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NavSource Online: "Old Navy" Ship Photo Archive

CSS McRae

Awards, Citations and Campaign Ribbons

Civil War Medal

Steam Sloop:

Formerly the bark-rigged pirate ship Marques de la Habana

captured by USS Saratoga in March 1860

Purchased by the Confederate States at New Orleans, 17 March 1861, and fitted out as CSS McRae, LT. T. B. Huger, CSN, in command, assigned to the defense of the lower Mississippi River

During the Civil War CSS McRae gave protection to blockade runners slipping in and out of the Mississippi and Mobile Bay

Gave a good account of herself in a spirited engagement with ships of the Federal blockading fleet at the Head of the Mississippi River Passes, 12 October 1861

McRae's last fight was a gallant defense of Forts Jackson and St. Philip, 24 April 1862, the conduct of her officers and crew was reported "rarely surpassed in the annals of naval warfare

Although severely damaged, McRae was able to come up river to New Orleans under a flag-of-truce on the evening of 27 April 1862, landing Confederate wounded

Final Disposition, at New Orleans she was left to her fate and was found the following morning by Union forces sunk alongside the city wharf

Specifications:
Displacement 830 t.
Length unknown
Beam unknown
Depth of Hold unknown
Draft unknown
Speed unknown
Complement unknown

Armament

one 9" gun

six 32-pdrs

one 6-pdr

Propulsion sail and steam

Click On Image For Full Size Image	Size	Image Description		Contributed By
	17k	*Namesake* Dandridge McRae (October 10, 1829 – April 23, 1899) was an American lawyer, court official, and Inspector General of Arkansas State Troops, as well as a brigadier general in the Confederate States Army during the American Civil War. He served in several key battles that helped secure Arkansas for the Confederacy, prolonging the war in the Western Theater		Tommy Trampp
	80k	CSS McRae at New Orleans, 1861. Former Mexican naval vessel, *Marquis de la Habana* seized as a pirate in 1860. Refitted as a 830 ton steam sloop for commerce raiding, armed with one 9 inch pivot gun and six 32 pounders, by Naval Secretary Stephen Mallory. Photograph published in Francis T. Miller's "The Photographic History of the Civil War", 1911. Courtesy of Frederick Way, Jr., 1941. US Naval History and Heritage Command Photo # NH 46483		Robert Hurst

CSS McRae
Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships (DANFS)

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Last Updated 9 September 2016