USS Upshur (DD–144) was a in the United States Navy before and during World War II. She was the first ship named for Rear Admiral John Henry Upshur. Upshur was laid down on 19 February 1918 at Philadelphia by William Cramp & Sons' shipyards. The ship is launched on 4 July 1918, sponsored by Mrs. Alexander Gustavus Brown, the granddaughter of Rear Admiral Upshur. The destroyer commissioned at the Philadelphia Navy Yard on 23 December 1918. Service history 1919–1922 Following shakedown and fitting out, Upshur departed Newport, Rhode Island, on 20 May 1919, bound via the Azores for north European waters. She arrived at Devonport, England, on 16 June and shifted to Harwich two days later before subsequently calling at Heligoland, Germany; Copenhagen, Denmark; and the free city of Danzig. She eventually returned, via Harwich and Ponta Delgada, to the United States, arriving at New York City on 22 July. Assigned to the Pacific Fleet soon thereafter, Upshur transited the Panama Canal, bound for San Diego, her base of operations until the spring of the following year. During her time at San Diego, the ship conducted gunnery and torpedo training and local coastal operations. In April 1920, Upshur got underway and proceeded via Honolulu, Pearl Harbor, Midway, and Guam to the Far East, arriving at Cavite, in the Philippines, on 20 May. She soon sailed for duty on the lower Yangtze River as part of the Yangtze River Patrol. At Yochow on 16 June, troops of warlord Chang Ching-yao executed American missionary, William A. Reimert. At Hankow when the incident occurred, Upshur, acting under urgent orders, got underway for the trouble spot on 22 June—departing with such great haste that four of her complement (one officer and three enlisted men) were left behind. Arriving at Yochow on 23 June, Upshur sent ashore a landing party of one officer and 40 men at 1805 on 25 June to protect the American mission. Two days later—when local tensions had eased—they were reembarked. The Standard Oil Company's steamer Mei Foo arrived at Yochow on 28 June and delivered 100 bags of rice for refugees in the vicinity. Over the ensuing days, Upshur delivered that food staple to the American mission. In the meantime, the Commander in Chief, Asiatic Fleet, Admiral Albert Cleaves, arrived at Yochow in to observe the local situation. Eventually, the offending Chinese official in charge, Chang Ching-yao, was removed, and