User:Hollingsworth/Curlew

New article name is CSS Curlew

CSS Curlew was an iron-hull North Carolina Sounds paddlewheel steamboat that was taken into the Confederate Navy in 1861. It was run aground and burned in the battle for Roanoke Island on February 8, 1862. Its wreck was discovered in 1988 and archaeologically investigated in 1994.

Early Steam Power in North Carolina
Schooners were the main form of commercial water transportation in antebellum North Carolina, though steamboats were making appearances starting in 1819. By 1860 a minimum of 168 schooners operated out of the seven minor ports in eastern North Carolina, while at least of 18 North Carolina-based steamboats were working the same area during the same period. (Enrollment Records Abstract, NA)

Steam-powered boat travel in North Carolina started relatively early in 1819 on the Pamlico Sound, but their numbers grew very slowly. Between 1819 and 1833 only three North Carolina-based steamboats operated at various times in the eastern North Carolina sounds. These low numbers were due to mechanical difficulties, shallow waterways and low patronage. After 1833 steamboat numbers in North Carolina Sounds started to increase.(Olson 1997:27f, 48) In the 1850s the popularity of tourism to the Outer Banks contributed to steamboat usage (and resulting economic growth) in the area. Travel to the Outer Banks grew as the more affluent people journeyed to the coast to escape summer heat. The Dismal Swamp Canal, with its connection to Norfolk, brought Virginia-based steamboats down to the North Carolina sounds, further aiding economic growth in the area. This was the setting that the Curlew operated in. (Olson 1997: PAGE#)

The Curlew


The Curlew was built in 1856 by the Harlan & Hollingsworth Iron Shipbuilding Company of Wilmington, Delaware. She was Harlan's 38th iron vessel launched by the company since it started building ships in 1844. The Curlew was 135 ft long, 23 ft wide, 8 ft depth of hold, and listed at 236 tons. Her average draft was 5 ft, which suited the shallow waters of the North Carolina sounds. The steamboat had side paddle wheels that were 18 ft in diameter by 8 ft wide. The Curlew had no figurehead, a round stern, and no mast. A walking beam engine with a 29 in diameter cylinder and a 9 ft stroke powered the new steamer. 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 18 ft long, 7 ft high, and 8 ft wide, and rated at 30 lbf/in² (210 kPa) of pressure. The steamboat had a relatively low superstructure, which was better suited for passage through some of the narrow heavily-wooded tributaries of the Pamlico and Albemarle Sounds. (Olson 1997:59ff)

Prewar History


The Curlew was built as a passenger and cargo vessel for Thomas D. Warren, a doctor and plantation owner from Edenton, North Carolina. Warren was the president of the Albemarle Steamboat Company, an un-incorporated Albemarle Sound region transportation business started by Warren and three other area residents. This company operated at least three steamboats: the Stag, A. H. Schultz, and Curlew. The Curlew's route ran between Edenton, Hertford, Elizabeth City and Nag's Head. It also made trips up the Chowan River to Franklin, Virginia. (Olson 1997: PAGE )

The Curlew initially was registered on July 8, 1856 at Wilmington, Delaware, with Richard Halsey named as Curlew's captain. Between July 8 and July 21 Curlew steamed from Delaware out into the Atlantic and into North Carolina via Hatteras or Oregon Inlet. A safer route would have been through the Dismal Swamp Canal, but Curlew was too wide for that passage. (Olson 1997: PAGE )

On July 21, 1856 the Curlew was enrolled at Edenton. In the enrollment Thomas Warren is listed as the president of the Albemarle Steamboat Company, and names Richard Halsey as the captain. Curlew initially operated as a passenger and freight carrier between Edenton, Hertford, Elizabeth City, and Nag's Head. An 1856 advertisement for Curlew promoted trips every day of the week at a fare of $1.50 to $2.00. These summer seasons were especially profitable due to high demand for transportation to the Outer Banks resorts like the Nag's Head Hotel. (Olson 1997: PAGE )

Curlew's first captain, Richard Halsey, was replaced in 1857 by Thomas Burbage. In 1859 Curlew underwent a route change: Steamboat service no longer included Hertford. On Saturdays there were two trips made to Nag's Head, and no operations were listed for Sundays. (American Banner, 7 August 1856 & Democratic Pioneer, (Elizabeth City) 22 September, 1857.)

