Lot
3121 
Confederacy, 1863, 20¢ green. Four large even margins, tied by "Charleston, S.C./Jun. 6" cds on buff cover to "Capt. John McCrady, C.S. Engineer Office, Savannah, Ga.", flap torn, Very Fine and attractive. Scott No. 13 Estimate $750 - 1,000.
John McCrady, was born in Charleston, studied at Harvard and later became a professor of mathematics at the College of Charleston. He resigned his position at the outbreak of the war and became an officer in the Confederate engineers. After the close of the war, the rest of his life was academic.
McCrady is noted for his design of Fort McAllister, a Confederate earthwork fort on the bank of the Ogeechee River, which survived every attack from the sea. Fort McAllister defended the "back door" to Savannah for blockade runners. The fort survived seven attacks by Federal naval vessels, including ironclads, attempting to reduce the fort with the largest shells fired by a naval vessel in the Civil War. Additionally, he designed the fortification of Savannah, surrounding that city with an extensive ring of defenses.
Realized: $625