Admiral Raphael Semmes.

[Stiles/Akin]

"Never has there occurred so striking an example of the tremendous power of mischief possessed by a single cruiser acting upon this destructive plan as that furnished by the Sumpter and her successor, the Alabama under the command of Semmes, whose untiring activity, restless energy, and fiery zeal found no voyage too long, no movement too prompt or too rapid, no danger too great, no labor too wearisome in the accomplishment of the Confederate purpose to ruin our commerce by destroying our ships."

This quote is from the Solicitor of the United States Navy Department.

 

[Jimklag]

http://www.encyclopediaofalabama.org/article/h-1359

 

[Rusk County Avengers]

Perhaps the most eloquent of Confederates, and certainly top tier in being defiant and combative.

I've always admired Semmes, he was a sailor who held a law degree, and was more than competent in both. His memoirs, albeit long with boring sections, is one of the most well written, and insightful memoirs I've read from an officer, almost like a Victorian epic from England, (especially him being very class conscious). His cleverness in bending the law during the war is a grand lesson in 19th Century politics in of itself, I recommend his memoirs for anyone wishing to know politics from the standpoint of a lawyer in war, rather than from the politicians. He was unabashedly Confederate and defiantly so, and many who don't like that sort of thing should still read his memoirs for insight, and do so with an open mind to who and what he was, or they will probably damage the wall the throw the book at as its a big heavy book.

 

[Mark F. Jenkins]

I'll still take Maffitt instead. I respect Semmes, but I wouldn't want to sit and have a beer with the guy like I would with Maffitt.

 

[redbob]

Among the sights to see in Mobile, Alabama is ole "Beeswax's" house which is open for tours and as for me, I'd like to pick John Mercer Brooke's brain. Also, one of the Alabama's guns is in the Mobile City Museum.

 

[JohnDLittlefield]

IDK, I would like to have high tea with Semmes, Beauregard, and a few of the Charleston elites just for experience of attending such, not for the military chat.

 

[rebelatsea]

Among the sights to see in Mobile, Alabama is ole "Beeswax's" house which is open for tours and as for me, I'd like to pick John Mercer Brooke's brain. Also, one of the Alabama's guns is in the Mobile City Museum.

I'd just love to find out from Brooke and Porter what the next developments were in their heads. J.M. Brooke had drawn up plans for chambered 13" smoothbore and rifled guns, and J.L. Porter had begun construction of a ship to carry two of them, before Brooke inspected it and told him to alter the casemate to carry four guns (he knew the 13" would not get made), but what was in their fertile minds for the next generation of ironclads? CSS Jackson's design apparently has no discernable train of development and the two changes Porter made to CSS Texas indicate that he was still experimenting even at that stage.

 

[USS Cumberland]

Were not these locations in Mobile heavily damaged in a recent hurricane?

 

[Jimklag]

"Never has there occurred so striking an example of the tremendous power of mischief possessed by a single cruiser acting upon this destructive plan as that furnished by the Sumpter and her successor, the Alabama under the command of Semmes, whose untiring activity, restless energy, and fiery zeal found no voyage too long, no movement too prompt or too rapid, no danger too great, no labor too wearisome in the accomplishment of the Confederate purpose to ruin our commerce by destroying our ships."

This quote is from the Solicitor of the United States Navy Department.

View attachment 205546

I think CSS Alabama was a fine commerce raider against merchant ships. But it must be remembered that the first time she came up against an equally armed US frigate, she was sunk in an hour.

 

[redbob]

Were not these locations in Mobile heavily damaged in a recent hurricane?

No, I believe that they are fine.

 

[Mark F. Jenkins]

I think CSS Alabama was a fine commerce raider against merchant ships. But it must be remembered that the first time she came up against an equally armed US frigate, she was sunk in an hour.

The difference, ultimately, was due to training and maintenance. The Kearsarge's crew was well-drilled and cohesive, and she had had recent and regular maintenance and resupply; she was in much better condition at the time of the battle off Cherbourg. By Semmes' own account, the Alabama was in poor condition and much overdue for a refit-- that was the principal reason she was in Cherbourg to begin with. I can't recall offhand which set of memoirs mentioned this-- Semmes', Kell's, or Sinclair's-- but a recent gunnery drill conducted by the Alabama on her way to Cherbourg revealed that her powder had deteriorated and that her gun crews were a bit lacking in the marksmanship department.

On paper, the ships were about as evenly-matched as any two could be; the Alabama was among the more heavily-armed of the Confederate cruisers and the Kearsarge was one of the more lightly-armed Federal sloops. An interesting item giving further support to the maintenance conditions: Kearsarge's speed trials showed her to be measurably slower than Alabama, but at the time of the battle, their speeds appeared to be about even.

I highly recommend William Marvel's The Alabama and the Kearsarge: The Sailor's Civil War, which tells the story of both ships and their crews, and is quite well-written to boot; I thought it would make a fine miniseries, actually.

 

[Jimklag]

Thanks, Mark. Just what I need - another book to read.

 

[Mark F. Jenkins]

At least it's a good 'un!

I think Semmes was a bit of a gambler-- really, to be in his position, he more or less had to be. He had one good shot to enter a port for maintenance, knowing full well that the Federal Navy would locate him rapidly once he entered one; he gambled that the authorities at a French port would be more willing to work with him (at that stage of the war) than those at a British port. Unfortunately, the French were not willing to let the Alabama refit in a government dockyard, so Semmes was forced to look elsewhere-- and then, Kearsarge promptly showed up. Semmes gambled again, knowing that more Federal warships would be on the way and that the odds were not going to get any better over time*-- and lost again.

