It is difficult to separate the two, they are so deeply entwined. Operating along the coast of South America through late July, Alabama enjoyed a successful spell that saw it capture twenty-nine Union merchant ships. Colored sketch by a crewman of USS Columbus. We learn little of Raphael Semmes growing into a man or of his 35 years in the U.S. Navy other than it was in no way exceptional due to his lack of political sensitivity and the clogged pipeline of promotions. You would think they never existed. “Liberty is always destroyed by the multitude, in the name of liberty.”, “Must the howling Demos devour everything gentle in the land, and reduce us all to the common level of the pot-house politician, and compel us to use his slang? Outrunning the steam sloop USS Brooklyn (21), Sumter reached open water and began hunting Union merchant vessels.

Touching at Cape Town in March 1864, the raider made its sixty-fifth and final capture the following month as it steamed north toward Europe. I've visited Civil War sites throughout the U.S. most of my life, and I've always heard about how destructive Raphael Semmes and the Alabama were without getting too many of the details. Naval Historical Center Photograph. Naval History and Heritage Command) T he U.S. Navy Personnel Command issued an apology Monday evening after its Twitter account posted a motivational … At the end of her long cruise, Alabama was blockaded at Cherbourg, France, while seeking repairs. But as he gained strength, he gained courage, and as the war progressed, and it became evident that we should be beaten, he began to talk of traitors, and treason.”, Memoirs of Service Afloat: During the War Between the States.

Re-coaling, he sailed for Texas with the hope of frustrating Union operations off Galveston. U.S.

Though definitely on the dry side, Stephen Fox's portrayal of the naval career of Raphael Semmes--the most successful commerce-raider captain in history--is rich with detail and exhaustively researched. Resuming the practice of law, he wrote Service Afloat and Ashore During the Mexican War about his time in Mexico. Returning to Montgomery in early April, Semmes was commissioned as a commander in the Confederate Navy and made head of the Lighthouse Board.

Join Facebook to connect with Raphael Semmes and others you may know. Photograph taken circa 1861-62, at the time he served as Commanding Officer of CSS Sumter. Raphael Semmes Quotes, popular Quotes about Raphael Semmes for every occassion.

With his ship badly in need of overhaul, he brought her to Gibraltar in January 1862 and laid her up when the arrival of Federal cruisers made a return to sea impossible. Worth. From August 1862 until June 1864, Semmes took his ship through the Atlantic, into the Gulf of Mexico, around the Cape of Good Hope and into the East Indies, capturing some sixty merchantmen and sinking one Federal warship, USS Hatteras. Just a moment while we sign you in to your Goodreads account. Welcome back. American Civil War: Rear Admiral Raphael Semmes. Operating off Cuba, Semmes captured eight ships before shifting south to Brazil. The ship itself, a specially built steam-powered warship, was built in British shipyards and its captain, Raphael Semmes, quickly became the most feared and hated man at sea.

In a way, this is the biography of a ship as well as a biography of its captain.

Raphael Semmes (/ s ɪ m z / SIMZ; September 27, 1809 – August 30, 1877) was an officer in the Confederate Navy during the American Civil War.Until then, he had been a serving officer in the US Navy from 1826 to 1860.. During the American Civil War, Semmes was captain of the cruiser CSS Alabama, the most successful commerce raider in maritime history, taking 65 prizes.

incredible story of how one man and a ship caused so much destruction and actually caused Canada to come to being. Radicalism seemed to be now, just what it had been in the great French Revolution, a sort of mad-dog virus; every one who was inoculated with it, becoming rabid.”, “The Puritan, if he had been whipped, would have been a capital secessionist, and as meek, and humble as we could have desired. Naval Historical Center Photograph.

My adventures afloat: a personal memoir of my cruises and services in 'The Sumter' and 'Alabama'. Rich in character and detail. Departing Singapore, Alabama was increasingly in need of a full dockyard refit.

He has appeared on The History Channel as a featured expert.

An hour after the battle began, Kearsarge's guns had reduced the Confederacy's greatest raider to a burning wreck. While aboard, he received a promotion to lieutenant in 1837. Going to sea, Semmes learned his new trade and succeeded in passing his exams in 1832. Welcome back. With the work complete, the he commissioned the ship CSS Alabama (8) on August 24. Not until reading. Sending boats, Kearsarge managed to rescue much of Alabama's crew, though Semmes was able to escape aboard Deerhound. After taking himself and many of his officers to England, Semmes was promoted to the rank of Captain and given command of the newly-built cruiser CSS Alabama.

