CSS ''Curlew'' was an iron-hull North Carolina Sounds
paddlewheel
A paddle wheel is a form of waterwheel or impeller in which a number of paddles are set around the periphery of the wheel. It has several uses, of which some are:
* Very low-lift water pumping, such as flooding paddy fields at no more than about ...
steamboat
A steamboat is a boat that is marine propulsion, propelled primarily by marine steam engine, steam power, typically driving propellers or Paddle steamer, paddlewheels. Steamboats sometimes use the ship prefix, prefix designation SS, S.S. or S/S ...
that was taken into the
Confederate Navy
The Confederate States Navy (CSN) was the Navy, naval branch of the Confederate States Armed Forces, established by an act of the Confederate States Congress on February 21, 1861. It was responsible for Confederate naval operations during the Amer ...
in 1861. It was run aground at Fort Forrest () and burned in the battle for
Roanoke Island
Roanoke Island () is an island in Dare County, North Carolina, Dare County, bordered by the Outer Banks of North Carolina, United States. It was named after the historical Roanoke (tribe), Roanoke, a Carolina Algonquian people who inhabited the ar ...
on February 8, 1862. Its wreck was discovered in 1988 and archaeologically investigated in 1994.
The steamboat
The ''Curlew'' was built in 1856 by the
Harlan & Hollingsworth
Harlan & Hollingsworth was a Wilmington, Delaware, firm that constructed ships and railroad cars during the 19th century and into the 20th century.
Founding
Mahlon Betts, a carpenter, arrived in Wilmington in 1812. After helping construct man ...
Iron Shipbuilding Company of
Wilmington, Delaware
Wilmington ( Lenape: ''Paxahakink /'' ''Pakehakink)'' is the largest city in the U.S. state of Delaware. The city was built on the site of Fort Christina, the first Swedish settlement in North America. It lies at the confluence of the Christina ...
. It was long, wide, depth of hold, and listed at 236 tons. Its average draft was , which suited the shallow waters of the North Carolina sounds. The steamboat had side paddle wheels that were in diameter by wide. The ''Curlew'' had no figurehead, a round stern, and no mast. A
walking beam engine
A marine steam engine is a steam engine that is used to power a ship or boat. This article deals mainly with marine steam engines of the reciprocating type, which were in use from the inception of the steamboat in the early 19th century to the ...
with a diameter cylinder and a stroke powered the new steamer. This type of engine had a distinctive trapezoid-shaped rocker arm mounted between the paddle wheels, which transmitted power from the piston rod to the crank on the paddle wheel shaft. For improved efficiency, the ''Curlew's'' engine was equipped with Sickle's patented cutoff valve. Steam was provided by a two furnace return-flue boiler long, high, and wide, and rated at 30
lbf/in²
The pound per square inch or, more accurately, pound-force per square inch (symbol: lbf/in2; abbreviation: psi) is a unit of pressure or of stress based on avoirdupois units. It is the pressure resulting from a force of one pound-force applied t ...
(210
kPa
KPA may refer to:
* Keele Postgraduate Association, Keele University, UK, formerly Keele Research Association (KRA)
* Kensington (Olympia) station, London, England, National Rail station code
* Kenya Ports Authority
* ''Kiln phosphoric acid'', a d ...
) of pressure. It started operating in North Carolina in July 1856. (Olson 1997:30ff)
History
The ''Curlew'' was built for Thomas D. Warren, a doctor and plantation owner from
Edenton, North Carolina
Edenton is a town in, and the county seat of, Chowan County, North Carolina, United States, on Albemarle Sound. The population was 4,397 at the 2020 census. Edenton is located in North Carolina's Inner Banks region. In recent years Edenton has b ...
. It was operated for passenger and cargo transportation in the
Albemarle Sound
Albemarle Sound () is a large estuary on the coast of North Carolina in the United States located at the confluence of a group of rivers, including the Chowan and Roanoke. It is separated from the Atlantic Ocean by the Currituck Banks, a ba ...
region, running between Edenton, Hertford,
Elizabeth City
Elizabeth City is a city in Pasquotank County, North Carolina, United States. As of the 2020 census, it had a population of 18,629. Elizabeth City is the county seat and largest city of Pasquotank County. It is the cultural, economic and educ ...
and Nag's Head. The ''Curlew'' also made trips up the
Chowan River
The Chowan River (cho-WAHHN) , from the North Carolina Collection's website at the
Franklin, Virginia
Franklin is the southwesternmost independent city in Hampton Roads, Commonwealth of Virginia. As of the 2020 census, the population was 8,180. The Bureau of Economic Analysis combines the city of Franklin with Southampton County for statistic ...
