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nhandle descendant visits rebel raider’s environmentI L I K A C Z O R s S O CI A TED PR ESS*m^RE — It’s like traveling back Oliver Semmes III when he nnons, dinnerware and other ing recovered from the wreck :derate warship commanded t-great grandfather.Raphael Semmes, described . Naval Historical Center as ce raider “without equal in naval history,” was captain » Alabama until sunk by the irge on June 19, 1864. we all sometimes feel like live in the same environment mcestors, our predecessors, le rebel raider’s descendant., 71, spent a week in hisgrandfather’s environment or the third summer he vis-in the English Channel off , France, where divers and ;ists have been excavating . A French minesweeper a depth of about 200 feet in iving began in 1990. sort of ambivalent or conotions,” Semmes admitted ida Panhandle home over-ita Rosa Sound, one hand, I feel that we ave the site undisturbed as a he said. “On the other hand, cts should give enrichment e to the people in the various 'here they’ll be displayed.” Tifacts will go on display ■ the first time in the United he Museum of Mobile to l the Alabama city’s tricen-bration.' 7 f ' •.v,',VA’Ay,’AvAylt;'.v. l£y/. yy/A////■. -9k' Ava'aO, .yjs v.,'.-..WWfi:S.*..y/-y/)VAi*. •APABOVE: Adm. Raphael Semmes portrait was taken for his autobiographical book, Memoirs of Service Afloat, published in 1869. RIGHT: Oliver Semmes III, at his home in Navarre, displays a sword that was given to his great-great grandfather, Confederate Adm. Raphael Semmes, by naval officers and other supporters in Britain after his ship, the CSS Alabama, was sunk by a Union cruiser during the Civil War.French and U.S. governments and two private organizations, one in each country. Semmes serves on the board of the CSS Alabama Association (USA), helping raise money and plan the annual excavations.The retired computer company executive has a special bond with his great-great grandfather, serving as a captain in the Naval Reserve and sharing a birthday. They were bom 120 years apart on Sept. 27, Raphael in 1809 in Charles County, Md., and Oliver in 1929 in Pensacola.After the Civil War, Raphael was a lawyer in Mobile, a professor at Louisiana Military Institute and atvation is supported by the newspaper editor in Memphis, Tenn.He died at 68 in Point Clear, Ala., from eating bad seafood.“When I turned 68, I didn’t eat any seafood,” Semmes said with a smile.He read his great-great grandfather’s book, Memoirs of Service Afloat During the War Between the States while growing up in Pensacola, where his father, Oliver Semmes Jr., was city manager. His mother, Kate, used Raphael’s life to emphasize points of morality.“She always portrayed the picture of him as a man of great personal integrity and courage,” Semmes said.He was viewed, however, as a “pirate” by Union Navy Secretary Gideon Welles. Commerce raiding was a common tactic in later wars, especially for submarines,but in the 19th century many viewed capturing and sinking unarmed merchant ships as unchivalrous.The Confederate raider, who also saw combat in the U.S. Navy during the Mexican War, captured 18 cargo ships as captain of the CSS Sumter and 64 with the Alabama. However, he engaged a Union warship only once, sinking the USS Hatteras off the Texas coast, before meeting the Kearsarge.Semmes defended his great-great grandfather’s honor, pointing out neither the The Alabama wasAlabama nor any vessels it captured suffered loss of life in the process and only two Union sailors perished aboard the Hatteras.The Alabama, however, was badly bloodied by the Kearsarge. Ten men were killed in action and 18 drowned, according to crew biographies compiled by the CSS Alabama Association. The Kearsarge had only one fatality.Powered by steam and sail, the Alabama was built in Liverpool,England, as the Enrica and many of its crew were British. Years later, Britain paid reparations for ships lost to the Alabama. It marauded in the Atlantic Ocean and Gulf of Mexico, but never made port in the Confederate States, then sailed to the South China Sea and back to the Atlantic, putting into Cherbourg for repairs.That’s were the Kearsarge found it, but neither could fire in a neutral port.Semmes sent a message to the Union captain, John A. Winslow, offering to meet in international waters.badly bloodied by the Kearsarge.Ten men were killed in action and 18 drowned, according to crew biographies.coast, they exchanged fire for an hour. The Kearsarge survived what could have been a fatal blow when an explosive shell failed to go off after striking its stempost.Union officers described the Alabama's fire as erratic. Some shots also were deflected by anchor chains strung across the Kearsarge’s wooden hull and hidden behind planking. Raphael Semmes later blamed defective gunpowder and insisted he had notrealized the Kearsarge wasan “ironclad.”There also were controversies over the role of aBritish yacht that rescued the Confederate captain and some crew, allowing them to avoid capture, and shots fired by both sides after the Alabama struck its colors.As thousands watched from theThe yacht took Raphael Semmes to Britain where he was presented with a sword inscribed from “officers of the Royal Navy and other friends in England.” It now is a treasured possession of his great-great grandson.Federal authorities charged the Confederate admiral with violating rules of war after the South surrendered, but he was released when former captives testified they received humane treatment.“Raphael Semmes was very much maligned by some,” Oliver Semmes said. “Certainly he was praised by more. He always sought the truth.” Semmes said he has tried to do the same through his role in recovery of pieces of his forebearer’s ship.“I’m interested,” he said, “in the preservation of an accurate history, especially about him.”
Newspaper Details
Panama City News Herald
Panama City, Florida, US
Sun, Sep 02, 2001
Page 15
Full Page
Clipped by
Dorothy B.
PA, USA 19 Jun 2020
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