USS Chauncey, a 1190-ton Clemson class destroyer built at San Francisco, California, was commissioned in June 1919. During her first year of service, she operated along the U.S. West Coast and in Hawaiian waters. She was in the ready reserve from mid-1920 until October 1921, then returned to active work with Destroyer Squadron ELEVEN and spent the next several months participating in fleet maneuvers and other training exercises.

On the morning of 8 September 1923, Chauncey's squadron began a cruise from San Francisco to San Diego. That evening, under conditions of darkness and poor visibility, the column of destroyers turned to enter the Santa Barbara Channel, but an error in navigation on board the squadron flagship resulted in the turn being made too far north. Within minutes, seven of the destroyers went ashore on rugged Honda Point (more formally called Point Pedernales). Chauncey, tenth in line, attempted to rescue men from the capsized USS Young, but herself ended up on the rocks. She was the least damaged of the seven stranded ships, and suffered no losses among her crew, but she could not be saved. Though some of her equipment was salvaged, USS Chauncey was broken up by the pounding surf during the following months.

USS Chauncey was named in honor of Commodore Isaac Chauncey (1772-1840), a hero of the War of 1812, whose Naval service extended from 1798 to 1840.