. Its first captain was Richard Halsey, who was later replaced by Thomas Burbage in 1858.(Olson 1997:34ff)
The ''Curlew'' made many trips to the Nag's Head Hotel, which in those days was a popular tourist destination. In 1859 Edward Bruce, an artist and reporter, rode the ship on a trip to Nag's Head and afterwards wrote about it for ''Harper's New Monthly Magazine''. He singled out the ''Curlew'' and its crew for special praise:
We never saw him (Captain Burbage) rave. Always at his post, and always quiet, everything
went on like clockwork. No traveler accustomed to the privileged usage
on many similar craft would have imagined that one of them could be
so well managed with so little damage to the Third Commandment. (Bruce 1859:726f)
After the Civil War broke out, the ''Curlew'' was initially used as a troop transport, ferrying troops and supplies to various defensive works along the North Carolina coast. The ''Curlew'' was acquired by the Confederate Navy after
Hatteras Inlet
Hatteras Inlet is an estuary in North Carolina, located along the Outer Banks, separating Hatteras Island and Ocracoke Island. It connects the Atlantic Ocean to the Pamlico Sound. Hatteras Inlet is located entirely within Hyde County.
History ...
fell to Union forces in August 1861. It was outfitted with one rifled 32-pounder cannon in the bow and one 12-pounder smoothbore cannon in the stern. Under the command of Thomas T. Hunter (also known as Tornado Hunter) it was involved in the capture of the U.S. Army supply boat ''Fanny'' at Chicamacomico on October 1, 1861.
Between October 1861 and February 1862 the ''Curlew'' alternately patrolled
Pamlico Sound
Pamlico Sound ( ) is a lagoon in North Carolina which is the largest lagoon along the North American East Coast, extending long and 15 to 20 miles (24 to 32 km) wide. It is part of a large, interconnected network of lagoon estuaries that in ...
and harassed Union shipping at Hatteras Inlet. On February 7 the ''Curlew'' and eight other Confederate gunboats attempted to repel the Union invasion of Roanoke Island. During this battle the ''Curlew'' was holed by a shell and run aground to keep from sinking. The next day it was set on fire when the Confederate forces on Roanoke Island surrendered. The remaining Confederate gunboats withdrew to
Elizabeth City
Elizabeth City is a city in Pasquotank County, North Carolina, United States. As of the 2020 census, it had a population of 18,629. Elizabeth City is the county seat and largest city of Pasquotank County. It is the cultural, economic and educ ...
, where all but two were destroyed or captured on February 10 in the
Battle of Elizabeth City
The Battle of Elizabeth City of the American Civil War was fought in the immediate aftermath of the Battle of Roanoke Island. It took place on 10 February 1862, on the Pasquotank River near Elizabeth City, North Carolina. The participants were v ...
. (Olson 1997:118ff)
Afterwards, Captain Hunter commented to another gunboat captain that during the battle he suddenly realized that his pants were gone, even though he knew he put on a pair that morning. (Parker 1985:248f)
The ''Curlew's'' engine was salvaged in 1863, after which the wreck was allowed to decay. It was located in 1988 by a group of international divers working for the state of North Carolina's Underwater Archaeological Unit. Its identity was confirmed when one of the divers, Takafumi Yamaguchi, recovered the builders plate. In 1994 the wreck was documented by state divers and students from
East Carolina University
East Carolina University (ECU) is a public university, public research university in Greenville, North Carolina. It is the fourth largest university in North Carolina.
Founded on March 8, 1907, as a Normal school, teacher training school, East ...
. (Olson 1997:150ff)
References
*Christopher Olson, ''An Historical and Archaeological Investigation of the CSS Curlew''; Masters Thesis, East Carolina University, Greenville, North Carolina,1997.
*William Parker, ''Recollections of a Naval Officer'', Naval Institute Press, 1985.
*Edward Bruce, ''Loungings in the Footprints of the Pioneers,'' Harper's New Monthly Magazine 18 (1860): 726–727.