Please report any broken links or trouble you might come across to the Webmaster. Please take a moment to let us know so that we can correct any problems and make your visit as enjoyable and as informative as possible.

NavSource Online: "Old Navy" Ship Photo Archive

CSS Curlew

Awards, Citations and Campaign Ribbons

Civil War Medal
Iron hull Side-wheel Steamer:
  • Built in 1856, by Harlan & Hollingsworth, Wilmington, DE.
  • Purchased at Norfolk, Va., in 1861 by the Confederate Government
  • Ordered to duty under command of CDR. T. T. Hunter, CSN, in North Carolina waters
  • Participated in the capture of the Union steamer Fanny at Loggerhead Inlet, NC, 1 October 1861
  • Curlew participated in the battle of Roanoke Island on 7 February 1862
  • Curlew sank when a shot from the USS Southfield fell through her deck and knocked out a hull plate during the battle of Roanoke Island. Commander Thomas “Tornado” Hunter ran her aground in front of Fort Forrest. Her 32 pdr. gun was salvaged and placed on the CSS Black Warrior.
  • Sunk in shoal water by the Confederates the following day to prevent capture by United States forces
    Specifications:
    Displacement 260 t.
    Length 136'
    Beam 23'
    Depth of Hold unknown
    Draft 4' 6"
    Speed 12 kts
    Complement unknown
    Armament one 32-pdr
    Propulsion
    one vertical beam low-pressure engine; 29 x 108
    two side-wheels
    Click On Image
    For Full Size Image    		Size Image Description Source
    Fanny
    098667003    		 778k Photo from University of Wisconsin-Madison LaCrosse Historic Steamboat Photograph Collection John Spivey
    Fanny
    098606702    		 92k Port side view of Fanny from "Harper's Weekly," 19 October 1861. From Harper's Weekly, Oct.19, 1861. Showing Fanny attacked by CSS Raleigh, CSS Curlew, and CSS Youngalasaka. It is not clear, however, if this was actually Fanny's appearance, as other contemporary drawings (in Frederick Stansbury Haydon's "Military Ballooning During the Early Civil War," for example) show a similar, but definitely different, ship, Fabio Pena and
    Tommy Trampp
    Curlew 18k CSS Curlew put the torch by her crew to prevent Union forces from seizing her, 7 February 1862, at Roanoke Island, N.C.
    Image from the North Carolina Historical Review.    		 Tommy Trampp
    Curlew
    098667002    		 26k Plate salvaged from the CSS Curlew's engine.
    Photo courtesy of N.C. Dept. of Cultural Resources    		 Robert Hurst
    CSS Curlew
    Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships (DANFS)
    Back To The Navsource Photo Archives Main Page Back To The Old Navy" Steam and Sail Index
    Comments, Suggestions, E-mail Webmaster.
    This page is created by Gary P. Priolo and maintained by Michael Junge
    All pages copyright NavSource Naval History
    Last Updated 5 September 2024