USS Caldwell (DD-69)

USS Caldwell (DD-69) was the lead ship of her class destroyer of the United States Navy. She was the first Navy ship named for Lieutenant James R. Caldwell (1778-1804).

Caldwell was launched 10 July 1917 by Mare Island Navy Yard, sponsored by Miss C. Caldwell, and commissioned 1 December 1917, Lieutenant Commander B. McCandless in command.

Service history
Ordered to join the Atlantic Fleet, Caldwell reached Norfolk, Virginia, 8 January 1918, and Queenstown, Ireland, 5 March. She participated in patrol and convoy escort duty, which were interrupted when Caldwell aided in urgent experimental work on underwater listening devices to employ against German submarines. After the close of World War I, Caldwell transported troops to Brest, France, and while there joined the escort for President Woodrow Wilson in SS George Washington as he entered the harbor.

Caldwell returned home for operations with the Norfolk Division, Destroyer Force, Atlantic Fleet, and with Destroyer Squadron 3 along the east coast during 1919. Placed in reserve in August 1920, she operated with a reduced complement out of Charleston, South Carolina, and Newport, Rhode Island.

She was decommissioned at Philadelphia Navy Yard 27 June 1922. She was sold there 30 June 1936.