October 1917 . Reassignment to the 1st Naval District . After ultimately returning to Boston in company with the collier USS " Mars " ( Collier No . 6 ) , " Wilbert A . Edwards " underwent repairs there . However , the Navy concluded that she would not be fit for " distant service " and , on 2 February 1918 , reassigned her to section patrol duties in the 1st Naval District in northern New England . " Wilbert A . Edwards " remained in 1st Naval District service through the end of World War I and into 1919 , spending most of her time under repair . Decommissioning and disposal . " Wilbert A . Edwards " was decommissioned at Boston on 21 August 1919 . She was stricken from the Navy List on 24 September 1919 and simultaneously sold back to the W . A . Edwards Corporation . She resumed commercial operations , which she continued into the late 1940s .