After the war, McRae settled in Belize, British Honduras. McRae purchased land and continued running a plantation and mercantile business. Since he was never officially pardoned, McRae decided it was too risky to return to the former Confederate States. In May of 1868, McRae's sister, Catherine McRae (Hempstead), and brother, John McRae, visited him in Belize. John, the ex governor of Mississippi, was gravely ill but wanted to see his brother one last time. John died soon after arriving in Belize and was buried there. While in Belize, Catherine met and married Christopher Hempstead, a successful businessman and friend of McRae, who was an exiled Confederate. During 1875, McRae willed all of his property to his sister Catherine until his nieces and nephews from his other sister, Isabelle Armor, were of age. McRae died in February of 1877.

Click HERE for More from the South Carolina Confederate Relic Room and Military Museum.....