Raphael Semmes

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Raphael Semmes

For other uses, see Semmes (disambiguation)
Semmes

Semmes may refer to:*Semmes, Alabama, a community in southwest AlabamaIn military history:*Alexander Alderman Semmes , American Civil War Union Navy commodore....
.

Raphael Semmes (September 27, 1809 – August 30, 1877) was an officer in the United States Navy

United States Navy

The United States Navy is the navy of the United States Armed Forces. It is one of the seven uniformed services of the United States. The U.S. Navy currently has approximately 331,682 personnel on active duty as of 31 December 2008 and 124,000 in the United States Navy Reserve....
from 1826 to 1860 and the Confederate States Navy

Confederate States Navy

The Confederate States Navy was the Navy of the Confederate States of America armed forces established by an act of the Congress of the Confederate States on February 21, 1861....
from 1860 to 1865. During the American Civil War

American Civil War

The American Civil War , also known as the War Between the States and several Naming the American Civil War, was a civil war in the United States....
he was captain of the famous commerce raider CSS Alabama

CSS Alabama

CSS Alabama was a screw sloop-of-war built for the Confederate States Navy at Birkenhead, United Kingdom, in 1862 by John Laird Sons and Company....
, taking a record sixty-nine prizes

Prize (law)

Prize is a term used in admiralty law to refer to equipment, vehicles, and vessels captured during armed conflict. The most common use of prize in this sense is the capture of an enemy ship and its cargo....
. Late in the war he was promoted to admiral

Admiral

Admiral is the military rank, or part of the name of the ranks, of the highest naval officers. It is usually considered a full admiral and above Vice Admiral and below Admiral of the Fleet/Fleet Admiral....
and also served briefly as a brigadier general

Brigadier general (United States)

A brigadier general in the United States Army, United States Air Force, and United States Marine Corps, is a 1 star rank general officer, with the U.S....
in the Confederate States Army

Confederate States Army

Charles County, Maryland

Charles County is a county in the south central portion of the U.S. state of Maryland.As of 2000, the population was 120,546. Its county seat is La Plata, Maryland....
, a cousin of future Confederate general Paul Jones Semmes

Paul Jones Semmes

For other uses, see Semmes.Paul Jones Semmes was a banker, businessman, and a Confederate States Army general in the American Civil War, mortally wounded at the Battle of Gettysburg....
and Union Navy Captain Alexander Alderman Semmes

Alexander Alderman Semmes

Alexander Alderman Semmes was a career United States Navy officer, who served with distinction in the American Civil War. He was a cousin of Confederate States of America naval hero Raphael Semmes, and also of Confederate general Paul Jones Semmes....
.

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United States Navy

Confederate States Navy

American Civil War

CSS Alabama

CSS Alabama was a screw sloop-of-war built for the Confederate States Navy at Birkenhead, United Kingdom, in 1862 by John Laird Sons and Company....
, taking a record sixty-nine prizes

Prize (law)

Admiral

Brigadier general (United States)

A brigadier general in the United States Army, United States Air Force, and United States Marine Corps, is a 1 star rank general officer, with the U.S....
in the Confederate States Army

Confederate States Army

Charles County, Maryland

Paul Jones Semmes

Alexander Alderman Semmes

Midshipman

A midshipman is a subordinate officer, an officer cadet, or alternatively a commissioned officer of the lowest rank, in the navy of several English-speaking countries....
in 1826. After serving in the navy

United States Navy

LAW

LAW may refer to:* Anti-tank warfare, e.g. the US Army M72 LAW or the British Army LAW 80*Palestinian Society for the Protection of Human Rights ...
and was admitted to the bar

Bar (law)

Bar in law contexts can have multiple meanings, but most originate from the bar in a courtroom. Quite simply, the bar is a wikt:railing or wikt:barrier that separates the front part of a courtroom - which includes a judge's bench and tables where attorneys or barristers conduct matters before the court - from the back part of the courtroom...
.