Neither gamble was a for-certain-loss, according to the information Semmes had at his disposal, and I'm sure he took each gamble with full awareness of the risks involved; he was, after all, a sharp and experienced naval officer.

_______________
* The Niagara and Sacramento would have been on the scene within days, in fact; both more heavily-armed than Kearsarge.

 

[redbob]

The difference, ultimately, was due to training and maintenance. The Kearsarge's crew was well-drilled and cohesive, and she had had recent and regular maintenance and resupply; she was in much better condition at the time of the battle off Cherbourg. By Semmes' own account, the Alabama was in poor condition and much overdue for a refit-- that was the principal reason she was in Cherbourg to begin with. I can't recall offhand which set of memoirs mentioned this-- Semmes', Kell's, or Sinclair's-- but a recent gunnery drill conducted by the Alabama on her way to Cherbourg revealed that her powder had deteriorated and that her gun crews were a bit lacking in the marksmanship department.

On paper, the ships were about as evenly-matched as any two could be; the Alabama was among the more heavily-armed of the Confederate cruisers and the Kearsarge was one of the more lightly-armed Federal sloops. An interesting item giving further support to the maintenance conditions: Kearsarge's speed trials showed her to be measurably slower than Alabama, but at the time of the battle, their speeds appeared to be about even.

I highly recommend William Marvel's The Alabama and the Kearsarge: The Sailor's Civil War, which tells the story of both ships and their crews, and is quite well-written to boot; I thought it would make a fine miniseries, actually.

The difference, ultimately, was due to training and maintenance. The Kearsarge's crew was well-drilled and cohesive, and she had had recent and regular maintenance and resupply; she was in much better condition at the time of the battle off Cherbourg. By Semmes' own account, the Alabama was in poor condition and much overdue for a refit-- that was the principal reason she was in Cherbourg to begin with. I can't recall offhand which set of memoirs mentioned this-- Semmes', Kell's, or Sinclair's-- but a recent gunnery drill conducted by the Alabama on her way to Cherbourg revealed that her powder had deteriorated and that her gun crews were a bit lacking in the marksmanship department.

On paper, the ships were about as evenly-matched as any two could be; the Alabama was among the more heavily-armed of the Confederate cruisers and the Kearsarge was one of the more lightly-armed Federal sloops. An interesting item giving further support to the maintenance conditions: Kearsarge's speed trials showed her to be measurably slower than Alabama, but at the time of the battle, their speeds appeared to be about even.

I highly recommend William Marvel's The Alabama and the Kearsarge: The Sailor's Civil War, which tells the story of both ships and their crews, and is quite well-written to boot; I thought it would make a fine miniseries, actually.

And you get into yet another of the "What if's" of the Civil War, even if the round that hit the Kearsarge's sternpost had gone off and crippled her; I believe that even Semmes knew that the Alabama's days were numbered and perhaps Semmes had the same thought in his mind as Patrick Cleburne had in his at Franklin when he said "If we are to die, let us resolve to die like men".

 

[Mark F. Jenkins]

And you get into yet another of the "What if's" of the Civil War, even if the round that hit the Kearsarge's sternpost had gone off and crippled her;

I think this came up on another thread... The round that lodged in Kearsarge's sternpost had not hit there originally; it had already impacted elsewhere, ricocheted, and by chance came to rest in the sternpost. It evidently had not gone off in the interim.

There were some reports (I don't know if they were substantiated) that a number of Alabama's shells found on Kearsarge's deck had not had their fuse patches removed (the bit of metal covering the fuse, to be removed just before firing to allow the powder ignition to ignite the fuse as well), implying that some of the Alabama's crew had gotten a little excited and neglected to remember to remove them. I don't remember hearing if this was true of the sternpost shell.

 

[Jimklag]

I think this came up on another thread... The round that lodged in Kearsarge's sternpost had not hit there originally; it had already impacted elsewhere, ricocheted, and by chance came to rest in the sternpost. It evidently had not gone off in the interim.

There were some reports (I don't know if they were substantiated) that a number of Alabama's shells found on Kearsarge's deck had not had their fuse patches removed (the bit of metal covering the fuse, to be removed just before firing to allow the powder ignition to ignite the fuse as well), implying that some of the Alabama's crew had gotten a little excited and neglected to remember to remove them. I don't remember hearing if this was true of the sternpost shell.

The naval equivalent of having two or three Minie balls rammed down the barrel of an excited infantryman's rifle.

 

[Mark F. Jenkins]

Pretty much!

 

[Mark F. Jenkins]

The what-if I wonder about, actually, is-- suppose Semmes had gambled and won, and sunk or otherwise disabled Kearsarge? Where could he have gone, in a ship presumably even more damaged than she already was when she sought refuge in Cherbourg? She might have reached Le Havre or Calais, perhaps-- but her location was known, and Federal warships would (and did) rapidly converge from all directions. His only other option was Britain, where the ship would most likely be interned, or at least severely delayed.

Perhaps Semmes really did mean to go out in a blaze of glory, hoping to take a few Federals with him...

 

[USS ALASKA]

...revealed that her powder had deteriorated..

...and I believe the French offered to replace it. Anyone know why Semmes turned the offer down?
291

Cheers,
USS ALASKA

 

[rebelatsea]

...and I believe the French offered to replace it. Anyone know why Semmes turned the offer down?
291

Cheers,
USS ALASKA

I don 't recall that offer being made. if it was it can only have been from the local Commandant at Cherbourg - can't see Napolean's Govt being daft enough to sanction what in effect would be a Cassus Belli.