Civil War CDV Confederate Rafael Semmes CSS Alabama

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Condition as seen. mounted with tape remnants on verso.Raphael Semmes (/sɪmz/ 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. Late in the war, he was promoted to rear admiral and also acted briefly as a brigadier general in the Confederate States Army. His appointment or arrangement to act as a temporary brigadier general from April 5 to April 26, 1865, was never submitted to or officially confirmed by the Confederate Senate.Contents1 Early life and education2 Career2.1 Confederate service2.2 After the war3 Claimed links between Raphael Semmes and Captain Nemo4 Raphael Semmes visits Paris after the sinking of the CSS Alabama.5 Other Claimed References to Raphael Semmes in the works of Jules Verne.5.1 The Adventures of Captain Hatteras (1864)5.2 A Journey to the Centre of the Earth (1864)5.3 Around the Moon (1869)5.4 A Floating City (1871)5.5 Around the World in Eighty Days (1873)5.6 North Against South (1887)6 American Secretary of State William Seward accuses the Birkenhead yacht Deerhound of disappearing with the CSS Alabama's 'valuables' .7 Claimed Links between Captain Raphael Semmes and Robert Louis Stevenson's novel Treasure Island.8 Legacy9 Dates of rank10 References10.1 Citations10.2 Sources11 Further reading12 External linksEarly life and educationSemmes was born in Charles County, Maryland, on Tayloe's Neck, a cousin of future Confederate general Paul Jones Semmes and of future Union Navy Captain Alexander Alderman Semmes.[citation needed]He graduated from Charlotte Hall Military Academy[1] and entered the U.S. Navy as a midshipman in 1826. Semmes first served on the Lexington, cruising the Caribbean and the Mediterranean until September 1826, when he was placed on leave for reasons of ill health. After a short convalescence he served on the U.S.S. Erie for part of 1829 and on the U.S.S. Brandywine (formerly Susquehanna)[2] for the rest of 1829 and the first nine months of the following year. On September 29, 1830, he was posted to the U.S.S. Porpoise of the West Indies squadron, which was attempting to suppress piracy in the Caribbean.[3] Semmes then studied law and was admitted to the bar. He was promoted to lieutenant in February 1837.[4]CareerDuring the Mexican--American War, he commanded the USS Somers in the Gulf of Mexico. In December 1846 a squall hit the ship while under full sail in pursuit of a vessel off Veracruz. Somers capsized and was lost along with 37 sailors. Semmes then served as first lieutenant on the USS Raritan, accompanied the landing force at Veracruz, and was dispatched inland to catch up with the army proceeding to Mexico City.[5]Following the war, Semmes went on extended leave at Mobile, Alabama, where he practiced law and wrote Service Afloat and Ashore During the Mexican War.[6] He became extremely popular, and the nearby town of Semmes, Alabama was named after him. Semmes also maintained a home in Josephine, Alabama on Perdido Bay.[7] He was promoted to the rank of commander in 1855 and was assigned to lighthouse duties until 1860. Following Alabama's secession from the Union, Semmes was offered a Confederate naval appointment by the provisional government; he resigned from the U.S. Navy the next day, February 15, 1861.[8]Confederate serviceSee also: Blockade runners of the American Civil War and Battle of Cherbourg (1864)Semmes and John McIntosh KellAfter appointment to the Confederate Navy as a commander and a futile assignment to purchase arms in the North, Semmes was sent to New Orleans to convert the steamer Habana into the cruiser/commerce raider CSS Sumter.[9] In June 1861, Semmes, in Sumter, outran the USS Brooklyn, breaching the Union blockad... read more

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