Warship "Curlew"

Captain Jack Rackham was nicknamed "Calico Jack" because of the calico britches and coat that he usually wore. He was not one of the most infamous pirates in history, but is better known because of his connection to the two famous female pirates, Anne Bonny and Mary Read. Rackham is first mentioned in pirate history as the quartermaster of the pirate ship Treasure in 1717 under the captain, Charles Vane. Rackham later deposed Vane as captain of the ship after Vane was ruled incompetent by the other crewmembers for neglecting to attack a French ship which seemed promising.

Rackham then sailed to a small deserted isle for some rest. While at the island 2 sloops from Jamaica surprised Rackham and his ship was seized. Rackham found his way to Providence Island where he asked for a pardon from Governor Rogers. He was granted his pardon in May 1719. It was while he was at Providence Island that he met Anne Bonny who was the wife of James Bonny. Calico Jack is best known for his relationship with Anne Bonny, whom he stole away (willingly) from her wastrel husband. Rackham and Bonny along with others stole a sloop-o-war called Curlew, in late 1719. The pirates sailed between Haiti and Bermuda taking several small ships. They fought side by side in battle, and eventually he turned over control of the ship to the two women, Anne Bonny and Mary Read.

In late October, 1720, off the coast of Jamaica, a British Navy sloop, commanded by a Captain Barnet, came across Rackham's anchored ship.  The pirate sloop, Curlew, shuddered convulsively under the tremendous volleys of cannon fire. Smoke billowed from the creaking deck; a twenty-foot section of the main mast cracked under a direct hit and crashed into the sea, sinking the once dreaded skull and crossbones of the black flag. Cannonballs, falling short of the ship, sprayed the already slippery deck with seawater, creating treacherous footing. Small fires flared and crackled everywhere, consuming bits of wooden barrels, ropes, and deck that had so far escaped the drenching sea. The pandemonium was deafening; shrill screams and curses from wounded, frightened men punctuated the air between the shattering thunderclaps of the cannons. Ship timbers snapped explosively. Calico Jack and his drunken crew, unprepared for the ferocious onslaught, scrambled into the lower hold of the ship and hid, cringing, beside the bulwarks. The only resistance the pirates put up was offered by Anne and Mary. Rackham and his crew were tried along with Anne Bonny and Mary Read in November, 1720. All were convicted and sentenced to hang. Read and Bonny were spared their lives as they were both pregnant to Rackham, but were hanged after the births of their babies. Rackham was hanged on November 28th. 1720

The first Curlew, a stern wheel paddle steamer, was built in 1862 at Pittsburgh, Pa., as Florence; purchased by the Navy 17 December 1862; converted to a light draft gunboat and renamed Curlew; commissioned 16 February 1863, acting Master G. Hentig in command. USS Curlew, mounting 8 x howitzers, part of the Mississippi Squadron, 1862 to 1865. Poorly built she was referred to as a "Tinclad". "Tinclad" was a popular name for a member of a group of seventy-six gunboats converted from small river steamers for use on the Mississippi and its smaller tributaries. They were often referred to in official Navy correspondence by the term "light-drafts." "Tinclad" is a misnomer. They weren't clad with tin; in fact, several had no metal armor at all, relying on wooden bulwarks for protection.  

Sailing down river from Cairo, West Virginia, 17 February 1863, Curlew joined Admiral D. Porter's fleet for patrol and convoy duty in the Mississippi River and its tributaries. She had occasional skirmishes with the enemy on shore, including those during an expedition with army troops in June,1863 to engage Confederate troops on the Arkansas shore.  From 12 to 20 July 1863 Curlew joined other vessels for an expedition into the Red, Black, Tensas, and Ouachita rivers during which they captured the steamer Louisville, one of the finest Mississippi packets, and the steamer Elmira, and destroyed stores, two smaller steamers, a large sawmill, and 30,000 feet of lumber.

Curlew served in the Ohio and Tennessee rivers from 23 December 1863 until 14 January 1864, when she arrived at Mound City, for repairs. She sailed on 12 March carrying a party from the U.S. Coast Survey for a survey of Grand Gulf, Miss., returning to Mound City 31 May. On 24 May she had a heavy engagement with a 12 gun battery at Gaines Landing, Ark., during which she was struck several times.

Curlew stood down the Mississippi again 30 June 1864 and cruised between Natchez and Vicksburg, Miss., having several encounters with enemy land forces. On 24 October she sailed up river to patrol the Ohio and Tennessee. From February to June 1865 Curlew conducted surveys in the river around Cairo and Mound City. Curlew was decommissioned 5 July 1865 and sold 17 August 1865

The second Curlew (AM 8) was launched 29 August 1918 by Staten Island Shipbuilding Co., N. Y.; sponsored by Mrs. G. C. Rhodes; and commissioned 7 January 1919, Lieutenant J. McCloy in command.

Clearing Boston 5 April 1919 Curlew arrived at Inverness, Scotland, 20 April and was fitted out for experimental minesweeping out of Kirkwall, the Orkney Islands base for operations in the North Sea minefields. She sailed for home 2 October, calling at Chatham, England; Brest, France; Lisbon, Portugal; the Azores; and Bermuda, and reaching New York 19 November. Arriving at Portsmouth Navy Yard 26 November 1919, she was placed in ordinance 16 November 1920 without a crew.

