NC Business History - North Carolina Steamboats 1850

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List of Merchant Steamboats in NC (1850 -1860)
The first steamboats or steamships began plying North Carolina's sounds and rivers in 1818. The state's outer banks and difficult river navigation posed significant barriers. A local steamboat construction industry started in Fayetteville, Wilmington and Washington, NC. Additional material will be added to this section. Please provide any information for changes to this list to Ron Vinson.

The steamboat transportation industry was much larger than previous reports. We have identified about 100 (at present) steamers plying North Carolina rivers, canals and sounds prior to 1861, with an additional 80+ such boats (excluding steamer flats and tugs) built and operating between 1861 and 1899. The list is expected to grow. This comprehensive listing does not contain the occasional ocean-going steamship that once or only a few times on an irregular basis stopped at Wilmington or Smithville (now Southport) or other NC seaports. The intent is to list cargo and passenger steamers, not tugs. Note: There were many lighters — large flat-bottomed barges — that are not included in this list, as these vessels were not considered "Steam Boats" by contemporary sources. Links are provided to some steamers to provide additional information and drawings/photos, where available. More information on specific steamers is constantly being added. Steamers in North Carolina from 1812 to 1849 (click link) are contained in this list. Steamers in North Carolina from 1850 to 1860 (click link) are contained in this list. Steamers in North Carolina from 1861 to 1880 (click link) are contained in this list. Steamers in North Carolina from 1881 to 1899 (click link) are contained in this list. Listing of Steamboats (Cargo and/or Passenger) on NC rivers and sounds (does not include tugs) Wheel types - P (sidewheel); W (stern or center); S (screw drive); Service - f (ferry)
Year Built	Name of Vessel	Wheel Type	Tons	Built In	First Home Port	NC River/Sound Routes/Dates	Final Disposition
1850	Chatham	P	57	New Bern, NC	New Bern, NC		Burnt 3/14/1865²Fayetteville, NC
1850	New Wayne	P	50	New Bern, NC	New Bern, NC	Neuse & Trent	Abandoned 1852
1850	Union	P	40	Wilmington, NC	Wilmington, NC		Abandoned 1857
1850	A. H. Shultz	P	164	New York, NY	New York, NY	Blackwater, Chowan & Albemarle Sound	Destroyed in War 1864/65
1851	Fairy	P	54	New Bern, NC	New Bern, NC		Abandoned 1857
1851	Major William Barnett	P	116	Camden, NJ	Philadelphia, PA	Cape Fear 1853	Abandoned 1860
1852	Chatham³	P	235	Fayetteville, NC	Wilmington, NC	Cape Fear	Confederate control 1861
1852	Fayetteville	P	264	Fayetteville, NC	Wilmington, NC	Cape Fear	Exploded 5/18/1853 Smithville, NC
1852	Spray	P	106	Wilmington, DE	Wilmington, NC	Wilmington - Smithville* 1853 - Oct. 1857	Confederate control 1861
1852	Deer	P	130	Hoboken, NJ	New York, NY		Burnt 2/26/1879 New Bern, NC
1852	Brothers		125			Deep River -1856-	1870s
1852	Zephyr	P	123	Wilmington, DE	Wilmington, DE	Cape Fear	Confederate control 1861
1852	Southerner	W	51	Fayetteville, NC	Wilmington, NC		Confederate control 1861
1853	Fanny Lutterloh	P	50	Fayetteville, NC	Wilmington, NC	Cape Fear	Collision, sank in 1854, raised/repaired; Abandoned 1860
1853	North State	P	51	New Bern, NC	New Bern, NC		Abandoned 1855
1853	Sam Beery	P	185	Wilmington, NC	Wilmington, NC		Stranded 1/12/1856 Masonboro Inlet, NC
1853	Parkersburg - originally Henry B. Beach; renamed on 2/19/1857	S	468	Saybrook, CT	Middletown, CT	Wilmington - New York - June 1860	Sold to foreign owners 1865
1853	Sun	W	61	Fayetteville, NC	Wilmington, NC	Cape Fear	Abandoned 1855
1853	Concord	S	155	Gloucester, NJ	Philadelphia, PA		Burnt 2/20/1886 Washington, NC
1853	J.S. Underhill	S	123	New York, NY	New York, NY		Burnt 12/24/1878 Wilmington, NC
1853	Eliza			Wilmington, NC		Singletary Landing & Wilmington; Express Line
1853	John H. Haughton	P	54	Wilmington, NC	Wilmington, NC	Cape Fear & Deep River Nov. 1853 -	Sunk above Lockville after 1860
1854	Black River	P	67	Wilmington, NC	Wilmington, NC		Confederate control 1861
1854	Caledonia^{1 (renamed Beaufort during Civil War)}	S	85	Wilmington, DE	Edenton, NC		Confederate control, renamed Beaufort; Converted to sail 1878
1854	Flora McDonald	P	95	Wilmington, NC	Wilmington, NC		Confederate control 1861; burnt 1864
1854	Mariner⁹	S	134	Philadelphia, PA	Wilmington, NC		Confederate control 1861
1854	Mohawk Chief	S	85	Newburgh, NY	Troy, NY	Dismal Swamp 1850s	Abandoned 1864
1854	North Carolina (IV)	P	672	Philadelphia, PA	Philadelphia	Philadelphia - Wilmington -freight	Lost 1855
1855	Kahukee⁷	S	91	Wilmington, DE	Plymouth, NC		Confederate control 1861
1855	Lillian⁸		55	Wilmington, NC	Wilmington, NC		Abandoned 1868
1855	Magnolia	P	66	Fayetteville, NC	Wilmington, NC	Cape Fear	Exploded 2/19/1858 Cape Fear River, NC
1855	Scottish Chief¹¹	P	110	Wilmington, NC	Wilmington, NC		Confederate control 1861
1855	W.W. Harlee f	P	241	Wilmington, DE	Wilmington, NC		Confederate control 1861
1855	Wilson¹²	W	58	Washington, NC	Washington, NC	Greenville-Washington	Bought by John Myers in 1859 and then sold. Confederate control 1861; captured 7-9-62
1856	Curlew	P	236	Wilmington, DE	Edenton, NC	Albemarle Sound	Sunk by gunfire Roanoke Island 2/7/1862
1856	Pamlico	P	218	New York, NY	New York, NY	Sounds 1857 - 1861 (Washington & New Bern)	Confederate control 1861
1856	Egypt Mills	S	70	Popular Neck, MD	Philadelphia, PA	Roanoke River	1869
1856	Lucy			Washington, NC		Chowan River
1856	George M. Hill
1857	John Styles	P	141	Williamsburg, NY	New York, NY	Roanoke	Confederate control 1861
1858	Douglass					Fayetteville - Wilmington
1858	Hattie Hart					Fayetteville - Wilmington
1858	James R. Grist					Cape Fear - Wilmington to Fayetteville
1858	John Dawson (I)	W	50	Fayetteville, NC	Wilmington, NC		Confederate control 1861
1858	Alpha	S	107	Brooklyn, NY	New York, NY	Albemarle Sound	Exploded 10/7/1865 Albemarle Sound
1858	Sylvan Grove	P	283	New York, NY	New York, NY		Burnt 1/9/1891 Wilmington, NC
1859	Enterprise (II)					White Hall to Wilmington	Burned Dec. 1882
1859	Caldwell	W	51	Fayetteville, NC	Beauford, NC		Burned 3/14/1865 Fayetteville
1859	Kate McLaurin	P	54	Fayetteville, NC	Wilmington, NC	Cape Fear	*Multiple service: exploded 5/29/1860 Elizabethtown, NC; rebuilt in 1860, deliberately Burnt near Fayetteville in 1865; rebuilt
1860	A. P. Hurt¹⁵	W	81*	Wilmington, DE	Wilmington, NC	Cape Fear *81 tons originally, 140 tons when rebuilt	Abandoned 1923 in Wilmington
1860	North Carolina (V)	W	110	Fayetteville, NC	Wilmington, NC	Cape Fear	Abandoned 1869
	Alma					Tar River	Withdrawn from service 1899
	Liberty					Roanoke	Burned 1857 at its dock
	Phoenix					Dismal Swamp 1850s
	J.N. Smith					Dismal Swamp
	Calypso					Albemarle & Chesapeake Canal 1859
1860	Cotton Plant (III)	P		Washington, NC	Washington, NC	Tar River (to Tarboro)	Captured in 1862 by Union, sold in 1866 and returned to Washington in 1866; burned at Tarboro around 1880.