The Curlew's and her crew earned praise for efficient operation. In 1859 Harper's Magazine contributor and artist Edward Bruce took a trip to Roanoke Island on the Curlew. The previous year Bruce had visited the construction site of the Albemarle and Chesapeake Canal, and now was visiting the same region researching material for another Harper’s article. Bruce mentions that the Curlew had “double duty” to perform, duty that required day and night operation. Despite this increased work load, Bruce was impressed by the efficiency of the captain and crew. He singled out Captain Burbage as a good-humored seaman deserving high praise for his courtesy:

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 1860:726f) The Curlew operated in the Albemarle Sound area until the outbreak of the Civil War. During this time at least two other local steamboat companies were also trying to profit from the business of area trade and Outer Bank tourism. The Sea Bird ran as its own company in the Albemarle Sound area, and the Virginia Dare was being built by the Albemarle Steam Navigation Company explicitly to compete with Curlew's business. Ironically, both boats see service either alongside or against Curlew during the Civil War.(Olson 1997: PAGE)

Early Civil War Service
At the start of the Civil War Curlew was initially used as a troop transport, ferrying troops and supplies to various defensive works along the North Carolina coast. One troop unit was the Hertford Light Infantry, which was transported by Curlew on June 18 from Winton to Edenton, from where they sailed to Ocracoke on a schooner. " Perquiman’s Beauregards", another locally raised infantry unit, were also transported by Curlew, arriving on June 22, 1861 at New Bern. (Newbern Daily Progress: 1861) In July 1861 the commander of the areas Confederate naval defenses, Samual Barron, wrote to Navy Secretary Stephen Mallory for permission to purchase Curlew for $35,000.(ORN 6: 712)  Apparently no action was taken.

The Curlew was acquired by the Confederate Navy by September 4, probably as a hasty reaction when Hatteras Inlet fell to Union forces on August 29 1861. It was outfitted with one rifled 32-pound cannon in the bow and one 12-pound smoothbore cannon in the stern. This work required the removal of some of the aft superstructure and reinforcement of the decks, which took about 25 days of work in Edenton. The cannon's had yet to be installed at Roanoke Island when word arrived of a possible raid against Union forces at Hatteras Inlet on October 1. (Olson 1997: 93ff)

Capture of the Fanny and the "Chicamacomico Races"


In September 1861 Federal forces under Colonel Hawkins staged out of Hatteras Island and mounted search and destroy expeditions along Pamlico Sound. To deter potential Confederate action to retake Hatteras Inlet, Hawkins sent the Twentieth Indiana regiment to Chicamacomico Inlet on 29 September. Chicamacomico was a shallow inlet twenty-five miles north of the Hatteras lighthouse that separated Hatteras Island with the northern Outer Banks islands.(ORN 6: 270ff)

By the end of September, the Confederate fleet in North Carolina had only three vessels available for service: the Raleigh, Junaluska, and Curlew. At that time, the Raleigh and Junaluska were the only vessels that were armed. On October 1 the Confederates at Roanoke Island became aware of the Union encampment at Chicamacomico. Curlew was then quickly outfitted with a long navy 32-pound cannon, rifled and reinforced with a steel band. The cannon was removed from one of the Roanoke Island forts, and installed on the bow of the Curlew overnight. In addition, a 12-pound smooth-bore gun, mounted on a field carriage, was placed on the stern. The gun crews of all the vessels consisted of men drawn from the Third Georgia Regiment stationed on Roanoke Island. These men, unfamiliar with serving artillery, had previously engaged in two days of gunnery training using the cannon of Fort Bartow. (Scharf 1887: 377f)

The Curlew, under the command of Thomas T. Hunter, set out with the other two steamers immediately to raid the new Union encampment. The Confederates were able to surprise U.S. Army supply boat Fanny at anchor just offshore from the Union campsite. After a 35-minute engagement the Fanny surrendered and was taken back to Roanoke Island. (ORN 6: 277f)

