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ksu. Wiuvuviwiv ▼▼CUOiJUp WUIlliilCUlUWUby his great-great grandfather.Adm. Raphael Semmes, described by the U.S. Naval Historical Center as a commerce raider “without equal in American naval history,” was captain of the CSS Alabama until sunk by the USS Kearsarge on June 19, 1864.I think we all sometimes feel likewe’d like to live in the same environmentpredecessors. ; descendant.Semmes, 71, spent a week in his great-great grandfather’s environment this July. For the third summer he visited the site in the English Channel off Cherbourg, France, where divers and archaeologists have been excavating the wreck. A French minesweeper found it at a depth of about 200 feet in 1984 and diving began in 1990.I have sort of ambivalent or con-44flicting emotions,” Semmes admitted at his Florida Panhandle home overlooking Santa Rosa Sound.On the one hand, I feel that weought to leave the site undisturbed as a memorial,” he said. “On the other hand,these artifacts should give enrichment and pleasure to the people in the various museums where they’ll be displayed.” Some artifacts will go on display Sept. 21 for the first time in the United States at the Museum of Mobile tohelp launch the Alabama city’s tricentennial celebration.TheFBI to open•/.fvv--. /liltAvy-v.y.'. Auh wnn me /naoama. nowever, ne aiso were aenecteaAPABOVE: 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 hisgreat-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 anewspaper editor in Memphis, Tenn.He died at 68 in Point Clear, Ala., from eating bad seafood.“When I turned 68,1 didn’t eat any seafood,” Semmes said with a smile.He read his great-great grandfather’s book, Memoirs of Service Afloat Duringthe 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 toemphasize 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,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, point-out neither the The Alabama wasstrung across the A hull and hiddenRaphael Semmes la tive gunpowder andrealizedmgan “ironcAlabama nor any vessels it captured suffered loss of life in the process and only two Union sailors perished aboard the Hatteras.badly bloodied byTherethe Kearsarge. Ten men werekilled in actionversies o British y the ConfiThe Alabama, however, was badly bloodied by the Kearsarge. Ten men were killed in action and 18and 18 drowned,according to crewbiographies.some ere1avoid ca fired by 1 Alabamadrowned, according to crew biographies compiled by the CSS Alabama Association. The Kearsarge had only one fatality.Powered by steam and sail, the Alabama was builtThe yiSemmes to Britain \sented with a sword iiwas ount 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 Atlanticcers of the Royal Nav in England.” It now session of his great-gi Federal authorilConfederate admir rules of war after IOcean and Gulf of Mexico, but never made port in the Confederate States, then sailed to the South China Sea anddered, but he was r mer captives testifi humane treatment.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.“Raphael Semmemaligned by some, said. “Certainly he more. He always soi Semmes said he fsame through his n pieces of his forebea I’m interested,”44As thousands watched from thepreservation of an especially about himCUSTOM VINYL WINDOWSum?DOORSSHUTTER SYSTEMSTHE OFFICE OF E. JACOB M.D. (NEUROIS RELOCATING
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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