Source: Ron Vinson, CSI/ISI; newspaper reports, federal registration, etc.
Note: Pioneering research on U.S. steamers was conducted by William M. Lytle, Forrest R. Holdcamper, C. Bradford Mitchell , Roy F. Johnson and others.

Wheel types - P (sidewheel); W (stern or center); S (screw drive); Service - f (ferry)
1 CSS Beaufort; USS Beaufort 3/1865; re-documented Roanoke 10/31/65; rig changed to barge 12/2/1878
2 Destroyed by US forces as Confederate steamer
3 Captured 12/16/1863; re-documented 5/22/1866
4 Also documented as the Duncan
5 First documented 7/26/1849
6 Renamed Rockledge 9/7/1886
7 Also known as Kahuha and/or Kakakee
8 Captured as Confederate steamer (documented 10/8/1866)
9 Renamed CSS Mariner; Captured as Confederate blockade runner 1862
10 First documented 12/19/1853
11 Possibly sunk as blockade runner 10/16/1863 in Hillsborough River (FL?)
12 Captured as Confederate steamer Hamilton, NC 7/9/1862; USQMD 7/22/1862
14 first documented 2/25/42; renamed Calhoun 7/26/1849
15 burnt, rebuilt and renamed C.W. Lyons, which burnt, rebuilt and returned to former name
16 built as 199-ton schooner (1843/44), then converted to steam (registered as steamer in 1851)
* now called Southport

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