C.S.S. ALABAMA
{1862 ~ 1864}
"Over a 22 month period, the Alabama cruised the whaling grounds around the Azores, the shipping lanes along the eastern seaboard of the U.S., the Caribbean, the Brazilian coast, along South Africa, the Indian Ocean, South China Sea, and the Bay of Bengal, capturing 447 vessels, capturing 65 Union merchant vessels, and sinking the U.S.S. Hatteras. She was at sea for 534 of the 657 days of her life. During this time she took 2,000 prisoners with no loss of life. Until the engagement with the Kearsage she lost not one man to accident or disease aboard the ship."
CSS ALABAMA Association P.O. Box 2744 Mobile, Alabama 36652-2744 FAX (334) 433-1602
Until June 1864 she captured and burned 65 Union Merchantmen worth $4,500,000 and, bonded ten others to the value of $562,000.
CSS ALABAMA Association P.O. Box 2744 Mobile, Alabama 36652-2744 FAX (334) 433-1602
Until June 1864 she captured and burned 65 Union Merchantmen worth $4,500,000 and, bonded ten others to the value of $562,000.
~ Captain Raphael Semmes ~
{1809-1877}
On Deck Of C.S.S. Alabama
{ 1st Lieutenant John McIntosh Kell ~ Foreground }
{1809-1877}
On Deck Of C.S.S. Alabama
{ 1st Lieutenant John McIntosh Kell ~ Foreground }
Raphael Semmes was born in Charles County, Maryland, on September 27th, 1809. He entered the Navy in 1826 as a Midshipman while he was studying law as well at that time and was admitted to the bar while remaining in the service.
During the Mexican War, he was commander of the Brig U.S.S. Somers in the Gulf of Mexico. She was lost off Vera Cruz in a storm in December 1846. Semmes was commended for his actions in that occurrence. After the war while on extended leave, he practiced law in Mobile, Alabama.
In 1855, Semmes was promoted to the rank of Commander and was assigned to Lighthouse duty. With Alabama's secession in 1861 he resigned from the U.S. Navy and placed his lot with the newly formed Confederacy.
During the Mexican War, he was commander of the Brig U.S.S. Somers in the Gulf of Mexico. She was lost off Vera Cruz in a storm in December 1846. Semmes was commended for his actions in that occurrence. After the war while on extended leave, he practiced law in Mobile, Alabama.
In 1855, Semmes was promoted to the rank of Commander and was assigned to Lighthouse duty. With Alabama's secession in 1861 he resigned from the U.S. Navy and placed his lot with the newly formed Confederacy.
Captain Raphael Semmes commanded the Raider Alabama throughout her two years of service. He had served in the U.S. Navy until the Federal invasion of the South in 1861. Semmes resigned his commission and joined the Confederate Navy. At the outbreak of the war he commanded the cruiser C.S.S. Sumter. In1862 he received orders to assume command of the Alabama off the Azores.
"With the exception of a few honest zealots, the canting hypocritical Yankee cares as little for our slaves as he does for our draught animals. The war which he has been making upon slavery for the last 40 years is only an interlude, or by-play, to help on the main action of the drama, which is Empire; and it is a curious coincidence that it was commenced about the time the North began to rob the South by means of its tariffs. When a burglar designs to enter a dwelling for the purpose of robbery, he provides himself with the necessary implements. The slavery question was one of the implements employed to help on the robbery of the South. It strengthened the Northern party, and enabled them to get their tariffs through Congress; and when at length, the South, driven to the wall, turned, as even the crushed worm will turn, it was cunningly perceived by the Northern men that 'No slavery' would be a popular war-cry, and hence, they used it."
Captain Raphael Semmes,
C.S.N. August 5th, 1861
Captain Raphael Semmes,
C.S.N. August 5th, 1861
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Matthew Fontaine Maury
"THE PATH FINDER OF THE SEAS"
and
Raphael Semmes
Officers of the "Alabama"
June ~ 1864
Captain John McIntosh Kell ~ Dr.Wiblin ~ Admiral Raphael Semmes
June ~ 1864
Captain John McIntosh Kell ~ Dr.Wiblin ~ Admiral Raphael Semmes
1st Lieutenant
John McIntosh Kell
Born in McIntosh County, Georgia, in 1823, John McIntosh Kell entered the U.S. Navy in September 1841 as a Midshipman. Over the next two decades he served 0n several ships, was active in California during the war with Mexico and participated in Commodore Matthew C. Perry's expedition to Japan. When Georgia seceded from the Union in early 1861, Lieutenant Kell resigned from the United States' Navy. In April 1861, he briefly commanded the Georgia State gunboat Savannah, but received a Confederate States Navy commission as First Lieutenant the following month and was sent to New Orleans. There, he helped Commander Raphael Semmes fit out the cruiser C.S.S. Sumter. He served as Executive Officer during her commerce raiding cruise in 1861-62.