In commission from 29 December 1920 to 7 February 1921, Curlew served with the Atlantic Fleet, then returned to reserve at Portsmouth. Recommissioned 29 October 1921, she cruised to Guantanamo Bay, Cuba in the first 4 months of 1922 to give support to the ships training there, then sailed north to New London to serve as submarine tender until September. Between September and February 1923, she operated with submarines in Chesapeake Bay and off the Virginia coast.

Reassigned to the 15th Naval District, Curlew reported at Coco Solo, C.Z., 6 August 1923. Besides acting as tender for seaplanes, she carried out rescue and salvage operations from Coco Solo. On 15 December 1925, Curlew grounded on the rocks at Point Mosquito, Panama. Determined efforts were made to save her, but the heavy surf pounded her to pieces. She was decommissioned 28 February 1926, after all salvageable material was removed.

The 82 ft. schooner Curlew built in 1927 at Wiscasset, Maine, US; used as a sail training ship and was employed in coastal submarine patrol duty for the US Coast Guard in WW II

The story of this beautiful schooner, with a overall length of 82 feet, begins in Wiscasset Maine in 1926. After successfully racing in the New York Yacht Club's Newport to Bermuda races, she was donated to the Merchant Marine Academy in 1940. Follower her military service, where she served as a training and submarine patrol duty vessel in World War II, Curlew gained recognition in 1962 by surviving a hurricane that claimed 144 other vessels.

The fourth Curlew (AM 69) was a Catbird Class Minesweeper: Built in 1938 as the steel hull trawler M/V Kittiwake by the Charleston Shipbuilding and Drydock Co., Charleston, SC for the Atlantoc Fisheries Co., Charleston; Acquired by the Navy 6 August 1940; Renamed USS Curlew 14 August 1940; Conversion to a Minesweeper began 6 September 1940 at the Quincy Dry Dock and Yacht Corp., Quincy, MA; Commissioned USS Curlew (AM 69), 7 November 1940; Conversion completed 10 May 1941.

Specifications: Displacement 570 t.; Length 147' 10"; Beam 28' 8"; Draft 12'; Complement, unknown; Speed 10 kts.; Armament one single 3"/50 gun mount; Propulsion Fairbanks Morse diesel engine, 575shp, one shaft.

Clearing Boston 10 May 1941, Curlew swept mines off Staten Island, N.Y., until 4 October when she put out for Cristobal, C.Z. She served in the 15th Naval District until 10 February 1944 when she reported to Section Base, Little Creek, Va., for patrol and mine sweeping operations until the end of the war. Re-classified IX 170, 1 June 1944, she arrived at Newport 14 November 1945. Curlew was decommissioned there 5 December 1945 and transferred to the Maritime Commission 27 September 1946 for disposal.

Curlew 5, USS Curlew (AMS 8) These ships were YMS before the Korean war, the "Y" standing for prewar funding YMS 218 was reclassified AMS 8 and assigned the name Curlew on 17 February 1947

."Where the fleet goes we've been" was her motto

AMS 8, USS Curlew (1943 to 1956) recommissioned in June 1949. She was sent to the Western Pacific a year later to support Korean War operations. During most of that conflict, she was active in the combat zone, performing mine clearance and blockade missions. Ships of the class were tuna boat design with the sweep generator housed in the fish stowage area. Hull of white oak. They carried one 40mm and two 20mm guns. Operating close to shore on "Fly Catcher Op" Curlew blew up a train leaving a tunnel & picked up shot down fliers in Wonson. After the summer of 1952, work was mostly at night. On Thanksgiving Day 1952, at Wonson on a deep sweep had close aboard hits which almost sank the ship. Curlew remained in the Japan-Korea area after the war ended in mid 1953. Transferred to the Korean Navy 1956 to 1977. Renamed Kum Hwa.

The CSS Curlew was an iron-hull steamboat built in 1856 for passenger and freight service in North Carolina. It served as a gunboat for the Confederate Navy. It was sunk resisting the invasion of Roanoke Island in 1862. The Curlew is a case study of the progress of economic development in North Carolina, and a study of the role of the gunboat in the Confederate Navy. The Curlew also serves as an indicator of the state of iron shipbuilding technology in America during the 1850s. As an archaeological site, the Curlew remains are a rare extant example of early American iron shipbuilding

The Steamboat

The steam tug/transport Curlew was built in 1856 by the Harlan & Hollingsworth Iron Shipbuilding Company of Wilmington, Delaware. It was 135 feet long, 23 feet wide, 8-foot depth of hold, and listed at 236 tons. Its average draft was 5 feet, which suited the shallow waters of North Carolina sounds. The steamboat had side paddle wheels that were 18 feet in diameter by 8 feet wide. The Curlew had no figurehead & a round stern. A walking beam engine with a 29-inch diameter cylinder and a 9-foot stroke powered the new steamer. This type of engine had a distinctive trapezoidal shaped rocker arm mounted between the paddle wheels, which transmitted power from the piston rod to the crank on the paddlewheel shaft. For improved efficiency, the engine of Curlew was equipped with the Sickle's patented cutoff valve. Steam was provided by a two furnace return flue boiler 18 feet long, 7 feet high, and 8 feet wide, and rated at 30 pounds of pressure. It started operating in North Carolina in July of 1856.

