CSS ''McRae'' was a Confederate

gunboat A gunboat is a naval watercraft designed for the express purpose of carrying one or more guns to bombard coastal targets, as opposed to those military craft designed for naval warfare, or for ferrying troops or supplies. History Pre-ste ...

that saw service 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 ...

. Displacing around 680 tons, she was armed with one smoothbore and six smoothbore

cannon A cannon is a large- caliber gun classified as a type of artillery, which usually launches a projectile using explosive chemical propellant. Gunpowder ("black powder") was the primary propellant before the invention of smokeless powder ...

. Originally operating as a rebel ship under the Mexican flag with the name ''Marqués de la Havana'', the wooden sloop was captured as a

pirate Piracy is an act of robbery or criminal violence by ship or boat-borne attackers upon another ship or a coastal area, typically with the goal of stealing cargo and other valuable goods. Those who conduct acts of piracy are called pirates, v ...

ship by 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 ...

sloop-of-war during the Battle of Anton Lizardo on 6 March 1860. A construction plan authorizing the building of ten fast gunboats was funded by the

Congress of the Confederate States The Confederate States Congress was both the provisional and permanent legislative assembly of the Confederate States of America that existed from 1861 to 1865. Its actions were for the most part concerned with measures to establish a new nat ...

on 15 March 1861. Recognizing that no yard could turn out the vessels fast enough,

Confederate States Secretary of the Navy The Confederate States Secretary of the Navy was the head of the Confederate States Department of the Navy. Stephen Mallory, Stephen R. Mallory held this position through the entire duration of the Confederate States of America. Secretary of the ...

Stephen R. Mallory Stephen Russell Mallory (1812 – November 9, 1873) was a Democratic senator from Florida from 1851 to the secession of his home state and the outbreak of the American Civil War. For much of that period, he was chairman of the Committee on Na ...

sent a commission to

New Orleans New Orleans ( , ,New Orleans

Louisiana Louisiana , group=pronunciation (French: ''La Louisiane'') is a state in the Deep South and South Central regions of the United States. It is the 20th-smallest by area and the 25th most populous of the 50 U.S. states. Louisiana is borde ...

, to convert existing steamers to commerce raiders. The

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 ...

purchased ''Marqués de la Havana'' at New Orleans on 17 March 1861, and duly fitted her out as CSS ''McRae'' as part of this plan. Extensive engine repairs prevented ''McRae'' from going to sea before the arrival of the Union blockading force. Placed under the command of

Lieutenant A lieutenant ( , ; abbreviated Lt., Lt, LT, Lieut and similar) is a commissioned officer rank in the armed forces of many nations. The meaning of lieutenant differs in different militaries (see comparative military ranks), but it is often ...

Thomas B. Huger, ''McRae'' served as part of

Flag Officer A flag officer is a commissioned officer in a nation's armed forces senior enough to be entitled to fly a flag to mark the position from which the officer exercises command. The term is used differently in different countries: *In many countries ...

George N. Hollins' defense of the lower reaches of the

Mississippi River The Mississippi River is the second-longest river and chief river of the second-largest drainage system in North America, second only to the Hudson Bay drainage system. From its traditional source of Lake Itasca in northern Minnesota, it fl ...

, and provided cover for blockade runners. This led to ''McRae'' seeing combat with the

Union Union commonly refers to: * Trade union, an organization of workers * Union (set theory), in mathematics, a fundamental operation on sets Union may also refer to: Arts and entertainment Music * Union (band), an American rock group ** ''Un ...

blockading force on 12 October 1861. ''McRae'' took part in the

Battle of the Head of Passes The Battle of the Head of Passes was a bloodless naval battle of the American Civil War. It was a naval raid made by the Confederate river defense fleet, also known as the “mosquito fleet” in the local media, on ships of the Union blockade s ...

as part of Hollins′ "

mosquito fleet The term Mosquito Fleet has had a variety of naval and commercial uses around the world. United States In U.S. naval and maritime history, the term has had ten main meanings: #The United States Navy's fleet of small gunboats, leading up to and ...

," driving the Union blockading forces from the

Head of Passes Head of Passes is where the main stem of the Mississippi River branches off into three distinct directions at its mouth in the Gulf of Mexico: Southwest Pass (west), Pass A Loutre (east) and South Pass (centre). They are part of the "Bird's Foot ...

in the Mississippi Delta. ''McRae'' again saw action on 24 April 1862 as the Union fleet attempted to pass Fort Jackson and Fort Saint Philip and reach New Orleans. In the resulting

Battle of Forts Jackson and St. Philip The Battle of Forts Jackson and St. Philip (April 18–28, 1862) was the decisive battle for possession of New Orleans in the American Civil War. The two Confederate forts on the Mississippi River south of the city were attacked by a Union Nav ...

, ''McRae'' suffered little damage in the beginning due to her resemblance to the Union ''Unadilla''-class gunboats. The leading Union ships passed by her without firing. The sloop-of-war was an exception, and replied to ''McRae''′s gunfire with an 11-inch (279-mm) shell that set fire to ''McRae''s sail room and threatened her

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. The officers and crew fought hard in this latter engagement but suffered severe casualties (Huger being amongst those mortally wounded), and ''McRae'' herself was severely damaged. She was run against the shore to put out her fires, and remained there till dawn, after which she returned to the forts. Loaded with wounded from the forts, ''McRae'' was allowed to return to New Orleans on 27 April 1862 under a

flag of truce White flags have had different meanings throughout history and depending on the locale. Contemporary use The white flag is an internationally recognized protective sign of truce or ceasefire, and for negotiation. It is also used to symboliz ...

. After landing the wounded at the city, her crew scuttled and abandoned her at

Algiers, Louisiana Algiers is a historic neighborhood of New Orleans and is the only Orleans Parish community located on the West Bank of the Mississippi River. Algiers is known as the 15th Ward, one of the 17 Wards of New Orleans. It was once home to many jazz m ...

(now a neighborhood of New Orleans), after cutting all her steam pipes.Hearn, ''The Capture of New Orleans, 1862'' p. 246 James Morris Morgan, a Midshipmen on the ''McRae'' gave a personal account of the battle and the ''McRaes end: "The ''McRae'' was in the thick of the fight. Her sides riddled. Heavy projectiles had knocked her guns off the carriages and rolled them along the deck crunching the dead and wounded. Her deck was a perfect shambles. When day broke the McRae was the only thing afloat with the Confederate flag flying." In the battle, Captain Huger had been mortally wounded and LT. "Savez" Read taken command. "Admiral Farragut, with his flagship the Hartford, was by this time at the Quarantine Station, about four miles above the forts. Read sent the only boat he had that would float over to the Hartford to tell Admiral Farragut the condition of his vessel and the difficulty he was having to keep her afloat--that he did not have a gun left on a carriage, and no one to care for his dying captain or the many other wounded. Farragut gave him permission to proceed to New Orleans, saying that he would tell him there what disposition he would make of the ship. When we arrived at New Orleans ''McRae'' was leaking like a sieve; the exhausted remnant of the crew refused to continue at the pumps, and as the last wounded men were taken out of the ship--down she went."

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Mcrae Steamships of Mexico Vessels captured by the United States Navy Gunboats of the Confederate States Navy Shipwrecks of the Mississippi River Shipwrecks of the American Civil War Pirate ships Maritime incidents in April 1862 Ship fires Scuttled vessels

See also

References