AH-WR-0962

Night Hawk

Blockade Runner · United Kingdom · Lost 1864 · The Outer Banks

An English blockade runner was driven ashore and burned near Fort Fisher, and her wreck later lured another runner, Condor, to the same fate.

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Artistic recreation based on recorded historical documents. See the documented evidence.

Interpretive Reconstruction, drawn to convey the vessel's era, type and general form. See the documented evidence.

The Vessel and Her Loss

Night Hawk was an English steamer attempting to run the blockade into New Inlet when USS Niphon fired on her on the night of 29 September 1864, driving her aground near Fort Fisher. A Union boarding party under Acting Ensign Semon set her afire under fire from the fort and took her crew prisoner. Days later, the runner Condor's crew mistook Night Hawk's wreck for a Union blockader and ran aground trying to avoid it.

Vessel

Built: Not established
Builder: Not established
Yard: Not established
Material: Iron
Length: Not established
Beam: Not established
Tonnage: Not established
Propulsion: Steam, side-wheel
Owners: Not established

Loss

Date: September 29, 1864
Cause: Enemy action
Location: Near New Inlet, Fort Fisher, North Carolina
Water: Atlantic Ocean
Voyage: Nassau or Bermuda → Wilmington, North Carolina
Cargo: Not established
Aboard: Not established
Lives lost: Not established
Master: Not established

The Wreck Today

Depth: Not established
Condition: Her wreck later caused the blockade runner Condor to run aground nearby after Condor's crew mistook it for a Union blockader.
Orientation: Not established
Discovered: Not established
Protection: Not established