CSN Maffitt, John Newland

John Newland Maffitt​

Born: February 22, 1819

Birthplace: At Sea

Father: Rev. John Newland Maffitt Sr. 1795 – 1850

(Buried: Magnolia Cemetery, Mobile, Alabama)​

Mother: Ann Carnie Maffitt Unknown – 1847

(Buried: Old City Cemetery, Galveston, Texas)​

Wife: Emma A. Martin Maffitt 1842 – 1918

(Buried: Oakdale Cemetery, Wilmington, North Carolina)​

Children:

Lt. Eugene Anderson Maffitt 1844 – 1886​

(Buried: Oakdale Cemetery, Wilmington, North Carolina)​

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John Laurens Maffitt 1853 – 1899​

(Buried: Oakdale Cemetery, Wilmington, North Carolina)​

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Colden Rhind Maffitt 1858 – 1873​

(Buried: Oakdale Cemetery, Wilmington, North Carolina)​

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Mary Read Maffitt Borden 1871 – 1952​

(Buried: Oakdale Cemetery, Wilmington, North Carolina)​

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Clarence Dudley Maffitt 1873 – 1958​

(Buried: Oakdale Cemetery, Wilmington, North Carolina)​

Occupation before War:

1832 – 1843: Midshipman in the United States Navy​

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1835: Aide to Commodore Jesse Elliott in the Mediterranean​

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1843 – 1861: Lt. In the United States Navy​

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Spent Fourteen years in the hydrographic Survey​

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Commander of big USS Dolphin ordered to capture pirates & slavers​

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Commander of USS Crusader ordered to capture Slavers​

Civil War Service:

1861 – 1863: Lt. In the Confederate States Navy​

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1861 – 1862: Naval Aide to General Robert E. Lee​

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1862 – 1864: Commander of the CSS Florida​

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1863 – 1865: Commander in the Confederate States Navy​

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1864: Commander of Ironclad ram CSS Albemarle​

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1864 – 1865: Commander of CSS Owl​

Occupation after War:

Served in the commander of the British Merchant Steamer Widgeon​

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Farmer in Wilmington North Carolina​

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Served with the Cuban Revolutionaries commanding a war ship​

Died: May 15, 1886

Place of Death: Wilmington, North Carolina

Age at time of Death: 67 years old

Burial Place: Oakdale Cemetery, Wilmington, North Carolina

 

[Pollaco]

Appropriate and natural for a man born at sea to be a navy man. Entered old navy at 13. First commander of the Florida. Later relinquished command due to yellow fever.

 

[Pollaco]

He ran the blockade as captain of the Cecile to England. Brought back the Oreto which became the Florida.

 

[Pollaco]

There is an interesting book out about him. Sea Devil of the Confederacy;The Story of the Florida and Her Captain, John Newland Maffitt by Edward C. Boykin.

 

[GELongstreet]

Here in a pre-war picture from the More Civil War participants at a younger age thread.

 

[AndyHall]

A reporter for the New York World who encountered Maffitt in neutral Havana wrote, "Captain Maffitt is no ordinary character. He is vigorous, energetic, bold, quick and dashing, and the sooner he is caught and hung the better it will be."

 

[Pollaco]

I have never read it but Maffitt wrote a novel after the war when He lived in North Carolina. The novel is titled Nautilus. And He was also a writer of magazine articles at this time.
Some of the ships He commanded during the war are the Savannah, the Florida, the Albermarle, the Cecile, the Theodore, the Florie,the Lillian, and the Owl.

 

[gentlemanrob]

Obit:

 

[Pollaco]

He was first Commander of the CSS Florida,he reliquished command due to effects of yellow fever to Commander Joseph Barney at Brest, France.Barney was also suffering from ill health and then turned over command to Lt. Charles Morris.

 

[Pollaco]

Moffitt was nicknamed the "Prince of Privateers" but it really wasn't accurate because he was a naval officer not a privateer.

 

[gentlemanrob]

Happy Birthday John N. Maffitt! Salutes remembering John N. Maffitt on his birthday week.

 

[ErnieMac]

CSS Owl was a blockade runner. There are reports that Maffitt tried to run supplies into Texas as late as May 1865, but there is no documentation.

 

[Drew]

Moffitt was nicknamed the "Prince of Privateers" but it really wasn't accurate because he was a naval officer not a privateer.

He was a Commerce Raider and a very effective one, destroying huge numbers of Union ships. He was also a Gentleman, who took Union crews aboard his own vessels, rather than allow them to drown. He would then drop them at places where they would be cared for.

A couple of things, off the top of my head. Maffitt's duty station was Washington, DC at the start of the War. He was domiciled there and when the U.S. Army began to round up and arrest officers thought to have Southern sympathies, Maffitt made his decision to leave. He slipped across the Potomac River to Virginia, leaving behind virtually everything he owned. His beloved books, his household furniture and everything else.

He eventually met with Jefferson Davis to discuss the creation of a Confederate Navy and recorded that Davis didn't think that was necessary, the War wouldn't last long enough to justify it. A very telling indication of prevailing "wisdom" at the time.

