Nearly a year later, on February27, 1863, Henry Schutes again found himself in the midst of a battle, this time on the Big Ogeechee River just south of Savannah, Georgia. The USS Wissahickon was in this action as well. This attack ended in the destruction of the blockade runner Rattlesnake which was under protection of the guns of Fort McAllister.
A shot from the fort penetrated the Wissahickon's hull below the waterline and entered the ship's powder magazine where the ammunition and gunpowder were kept. Shutes' Medal of Honor citation said that his prompt action saved the ship.
An 1890 Philadelphia Inquirer article said that Schutes had shut himself inside the magazine to drown it in water to keep the dangerous items from exploding, even though this might mean he would die.
--Old B-Runner
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