History

The Curlew was built for Thomas D. Warren, a doctor and plantation owner from Edenton, North Carolina. She operated as passenger and cargo transportation in the Albemarle Sound region, running between Edenton, Hertford, Elizabeth City and Nag's Head. Her first captain was Richard Halsey, who was later replaced by Thomas Burbage in 1858.
After the Civil War broke out the Curlew was initially used as a Yankee 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 fell to Union forces in August 1861. It was outfitted with one rifled 32 pound cannon in the bow and one 12 pound smoothbore cannon in the stern. Under the command of Thomas T. Hunter it was involved in the capture of the supply boat Fanny at Chicamacomico on October 1, 1861. Between October and February 1862 the Curlew alternately patrolled Pamlico sound and harassed Union shipping at Hatteras Inlet.

Report of Brig. Gen. Benjamin Huger, C. S. Army.

HEADQUARTERS OF THE FORCES,
Norfolk, October 5, 1861.

General S. COOPER,
Adjutant and inspector General.

        SIR: As I informed you by telegraph, Col. A. R. Wright, commanding Third Georgia Regiment, writes from Roanoke Island, dated 2nd instant, stating "We received information yesterday morning that the Yankees were about landing men near Chicamacomico, and immediately left this post, taking 150 men on board the steamers Curlew, Raleigh, and Junaluski, Commodore Lynch being in command of these vessels. At 5 p.m. we came in sight of a steamer (Federal), which proved to be the Fanny, having on board a quantity of quartermaster's and commissary stores for the Twentieth Indiana Regiment, in command of Captain Hart. After an engagement of thirty-five minutes the Fanny surrendered, and we made prisoners of the entire force--47 men, 2 officers, and 1 negro. The Fanny mounted two rifled cannon, and made a gallant resistance, but the superior weight of our guns gave us the advantage. The gun of the Curlew was manned by a crew from Captain McWhorter's company of this regiment, and worked their gun beautifully.

Bombardment of Port Royal, South Carolina.

In November 1861 the second or flanking column, was led by the Bienville, Commander Charles Steedman; gunboats Seneca, Lieutenant Commanding Daniel Ammen; Curlew, Lieutenant Commanding P. G. Watmough; Penguin, Lieutenant Commanding T. A. Budd; Augusta, Commander E. G. Parrott. The plan of attack of Flag Officer S. F. Dupont, as copied from his official report to the Honorable Secretary of the Navy, was as follows:
"To pass up midway between Forts Walker and Beauregard (receiving and returning) to a distance of about two and a half miles north of the batteries. At that point the line was to turn to the south, round by the west and close in with Fort Walker, encountering it on its weakest flank and at the same time enfilading in nearly a direct line its two water faces; whilst standing to the southward the vessels of the line were head to tide, which kept them under command whilst the rate of going was diminished.
When abreast of the fort the engines were to be slowed and the movement reduced to only as much as would be just sufficient to overcome the tide, to preserve the order of battle by passing the batteries in slow succession and to avoid becoming a fixed mark for the enemy's fire."

During the battle of Port Royal The Curlew, fired one hundred and two solid shot and thirty three shell

Curlew (Hull No. 177), Plover (Hull No. 178), Widgeon (Hull No. 179) & Snipe (Hull No. 180)

The Confederate Army needed to be supplied and so ships were used to run the Yankee blockade at night with equipment and food purchased in the West Indies capital of Havana. Typical cargo was British & Austrian made rifles, ammunition, army uniforms, blankets, shoes, medicines, salt, beef, paper, saltpeter, turpentine and tobacco intended for the Confederate Army.

The "Blockade Runners" were shoal draught and fast (12 knots) and on the return carried cotton and slaves. The Curlew Class ships ordered by the Confederate Navy were side wheel paddle steamers and built to be used as blockade runners. To minimize the ship silhouette, masts were lightly built and the funnels were able to telescope down within themselves. The hulls were painted white or light grey.

Curlew was ordered by the CSN in England from Jones, Quiggin
Co.'s yard, being Hull No.177; she was laid down at Liverpool in 1864, and launched with her three sisters the same day in 1865, but is believed to have been delivered too late to serve the Confederacy.

Snipe was the last ship christened in what may have been the only quadruple launching for the Confederate Navy. She was Hull No.180 in the Jones, Quiggin yard at Liverpool on order for Comdr. J. D. Bulloch,
CSN, and launched with her sisters the same day in 1865.

Curlew Class: Built by Jones, Quiggin & Co., Liverpool, Hulls 177-180, all launched same day, 1865; Dead weight: 645 tons, Length; 225ft., Beam: 24ft, Depth: 11ft, Draught: 6ft, 700 to 800 bale (cotton) capacity on 6' draft; Power: Steam, 2 wood burning furnaces, 180 hp.each side.