Maffitt in fall of 1862 would Captain CSS Florida through the Union Navy blockade, into Mobile Bay for resupply and maintenance. He then ran past the blockade and into the open sea in spectacular fashion, creating a public sensation.

Finally, he ran his ship into Hamilton Harbor at Bermuda and received a canon salute from the British garrison there for doing so. It caused an international incident, in which the U.S. Ambassador to Great Britain went and whined to the Crown about the respect shown Maffitt. Oh, well.

Just my off the cuff musings. Maffitt was nothing, if not colorful. Thanks, @gentlemanrob, for reminding us of him.

 

[Pollaco]

CSS Owl was a blockade runner. There are reports that Maffitt tried to run supplies into Texas as late as May 1865, but there is no documentation.

The U.S. Consul, Thomas Minor, in Havana reported that Maffitt was to leave Havana for Galveston on either May 21 or 22 , 1865. There is some evidence that the Owl's last 2 runs were under the name Foam.At the end of the war the Owl was delivered to British agents and turned over in Liverpool to Fraser, Trenholm & Co. and Maffitt took the examination for the Board of Trade to command Merchant ships (British) to South America.

 

[Pollaco]

I have never read it but Maffitt wrote a novel after the war when He lived in North Carolina. The novel is titled Nautilus. And He was also a writer of magazine articles at this time.
Some of the ships He commanded during the war are the Savannah, the Florida, the Albermarle, the Cecile, the Theodore, the Florie,the Lillian, and the Owl.

When he died in 1886 Maffitt left behind an unfinished manuscript about piracy in the West Indies. I couldn't tell you if it was a fictonal novel or factual documentation on the subject.

 

[USS ALASKA]

Wow - where to start with this Gent...

High Seas Confederate: The Life and Times of John Newland Maffitt by Royce Shingleton

High Seas Confederate: The Life and Times of John Newland Maffitt (Studies in Maritime History): Shingleton, Royce: 9780872499867: Amazon.com: Books

High Seas Confederate: The Life and Times of John Newland Maffitt (Studies in Maritime History) [Shingleton, Royce] on Amazon.com. *FREE* shipping on qualifying offers. High Seas Confederate: The Life and Times of John Newland Maffitt (Studies in Maritime History)

www.amazon.com

The Life and Services of John Newland Maffitt by Emma Martin Maffitt

The Life and Services of John Newland Maffitt: Maffitt, Emma Martin: 9780469140752: Amazon.com: Books

The Life and Services of John Newland Maffitt [Maffitt, Emma Martin] on Amazon.com. *FREE* shipping on qualifying offers. The Life and Services of John Newland Maffitt

www.amazon.com

Two Captains from Carolina: Moses Grandy, John Newland Maffitt, and the Coming of the Civil War by Bland Simpson

Two Captains from Carolina: Moses Grandy, John Newland Maffitt, and the Coming of the Civil War: Simpson, Bland: 9780807835852: Amazon.com: Books

Two Captains from Carolina: Moses Grandy, John Newland Maffitt, and the Coming of the Civil War [Simpson, Bland] on Amazon.com. *FREE* shipping on qualifying offers. Two Captains from Carolina: Moses Grandy, John Newland Maffitt, and the Coming of the Civil War

www.amazon.com

The C.S.S. Florida: Her Building and Operations by Frank Lawrence Owsley

The C.S.S. Florida: Her Building and Operations: Owsley, Frank Lawrence: 9780817303365: Amazon.com: Books

The C.S.S. Florida: Her Building and Operations [Owsley, Frank Lawrence] on Amazon.com. *FREE* shipping on qualifying offers. The C.S.S. Florida: Her Building and Operations

www.amazon.com

Gray Raiders of the Sea: How Eight Confederate Warships Destroyed the Union's High Seas Commerce by Chester G. Hearn

Gray Raiders of the Sea: How Eight Confederate Warships Destroyed the Union's High Seas Commerce: Hearn, Chester G.: 9780877422792: Amazon.com: Books

Gray Raiders of the Sea: How Eight Confederate Warships Destroyed the Union's High Seas Commerce [Hearn, Chester G.] on Amazon.com. *FREE* shipping on qualifying offers. Gray Raiders of the Sea: How Eight Confederate Warships Destroyed the Union's High Seas Commerce

www.amazon.com

Cheers,
USS ALASKA

 

[Drew]

Wow - where to start with this Gent...

I would start with Royce Shingleton's work. That'll probably do it.

I wasn't aware of Hearn's Gray Raiders of the Sea; How Eight Confederate War Ships Destroyed the Union's High Seas Commerce, but the subtitle hits the nail on the head.

J.N. Maffitt, Raphael Semmes and several others did just that. Survivors re-flagged their vessels as British, to enjoy safety from Confederate Commerce Raiders, but the Northern merchant fleet was about gone by the end of the War.

The Confederate strategy, as I understand it, was to draw Union Navy resources away from blockading Southern ports, to chase and defend shipping from the Raiders. It didn't work in the end, but it was a pretty clever approach, IMO.

I think I'll order Hearn's work, just for fun. Thanks for posting it, @USS ALASKA