CSS McRae
| Career | |
|---|---|
| Ordered: | ?? |
| Laid down: | ?? |
| Fate: | sank due to battle damage |
| General Characteristics | |
| Displacement: | approx. 680 tons |
| Length: | ?? |
| Beam: | ?? |
| Draft: | ?? |
| Speed: | ?? |
| Complement: | ?? |
| Armament: | One 9-inch rifle Six 33 pounders |
| Armor: | none |
CSS McRae was a Confederate gunboat during the American Civil War.
CSS McRae was a 680-ton screwed gunboat (wooden). She was captured in 1860 by the United States Navy as a suspected pirate. She was formerly a Mexican flagged vessel by the name of Marquis de la Habana.
She was placed into service with the Confederate States Navy in 1861 and was used to help defend New Orleans, Louisiana. She was armed with one 9 inch and six 33 pound guns.
McRae's primary duty was protecting blockade runners as they transited the mouth of the Mississippi River.
McRae engaged in combat with Federal blockaders on 12 October 1861 and engaged with Federal forces on 24 April 1862 as the Federal fleet attempted to pass Fort Jackson and Fort Saint Philip and reach New Orleans. During this combat she performed admirably but was badly damaged and her commander Lieutenant Thomas B. Huger was mortally wounded.
McRae was sent to New Orleans under a flag of truce on 27 April and sank shortly after her arrival there due to battle damage.
