Raphael Semmes

Raphael Semmes

Raphael Semmes (born September 27, 1809 in Charles County , Maryland , † August 30, 1877 in Mobile , Alabama ) was a seaman, lawyer, captain, admiral and general.

Raphael Semmes, who was orphaned at the age of ten , joined the US Navy as a seaman at the age of 15 . On the side he began studying law and was admitted to the bar in 1834. In the war against Mexico (1846–1848) he served in the US Navy as commander of the brig USS Somers with the task of blocking the Mexican port city of Veracruz . On November 26, 1846, an incident occurred. The "USS Somers" destroyed the Mexican schooner Criolla , which, however, was actually a US spy ship. The "Somers" finally overturned on December 8, 1846 in pursuit of a blockade breaker in a sudden gust and sank. Semmes received a commendation for his behavior in the accident that resulted in over 20 deaths.

Raphael Semmes aboard the Alabama

After the war, Semmes resumed his trade as a lawyer in Mobile. When the civil war broke out in 1861, he reported to the Navy of the Confederate Southern States . He was given command of the CSS Sumter and successfully hunted down northern merchant ships with her. He managed to raise 18 ships in the Caribbean and the Atlantic. After his ship was blocked by forces of the US Navy in Gibraltar in January 1862, Semmes was withdrawn and transferred to the newly built Alabama as commander . With this ship he was able to capture more than 60 ships from the North of the world until 1864. On June 19, 1864, the northern state steamer USS Kearsarge finally succeeded in sinking the Alabama off the French coast. But Semmes , now admiral of the southern states, was able to escape again and traveled back to America via England. He was promoted to Rear Admiral on February 10, 1865 and was given command of the so-called James River Squadron , whose task was the defense of the access to the lake from Richmonds . After the city fell in April, he had to destroy his ships and was made a brigadier general. His sailors became infantrymen. After the end of the war he was briefly imprisoned. However, no criminal offenses could be proven. His behavior was always impeccable. He returned to Mobile and worked there as a lawyer, professor of philosophy and literature, newspaper editor and judge. He was a popular figure in his home state of Alabama and throughout the South, and remained so after his death in 1877.

literature

• Raphael Semmes: The Cruise of the Alabama and the Sumter. Carleton, New York NY 1864, ( digitized ).
• Raphael Semmes: Memoirs of Service Afloat, During the War Between the States. Kelly, Piet & Co., Baltimore MD 1869, ( Digitized from the original edition ; Reprint: Blue & Gray Press, Secaucus NJ 1987, ISBN 1-55521-177-1 ).
• Secretary of the Navy: Sinking of the Alabama — Destruction of the Alabama by the Kearsarge . Washington, DC, Navy Yard, 1864. (Annual report in the library of the Naval Historical Center)

Web links

Commons : Raphael Semmes  - collection of pictures, videos and audio files