Charles H. McBlair (1809-1890) was the eleventh adjutant general of Maryland. He was an officer in the

United States Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the maritime service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. It is the largest and most powerful navy in the world, with the estimated tonnage ...

, and during the

American Civil War The American Civil War (April 12, 1861 – May 26, 1865; also known by other names) was a civil war in the United States. It was fought between the Union ("the North") and the Confederacy ("the South"), the latter formed by states ...

commanded a number of Confederate warships.

Biography

Early career, US Navy

McBlair was born in Baltimore, Maryland, 24 December 1809. Entered the U.S. Navy as a midshipman, 4 March 1823; passed midshipman, 23 November 1829; commissioned a lieutenant from 12 July 1831, and ordered for duty as sailing master on the U.S.S. "Ontario" in the Mediterranean; returning to the United States, was ordered, successively, to the U.S.S. "Warren", to the

Mediterranean Station The British Mediterranean Fleet, also known as the Mediterranean Station, was a formation of the Royal Navy. The Fleet was one of the most prestigious commands in the navy for the majority of its history, defending the vital sea link between ...

, to the U.S.S. "Mississippi", and in October 1842, to command the U.S.S. "Poinsett." He served in the Mexican War (1846–1847), and commanded the bomb-barge "Stromboli;" detached from command of the "Stromboli," 2 September 1848. He was a commanding lieutenant in the Coast Survey during 1849, 1850–1852; transferred to command of the steamer "Walker", 15 July 1852; ordered to duty as light house inspector, 14 December 1852; promoted to commander, 18 April 1855, and ordered to command the steamer "Michigan", on the lakes, in September of that year. The ''Michigan'' was at St. James on Beaver Island during the rebellion of

James Strang James Jesse Strang (March 21, 1813 – July 9, 1856) was an American religious leader, politician and self-proclaimed monarch. In 1844 he claimed to have been appointed to be the successor of Joseph Smith as leader of the Church of Jesus Christ o ...

, and McBlair reported on the matter. In January 1861, he was a member of the naval examining board at Annapolis.

Civil War career

At the outbreak of the

, McBlair resigned from the U.S. Navy, to take effect from 22 April 1861. He was appointed from Maryland as commander,

Confederate States Navy The Confederate States Navy (CSN) was the Navy, naval branch of the Confederate States Armed Forces, established by an act of the Confederate States Congress on February 21, 1861. It was responsible for Confederate naval operations during the Amer ...

, 19 October 1861; was transferred temporarily to Army service, as captain and chief of artillery, and officer in charge of batteries at Fernandina, Fla., in December. 1861; appointed to temporary rank of colonel, to report to General Trapier, 13 January 1862; was on duty as colonel and chief of artillery. Department of Middle and East Florida, from December 1861, to March 1862. In April 1862 he was given command of the C.S.S. ''Arkansas'', which was then under construction in a Memphis shipyard, when Union troops were approaching; the ship was towed into the Yazoo river, to

Greenwood, Mississippi Greenwood is a city in and the county seat of Leflore County, Mississippi, United States, located at the eastern edge of the Mississippi Delta region, approximately 96 miles north of the state capital, Jackson, and 130 miles south of the riverp ...

. He served on the C.S.S. "Capitol," in the Mississippi river, May 1862, and commanded the C.S.S. "Morgan," until September 1862 when he was relieved by

Franklin Buchanan Franklin Buchanan (September 17, 1800 – May 11, 1874) was an officer in the United States Navy who became the only full admiral in the Confederate Navy during the American Civil War. He also commanded the ironclad CSS ''Virginia''. Early lif ...

and sent to the Confederate shipyard in Selma, Alabama, to oversee construction of three warships, the C.S.S. ''Tennessee'', C.S.S. ''Tuscaloosa'', and the C.S.S. ''Huntsville''. Buchanan, however, gave preference to work on the ''Tennessee'', his flagship, and McBlair's projects "faltered" because his projects were given a lower priority. He was appointed again commander, 23 October 1862, to rank from 26 March 1861; was in command at Mobile Bay, 1862–1863; commanding C.S.S. "Gaines", December 1863; commanding C.S.S. "Tuscaloosa", 1863–1864 and C.S.S. "Huntsville", Mobile Bay, April 1864; surrendered with General Joseph E. Johnson, at Greensboro, N.C.; was paroled, 28 April 1865, and returned to his home, "Bonnie Brae", Baltimore County, Maryland.

Post-Civil War career

Commissioned colonel and aide-de-camp, on staff of Governor Oden Bowie, 20 April 1869; was appointed colonel and assistant adjutant general by Governor Bowie.

References

{{reflist 1809 births 1890 deaths Adjutants General of Maryland