USS Currituck (1861)

History

United States
Ordered:	as Seneca
Laid down:	date unknown
Launched:	date unknown
Acquired:	20 September 1861 at New York City
Commissioned:	27 February 1862 at the New York Navy Yard
Decommissioned:	4 August 1865 at the Washington Navy Yard
Struck:	1865
Fate:	sold 15 September 1865
General characteristics
Displacement:	195 tons
Length:	120 ft (37 m)
Beam:	23 ft (7.0 m)
Draught:	7 ft 6 in (2.29 m)
Propulsion:	steam engine, screw
Complement:	52
Armament:	four 32-pounder guns, one 20 pounder rifled gun

USS Currituck (1861) was a steamer acquired by the Union Navy for use during the American Civil War.

Her duties as a gunboat included river patrols, guard duty, and other duties as assigned.

Purchased at New York City in 1861

Currituck, a screw-steamer, was purchased 20 September 1861 at New York City as Seneca; renamed Currituck; fitted for service at New York Navy Yard; and commissioned 27 February 1862, Acting Master W. F. Shankland in command.

Civil War service

Currituck tows Monitor to Hampton Roads

Currituck was ordered to tow USS Monitor to Hampton Roads as soon as possible so that the revolutionary new ironclad might confront the Confederate Virginia (ex-USS Merrimack). Departing New York City 6 March, Currituck and Monitor arrived Hampton Roads 8 March just in time to check the great successes of CSS Virginia.

Assigned to the Potomac Flotilla

Assigned to duty with the Potomac Flotilla, Currituck spent her entire service in the Chesapeake Bay and tributary waters cooperating with Army movements ashore. She performed guard and picket duty, capturing or destroying Confederate property and engaging Southern land forces frequently.

Between 4 May 1862 and 21 October 1863 she took eight vessels and aided in cutting out another, as well as capturing the fort at the confluence of the Pamunkey River and the Mattapony River and military stores at Carter's Creek.

Throughout the remainder of the war she cruised constantly up and down the inland waters of Virginia and in Chesapeake Bay convoying transports and hospital boats with sick and wounded from Fredericksburg, Virginia, sending scouting parties ashore from time to time.

Post-war decommissioning

Arriving at Washington, D.C., 31 July 1865, Currituck was decommissioned 4 August 1865 and sold 15 September 1865.

References

This article incorporates text from the public domain Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships. The entry can be found here.