 CSSMcRae, New Orleans, 1860 | |
| History | |
|---|---|
 Mexico | |
| Name | Marqués de la Habana' |
| Namesake | Marquis of Havana |
| Fate | Captured byU.S. Navy 6 March 1860 |
 Confederate States | |
| Name | CSSMcRae |
| Acquired | 17 March 1861 |
| Commissioned | March 1861 |
| Fate | Scuttled 28 April 1862 |
| General characteristics | |
| Displacement | Approx. 680 tons |
| Propulsion | Single screw, single expansion steam engine |
| Sail plan | Bark-riggedsloop; three masts |
| Armament | One 9 in (229 mm) smoothbore, six 32-pounder smoothbores, one 6-pounderrifle |
| Armor | None |
CSSMcRae was aConfederategunboat that saw service during theAmerican Civil War. Displacing around 680 tons, she was armed with one 9-inch (229 mm) smoothbore and six 32-pounder (15 kg) smoothborecannon.[1]: 230
Originally operating as a rebel ship under theMexican flag with the nameMarqués de la Havana, the woodensloop was captured as apirate ship by theUnited States Navysloop-of-warUSS Saratoga during theBattle of Anton Lizardo on 6 March 1860. A construction plan authorizing the building of ten fast gunboats was funded by theCongress of the Confederate States on 15 March 1861. Recognizing that no yard could turn out the vessels fast enough,Confederate States Secretary of the NavyStephen R. Mallory sent a commission toNew Orleans,Louisiana, to convert existing steamers to commerce raiders. TheConfederate States Navy purchasedMarqués de la Havana at New Orleans on 17 March 1861, and duly fitted her out as CSSMcRae as part of this plan. Extensive engine repairs preventedMcRae from going to sea before the arrival of theUnion blockading force.[2]: 26
Placed under the command ofLieutenantThomas B. Huger,McRae served as part ofFlag OfficerGeorge N. Hollins' defense of the lower reaches of theMississippi River, and provided cover forblockade runners. This led toMcRae seeing combat with theUnion blockading force on 12 October 1861.McRae took part in theBattle of the Head of Passes as part of Hollins′ "mosquito fleet," driving the Union blockading forces from theHead of Passes in theMississippi Delta.
McRae again saw action on 24 April 1862 as the Union fleet attempted to passFort Jackson andFort Saint Philip and reach New Orleans. In the resultingBattle of Forts Jackson and St. Philip,McRae suffered little damage in the beginning due to her resemblance to the UnionUnadilla-class gunboats. The leading Union ships passed by her without firing. The sloop-of-warUSS Iroquois was an exception, and replied toMcRae′s gunfire with an 11-inch (279-mm) shell that set fire toMcRae'ssail room and threatened hermagazines.[3] The officers and crew fought hard in this latter engagement but suffered severe casualties (Huger being amongst those mortally wounded), andMcRae 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 aflag of truce. After landing the wounded at the city, her crew scuttled and abandoned her atAlgiers, Louisiana (now a neighborhood of New Orleans), after cutting all her steam pipes.[4]
James Morris Morgan, a Midshipman on theMcRae gave a personal account of the battle and theMcRae's end: "TheMcRae 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 andLT. "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 tellAdmiral 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 OrleansMcRae 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."[5]: 73
| Shipwrecks |
|
|---|---|
| Other incidents |
|