During the Mexican-American War, he commanded the brig

Brig

In Glossary of nautical terms, a brig is a vessel with two square rig masts. During the Age of Sail, brigs were seen as fast and maneuverable and were used as both naval war ships and merchant ships....
USS Somers

USS Somers (1842)

The second USS Somers was a brig in the United States Navy during the Mexican-American War, infamous for being the only U.S. Navy ship to undergo a mutiny which led to executions....
in the Gulf of Mexico

Gulf of Mexico

The Gulf of Mexico is the ninth largest body of water in the world. Considered a smaller part of the Atlantic Ocean, it is an oceanic basin largely surrounded by the North American continent and the island of Cuba....
. The ship was lost in a storm off of Veracruz, Mexico

Veracruz, Mexico

Veracruz, Mexico, may refer to:*The state of Veracruz, one of the 32 component federal entities of the United Mexican States*Veracruz, Veracruz, a major seaport and largest city in that state...
, in December 1846. Semmes was commended for his actions during the loss of the Somers.

Following the war, Semmes went on extended leave at Mobile, Alabama

Mobile, Alabama

Mobile is the third most populous city in the Southern United States United States state of Alabama and is the county seat of Mobile County, Alabama....
, where he practiced law. He was extremely popular there, and the town of Semmes, Alabama

Semmes, Alabama

For other uses, see Semmes.Semmes is an unincorporated community, and a suburb of Mobile, Alabama, Alabama, in western Mobile County, Alabama, Alabama, in the Mobile, Alabama metropolitan area....
was named after him. He was promoted to the rank of commander

Commander

Commander is a military rank which is also sometimes used as a military title depending on the individual customs of a given military service. Commander is also used as a rank or title in some organizations outside of the military, particularly in police and law enforcement....
in 1855 and was assigned to lighthouse

Lighthouse

A lighthouse is a tower, building, or framework designed to emit light from a system of lamps and lens or, in older times, from a fire and used as an aid to navigation and to Maritime pilot at sea....
duties until 1860. When Alabama

Alabama

Alabama is a state located in the Southern United States of the United States of America. It is bordered by Tennessee to the north, Georgia to the east, Florida and the Gulf of Mexico to the south, and Mississippi to the west....
seceded from the Union

Union (American Civil War)

During the American Civil War, the Union was a name used to refer to the Federal government of the United States of the United States, which was supported by the twenty-three states which were not part of the secession attempt by the 11 states that formed the Confederate States of America....
in January 1861, Semmes resigned from the United States Navy

United States Navy

Confederate States Navy

The Confederate States Navy was the Navy of the Confederate States of America armed forces established by an act of the Congress of the Confederate States on February 21, 1861....
.

Confederate States service

In April 1861, Semmes was accepted into the Confederate navy as a commander and was sent to New Orleans, Louisiana

New Orleans, Louisiana

New Orleans is a major United States port city and the largest city in Louisiana. New Orleans is the center of the New Orleans metropolitan area metropolitan area, the largest metro area in the state....
, to convert a steamer into the cruiser

Cruiser

A cruiser is a large type of warship, which had its prime period from the late 19th century to the end of the Cold War. The first cruisers were intended for individual raiding and protection missions on the seas....
/commerce raider CSS Sumter

CSS Sumter

CSS Sumter, a 473-ton bark-rigged screw steam cruiser, was built as the merchant steamship Habana at Philadelphia in 1859 for McConnell's New Orleans & Havana Line....
. In June 1861, Semmes ran the Federal blockade in the Sumter and commenced a career as one of the greatest commerce raiders in naval history.

