On March 31, 1862 Thomas G Hale was appointed by the Secretary of the navy as acting Master of the Currituck[2] 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).

[2] 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.

[2] 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.

[1] This article incorporates text from the public domain Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships.