Huger was born in South Carolina. He joined the U.S. Navy as a midshipman in March 1835. He was promoted to the rank of Lieutenant in February 1848 and continued in the service until his native state seceded from the United States. Resigning his commission in the U.S. Navy in January 1861, Huger became a First Lieutenant in the Confederate Navy the following March. On April 24, 1862, while battling Federal Navy ships near Fort Jackson and Fort St. Philip, McRae was badly damaged and Lieutenant Huger was mortally wounded. He died the next day.