Semmes's command of CSS Sumter would last six months. He raided U.S. commercial shipping in the Caribbean Sea

Caribbean Sea

The Caribbean Sea is a sea of the Atlantic Ocean situated in the mid-latitudes of the Western Hemisphere, bounded to the south and west by the Americas, with the North Atlantic Ocean proper to the northeast and the Gulf of Mexico to the northwest....
and Atlantic Ocean

Atlantic Ocean

The Atlantic Ocean is the second-largest of the world's oceanic divisions; with a total area of about 106.4 million square kilometres . It covers approximately one-fifth of the Earth's surface....
, accounting for 18 merchant

Cargo ship

A cargo ship or freighter is any sort of ship or vessel that carries cargo, goods, and materials from one port to another. Thousands of cargo carriers ply the world's seas and oceans each year; they handle the bulk of international trade....
vessels while eluding pursuing Union warships. In January 1862, the Sumter required a major overhaul. Semmes attempted to have her repaired at Gibraltar

Gibraltar

Gibraltar is a British overseas territory located near the southernmost tip of the Iberian Peninsula overlooking the Strait of Gibraltar. The territory shares a border with Spain to the north....
, but the arrival of U.S. warships ended her career. The Union ships took up stations outside of Gibraltar to wait for him.

Semmes sold his ship, and he and his crew travelled to England

England

native_name =|conventional_long_name = England|common_name = England|image_flag = Flag of England.svg|image_coat = England COA.svg|symbol_type = Royal Coat of Arms...
, where he was promoted to captain. He then went to the Portuguese island of Madeira

Madeira

Madeira is a Portugal archipelago in the north Atlantic Ocean that lies between and . It is one of the Autonomous regions of Portugal, with Madeira Island and Porto Santo Island being the only inhabited islands....
in the Atlantic and converted a commercial vessel into a warship that became world-famous as CSS Alabama

CSS Alabama

CSS Alabama was a screw sloop-of-war built for the Confederate States Navy at Birkenhead, United Kingdom, in 1862 by John Laird Sons and Company....
. Semmes sailed on the Alabama from August 1862 to June 1864. His operations carried him from the Atlantic, to the Gulf of Mexico

Gulf of Mexico

Cape of Good Hope

The Cape of Good Hope is a rocky headlands and bays on the Atlantic Ocean coast of South Africa. There is a very common misconception that the Cape of Good Hope is the southern tip of Africa and the dividing point between the Atlantic Ocean and Indian Oceans, but in fact the southernmost point is Cape Agulhas, about 150 kilometres t...
, and into the East Indies. During this cruise, the Alabama captured 69 U.S. merchantmen and destroyed one U.S. warship, the USS Hatteras

USS Hatteras (1861)

The first USS Hatteras was a heavy 1,126-ton Steamboat purchased by the Union Navy at the beginning of the American Civil War. She was outfitted as a gunboat and assigned to the Union blockade of the ports and waterways of the Confederate States of America....
.

The Alabama returned to the Atlantic and made port in Cherbourg, France, where she was blockaded by the USS Kearsarge

USS Kearsarge (1861)

USS Kearsarge, a Mohican-class sloop-of-war, is best known for her defeat of the Confederate commerce raider CSS Alabama during the American Civil War....
. Captain Semmes took Alabama out on June 19, 1864 and met the Kearsarge in one of the most famous naval engagements of the war. The commander of the Kearsarge had secretly turned his ship into a makeshift ironclad by draping the sides with heavy chains. This, combined with the poor quality of gunpowder on the Alabama, ensured a Union victory. As the Alabama was sinking, Semmes threw his sword into the sea, thereby depriving Kearsage's Captain John Winslow the traditional ceremony of having it handed to him as the victor. Semmes was wounded in the battle, but was rescued, along with forty one of his crewmen, by the British yacht Deerhound. Semmes went to England where he recovered.

