Marguerite, a 60-foot motor pleasure boat, was built in 1916 at Salisbury, Maryland. She was purchased by the Navy in June 1917 and placed in commission in October 1917 as USS Marguerite (SP-193). During the World War I era, she was employed as a patrol craft, operating out of Saint Augustine, Florida. In December 1919, more than a year after the conflict's end, Marguerite was transferred to the U.S. Treasury Department, with the intention that she would be used by the Coast Guard.