"Memphis" was at anchor off a rocky beach in of water in the harbor of Santo Domingo in the Dominican Republic on the afternoon of 29 August 1916 with two of her 16 boilers operating in case she needed to get underway; the gunboat also was anchored in the harbor. Shortly after 12:00, "Memphis" began to roll heavily and Captain Beach observed an unexpected heavy swell developing. "Memphis" and "Castine" both made preparations to leave the harbor and began to raise steam; "Memphis" expected to be able to get underway at about 16:35.