USS Wild Cat (1862) - Going Ashore and Rescuing Inhabitants Under Attack

Going Ashore and Rescuing Inhabitants Under Attack

During that service, she assisted refugees from a plantation attacked by Confederate marauders. On 13 June, Wild Cat sailed up to Hutchinson's Island, off St. Helena Sound, in company with the gig from the sloop-of-war USS Dale, Lt. W. T. Truxtun, commanding, to investigate a large fire ashore. Upon arrival in the vicinity, the Union sailors found the burning Marsh Plantation, set afire by a marauding Confederate band. The Southern troops had plundered the belongings of the poor negroes there, wounding some, generally striking terror into the hearts of the inhabitants. As Wild Cat sailed up the river, she came in contact with many canoes paddled by panic-stricken former inhabitants of the plantation. Lt. Truxtun soon placed all of the refugees on board Wild Cat and had them transported out of the area. A few days later, while reconnoitering the vicinity, Wild Cat shelled some Confederate raiders spotted near the Ashepoo River.

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