Semmes made his way back to the Confederacy, where he was promoted to rear admiral

Rear admiral (United States)

The Uniformed services of the United States of the United States have two grades of rear admirals....
in February 1865, and during the last months of the war he commanded the James River Squadron

James River Squadron

The James River Squadron was formed shortly after the secession of the State of Virginia as part of the Virginia State Navy. The squadron is most notable for its role in patrolling the James River , which was the main water approach to the Confederate capital, Richmond, Virginia....
. With the fall of Richmond, Virginia

Richmond, Virginia

Richmond is the Capital of the Commonwealth of Virginia, in the United States. Like all Virginia municipalities incorporated as cities, it is an independent city and not part of any county....
, in April 1865, Semmes supervised the destruction of his squadron and was appointed as a brigadier general

Brigadier general (United States)

A brigadier general in the United States Army, United States Air Force, and United States Marine Corps, is a 1 star rank general officer, with the U.S....
in the Confederate States Army

Confederate States Army

The Confederate States Army was a military organization whose primary mission was to provide the necessary forces and capabilities to support the National Security and defense of the Confederate States of America during its brief existence from 1861 to 1865....
. His sailors were turned into an infantry unit and dubbed the "Naval Brigade". Their intention was to join Lee's army after burning their vessels; however, Lee's army was already cut off from Richmond and most of Semmes' men boarded a train and escaped to join Joseph E. Johnston

Joseph E. Johnston

Joseph Eggleston Johnston was a career United States Army officer, serving with distinction in the Mexican-American War and Seminole Wars, and was also one of the most senior general officers in the Confederate States Army during the American Civil War....
's army in North Carolina. A few men of the Naval Brigade were able to join with Lee's rear guard and fought at Sayler's Creek

Battle of Sayler's Creek

}|-||}The Battle of Sayler's Creek was fought April 6, 1865, southwest of Petersburg, Virginia, as part of the Appomattox Campaign, in the final days of the American Civil War....
. Semmes and the Naval Brigade surrendered to William T. Sherman and were paroled at Durham Station, N.C.

Durham, North Carolina

Durham is a city in the U.S. state of North Carolina. It is the county seat of Durham County, North Carolina and also extends into Wake County, North Carolina county....

After the war

Semmes was briefly held as a prisoner after the war. He was arrested for treason

Treason

In law, treason is the crime that covers some of the more serious acts of loyalty to one's sovereignty or nation. Historically, treason also covered the murder of specific social superiors, such as the murder of a husband by his wife ....
on December 15, 1865, but was released on April 7, 1866. After his release, he worked as a professor of philosophy and literature at Louisiana State Seminary (now Louisiana State University

Louisiana State University

Louisiana State University and Agricultural and Mechanical College, generally known as Louisiana State University or LSU, is a state university, coeducational, Level l Research University located in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, Louisiana and the main campus of the Louisiana State University System....
), and also as a judge, and a newspaper editor. He returned to Mobile and resumed his legal career.

Semmes defended both his actions at sea and the political actions of the Southern states in his 1869 Memoirs of Service Afloat During The War Between the States. The book was viewed as one of the most cogent, but bitter, defenses of the Lost Cause

Lost Cause of the Confederacy

The Lost Cause is the name commonly given to a literary and intellectual movement that sought to reconcile the traditional white society of the Southern United States to the defeat of the Confederate States of America in the American Civil War of 1861–1865....
. Semmes died in 1877 and was interred in Mobile's Old Catholic Cemetery

Old Catholic Cemetery (Mobile, Alabama)

Catholic Cemetery, formerly known as the Stone Street Cemetery, is a historic cemetery located in Mobile, Alabama, Alabama, United States....
.

Raphael Semmes is a member of the Alabama Hall of Fame

Alabama Hall of Fame

The Alabama Hall of Fame was established by Acts of Alabama No. 646 to recognize "worthy citizens of the state who rendered outstanding service or who won fame on account of their achievements as to make them exceptional in the history of Alabama"....
. One of the streets on the current Louisiana State University campus is named in his honor.

External links

Retrieved on 2008-02-13

Raphael Semmes

Confederate States service

After the war

See also

Further reading

External links