She was the fifth ship to carry her name. Virginia was laid down in May 1902 at the Newport News Shipbuilding and Dry Dock Company in Newport News, Virginia, was launched in April 1904, and was commissioned into the fleet in May 1906. The ship was armed with an offensive battery of four 12-inch (305 mm) guns and eight 8-inch (203 mm) guns, and she was capable of a top speed of 19 knots (35 km/h; 22 mph).
For the duration of her career, Virginia served in the Atlantic Fleet, much of it spent conducting peacetime training exercises to maintain fleet readiness. In 1907–1909, she took part in the cruise of the Great White Fleet around the world. She was involved in the American intervention in the Mexican Revolution in 1913–1914, including the occupation of Veracruz. After the United States entered World War I in April 1917, she was used first to train gunners for the expanding wartime fleet, and later to escort convoys to Europe. During this period, she served briefly as the flagship of the 1st and 3rd Divisions, Battleship Force. After the war ended in November 1918, she was assigned to the operation to transport American soldiers back from France. Virginia was decommissioned in 1920 and eventually expended as a target ship in 1923 under the terms of the Washington Naval Treaty.
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