Emboldened by this success, the Confederate army and naval commanders formulated a plan to encircle and attack the Chicamacomico camp, then press on to take the Cape Hatteras Lighthouse, and then possibly retake Hatteras Inlet. The expedition took three days to prepare. The ships in the expedition consisted of the steamers Curlew, Raleigh, Junaluska, Fanny, Appomattox, and Cotton Plant towing three troop-carrying barges. The expedition set sail on October 5.(ORN 6: 278ff)

The encirclement attempt failed, although the Union forces were chased back to Hatteras lighthouse. Reinforcements from Hatteras Inlet arrived that night, and the next day they chased the Confederate forces back to the original landing site, where they re-embarked despite being under fire from an offshore Union warship.(ORN 6: 391f)

Runup to Roanoke Island
Between October 1861 and February 1862 the Curlew and other members of the Confederate "Mosquito Fleet" alternately patrolled Pamlico Sound and harassed Union shipping at Hatteras Inlet.

By late October 1861 the Confederate Navy in North Carolina undertook several reconnaissance and patrol voyages around Pamlico Sound. Steamers of the Confederate gunboat fleet were sighted almost daily by Union forces at Hatteras, often in groups of two or more. On one of these patrols, Captain Hunter took the Curlew on a reconnaissance of Ocracoke and Beacon Islands. Finding no enemy activity, he proceeded to Hatteras Inlet, arriving on 28 October 1861. Hunter found the Coastal Survey steamer Corwin, the USS Stars and Stripes, a "small steamer," and a merchant vessel at anchor. The Curlew approached within four miles of the anchorage and opened fire. The steamers Corwin and Stars and Stripes returned fire, but neither side sustained any damage. Captain Hunter later reported:

Feeling I had carried out the spirit of your instructions I withdrew and waited within half a mile of the buoy [marking the channel to the anchorage], hoping to draw the small steamer outside. When we fired the stern gun, the fort returned the shot. We stood back, fired another shell, and took our departure. (ORN 6: 278) The commander of the Stars and Stripes reported that the rebel steamer's gun outranged any of the Union cannons at the Inlet.

Between November 1861 and February 1862 the Curlew reconnoitered and harassed the garrison at Hatteras Inlet several times. On November 3 the Curlew and four other Confederate gunboats approached Hatteras Inlet in an attempt to provoke the Union warships anchored there to come out from under the guns of the Inlet forts. The CSS Sea Bird fired 3 shots without getting any response. The Confederate fleet then withdrew, the Curlew having to tow the CSS Forrest. (ORN 6:784)

On 14 November 1861 the Curlew returned to reconnoiter and harass the forts at Hatteras Inlet. Finding the Corwin again at anchor near the forts, the Curlew closed and opened fire, but stayed out of range of Forts Hatteras and Clark. Despite being armed with light cannon, the Corwin returned fire accurately, having its second shot fall within a few yards of the Curlew. The Curlew retreated up Pamilco Sound a short ways, turned around, and returned for a second attack. After having three shots pass over it, the Curlew again retreated.(ORN 1922: 430ff) As Charles Johnson of the 9th Zouaves wrote in his diary: Our gunboats are all outside on some business or other, and, as usual, when such is the case, the enemy is "snooking" around. As I write, a gunboat of theirs is disappearing on the horizon, evidently reconnoitering. She came within five miles of us and sent one of her compliments at 	Hatteras in general, for it seemed to be designed for no place in particular. “Tom Corbin” [The Corwin] replied with a couple of shots, but they were as compliments returned. (Johnson 1986: 69)

The Curlew spent the remainder of its time in North Carolina patrolling and towing schooners to Roanoke Island. On December 30, 1861 the Forrest had to be towed by the Curlew to Edenton for repairs. (ORN 6 : 783ff).

Defense of Roanoke Island
Main article: Battle of Roanoke Island On February 7 the Curlew and eight other Confederate gunboats attempted to repel the Union invasion of Roanoke Island. The Confederate fleet at the start of the battle consisted of the Raleigh, Seabird, Ellis, Fanny, Beaufort, Forrest, and the Curlew. One sailing vessel, the 2-gun schooner Black Warrior, was anchored on the mainland side north of Fort Forrest. The Appomattox was dispatched to Edenton for an unspecified reason, and did not return until sunset. The Confederates were outnumbered and outgunned. The total amount of firepower available to the fleet was eleven cannon, as opposed to 54 guns on the Union gunboat fleet. (Mallison 1998: 71ff)

The Federal gunboat fleet was divided into two squadrons. One engaged the Confederate gunboats while the other squadron attacked Fort Bartow, which was the fort closest to the landing site at Ashby's Harbor.

