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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 3/14/18652 Fayetteville, 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

Caledonia1
(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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