This is a really complete and rich profile of Raphael Semmes and an examination of what the raider meant in its era - what the world looked like at the time, and why this was such a big blow and big deal to the north. But soon after the Civil War began and he was assigned to Captain the CSS Sumter and then the new construction raider CSS Alabama and he came into his own. Be the first to ask a question about Wolf of the Deep.

The longer he remained at Cherbourg, the greater the Union opposition would likely become and the chances increased that the French would prevent his departure. Raphael Semmes is on Facebook. Though he was rescued, thirty-two of the crew drowned and seven were captured by the Mexicans. "Wolf Of The Deep" tells the tale of the C.S.S. We learn little of Raphael Semmes growing into a man or of his 35 years in the U.S. Navy other than it was in no way exceptional due to his lack of political sensitivity and the clogged pipeline of promotions. With his ship sinking, Semmes struck his colors and requested help. Naval Historical Center Photograph.

My favorite naval biography of a Confederate hero: if you are a Confederate history buff, you MUST invest in the Wolf of the Deep. On August 8, Semmes joined Bulloch and the two men oversaw the construction of the new vessel. From 1862-1864 the Alabama left a trail of burning wrecks across the oceans of the globe as it sought to apply pressure to break the will of the North to carry on its war against Southern Independence. Escorted by the French ironclad frigate Couronne and the British yacht Deerhound, Semmes approached the limit of French territorial waters.

Just as the Confederate army under General Robert E. Lee had the Union army on the run initially, the CSS Alabama became a legend destroying Union shipping an.

All with great context and perspective. She was lost in a storm off Vera Cruz in December 1846, but Semmes was commended for his actions in that incident.

Service Afloat and Ashore During the Mexican War. Also the duplicity of those during wartime. It overlooks the entrance to the Bankhead Tunnel. The author holds the man to be impressive but condemns him for backing the southern cause, nevertheless the history is presented fairly and plainly. Radicalism seemed to be now, just what it had been in the great French Revolution, a sort of mad-dog virus; every one who was inoculated with it, becoming rabid.”, “The Puritan, if he had been whipped, would have been a capital secessionist, and as meek, and humble as we could have desired. i don't know that i was fair to this book, i took a full week to listen to the first three cds, maybe if i'd listened to them closer together i'd of liked it.

I was amazed at how far the ship traveled, and the effect that it had on the Union. Built in Birkenhead, England, it was born in the midst of diplomatic chess games between the Confederate agent, James Bullock, uncle of Theodore Roosevelt, and U. S. Ambassador, Charles Francis Adams, son of John Quincy Adams, as Bullock maneuvered to acquire the ship while Adams interceded with the British government to prevent its delivery. But as he gained strength, he gained courage, and as the war progressed, and it became evident that we should be beaten, he began to talk of traitors, and treason.”. Electing to operate around the Azores, Semmes scored Alabama's first prize on September 5 when it captured the whaler Ocumlgee. During the Mexican War, he commanded the brig USS Somers in the Gulf of Mexico. He would have been the first to make a "perpetual" alliance with us, and to offer us inducements to give him the benefits of our trade. Kennedy Hickman is a historian, museum director, and curator who specializes in military and naval history.

This sc… Rich in character and detail. Read reviews from world’s largest community for readers.

He  was elected to a judgeship, though he was disqualified under, Raising History: The Story of the Wreck of the CSS Alabama, "Roll Alabama" The Seaman's Shanty and Other Songs, US Navy Ships named in honor of Adm. Semmes, Books About the WBTS Written by Camp#11 Compatriots, Books of Note Written by Camp#11 Compatriots, Books About the WBTS Written by Mobilians, Military Conflicts around Mobile during the War between the States, Alabama Department of Archives and History, Sons of Confederate Veterans National Links, Confederate Veterans Magazine Back Issues, Applying for a Headstone for your CSA Veteran Ancestor.

Departing the Caribbean in November, Semmes captured six more ships as Sumter crossed the Atlantic Ocean. Sailing in southern waters into the fall, Sumter took four additional Union vessels before returning north to coal at Martinique. Raphael Semmes - Prewar Years: While in Florida, Semmes received his first command, the sidewheel gunboat USS Poinsett (2).

He remained in this post as sectional tensions began to rise and states started to leave the Union after the election of 1860.