Keeping close to the Roanoke shoreline below Fort Bartow, the Union fleet nullified the fire from all but three of the fort’s guns. The Union fleet’s gunboats concentrated their attention on Fort Bartow, and periodically engaged the Confederate fleet. The Confederate fleet congregated in line abreast formation north of the Croatan Sound obstructions. By repeatedly advancing up to the barrier and falling back, the Confederate fleet tried to lure the Union gunboats into range of the northernmost forts. The Union ships, however, concentrated on Fort Bartow, which ultimately received seven hours of cannon fire from the Federal gunboats. Periodically during the afternoon, the Confederate fleet attempted to flank the Federal fleet by advancing past the western side of the barrier towards the fleet. However, counter-advances by Union gunboats quickly put an end to this threat. The Confederate gunboats would retreat north past the barrier and continue their long-range shelling. Meanwhile, the Federal transports were making their way through the Roanoke Marshes into Croatan Sound. At approximately 4:00, Federal soldiers landed at Ashby's Harbor. Opposition at the landing site consisted of a contingent of about two hundred Confederates who were quickly routed by fleet shellfire from the USS Delaware and the USS Picket. In twenty minutes about four thousand men landed, and by midnight, about ten thousand Federal troops had made it ashore.(Barret 1963: 76ff) The Curlew sustained at least two hits. One hit was near the pilot house, resulting in the wounding of pilot Eli Williamson in the right arm. This hit may have been scored by the Morse, which reportedly struck the Curlew's around noon. The second hit was more serious.(ORN 6: 571) The Confederate fleet made at least two advances up to the obstructions at this time, once at about 4 P.M. and again at about 5:10 P.M. The purpose was to divert fire from Fort Bartow. The first attempt, however, resulted in the loss of the Curlew. At about 4 P.M., the Curlew was struck by a heavy shell that passed through its magazine and displaced a hull plate. Captain Hunter immediately turned towards Fort Forrest with the intention of running aground. Captain Parker of the Beaufort later wrote:

Her captain, finding she was sinking, started for the shore, and as he passed me, hailed; but I could not make out what he said, and he being a very excitable fellow (the North 	Carolinians called him Tornado Hunter) I said to Johnston that I thought there was nothing the matter with him. “Oh, yes there is,” said J., “look at his guards.” And sure enough he was fast going down. I put after him in the Beaufort, but he got her ashore in time. Parker also related this story, possibly apocryphal: To show what an excitable fellow Hunter was: he told me 	afterward that during the fight this day he found to his surprise that he had no trousers on. He said he could never understand it, as he had certainly put on a pair in the morning. (Parker The Curlew was run aground in front of Fort Forrest on the mainland side of the sound, unfortunately in such a manner as to hamper the forts fire at the Union navy.(PARKER?_) The remaining gunboats of the Confederate gunboat fleet continued the action. By sunset the Confederate boats had exhausted most their ammunition.  Commodore Lynch ordered a retreat north to Elizabeth City with the intention of replenishing ammunition and return to Roanoke Island.  The Ellis was ordered to salvage the Curlew’s cannon and other items, using the schooner Black Warrior to help carry these items to Elizabeth City. (FOOTNOTE  )

The following day the Union naval forces, having successfully landed over ##### troops on Roanoke Island, began to move further up Croatan Sound and penetrate the obstructions that were stretched across the northern third of the sound. The Curlew, although abandoned, was treated as a potential threat by the Union navy. (ORN ##)  By this time news of the defeat of the Confederate army on the island had reached the forts located along the shoreline, which were then surrendered. The garrison of Fort Forrest set fire to their fortification and to the Curlew before withdrawing inland. The fire eventually reached the Curlews magazine, causing an explosion that coincided with the official surrender of the island's garrison. (ORN:  )

Postwar
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. In 1994 the wreck was documented by state divers and students from East Carolina University. (Olson 1997:)