First Lieutenant Kell was Semmes' Executive Officer on C.S.S. Alabama throughout her career, and was present when she was sunk by the U.S.S. Kearsarge in June 1864. He was rescued by the British yacht Dearhound and taken to England. Promoted to the rank of Commander in that month, he commanded the ironclad C.S.S. Richmond in the James River Squadron in 1865. After the end of the Civil War, Kell returned to Georgia and became a farmer. In later years, he served as Adjutant General of Georgia. John McIntosh Kell died in 1900.
Department of the Navy ~ Naval Historical Center
John McIntosh Kell
Born in McIntosh County, Georgia, in 1823, John McIntosh Kell entered the U.S. Navy in September 1841 as a Midshipman. Over the next two decades he served 0n several ships, was active in California during the war with Mexico and participated in Commodore Matthew C. Perry's expedition to Japan. When Georgia seceded from the Union in early 1861, Lieutenant Kell resigned from the United States' Navy. In April 1861, he briefly commanded the Georgia State gunboat Savannah, but received a Confederate States Navy commission as First Lieutenant the following month and was sent to New Orleans. There, he helped Commander Raphael Semmes fit out the cruiser C.S.S. Sumter. He served as Executive Officer during her commerce raiding cruise in 1861-62.
First Lieutenant Kell was Semmes' Executive Officer on C.S.S. Alabama throughout her career, and was present when she was sunk by the U.S.S. Kearsarge in June 1864. He was rescued by the British yacht Dearhound and taken to England. Promoted to the rank of Commander in that month, he commanded the ironclad C.S.S. Richmond in the James River Squadron in 1865. After the end of the Civil War, Kell returned to Georgia and became a farmer. In later years, he served as Adjutant General of Georgia. John McIntosh Kell died in 1900.
Department of the Navy ~ Naval Historical Center
1st Lieutenant John McIntosh Kell
On Deck
~ C.S.S. Alabama ~
2nd Lieutenant
Richard Fielder Armstrong
Armstrong, an 1861 graduate of the U.S. Naval Academy, was born in Georgia. He resigned his commission and joined the Confederate Navy in 1861, serving first on the C.S.S. Sumter. He was then assigned to the C.S.S. Alabama, where he commanded a gun division consisting of the Blakely pivot gun and two 32~pounders. He later commanded another division of three guns during the battle of Fort Fisher. After the war he moved to Nova Scotia, where he became a railroad executive. He died in 1904.
Richard Fielder Armstrong
Armstrong, an 1861 graduate of the U.S. Naval Academy, was born in Georgia. He resigned his commission and joined the Confederate Navy in 1861, serving first on the C.S.S. Sumter. He was then assigned to the C.S.S. Alabama, where he commanded a gun division consisting of the Blakely pivot gun and two 32~pounders. He later commanded another division of three guns during the battle of Fort Fisher. After the war he moved to Nova Scotia, where he became a railroad executive. He died in 1904.
Lieutenant Arthur Sinclair
Lieutenant Richard Armstrong
On Deck
C.S.S. Alabama
~ Cape Town, August, 1863 ~
Lieutenant Richard Armstrong
On Deck
C.S.S. Alabama
~ Cape Town, August, 1863 ~
Midshipman Richard F. Armstrong
2nd from right.
United States Naval Academy
~ 1861 ~
2nd from right.
United States Naval Academy
~ 1861 ~
Gunner ~Thomas C. Cuddy
Gunner Cuddy was born in South Carolina and was trained in ordnance at the Washington Navy Yard before the war. He enlisted in the Confederate Navy and was responsible for all ordnance of the Alabama. After her sinking off the coast of France, he headed back home to the Confederate States. Cuddy drowned on January 19th, 1865, in Liverpool Bay while on the blockade runner Lelia's maiden voyage to North Carolina. She was heavily laden with cargo, encountered a storm and sunk. Twelve out of the fifty~one on board survived.
Gunner Cuddy was born in South Carolina and was trained in ordnance at the Washington Navy Yard before the war. He enlisted in the Confederate Navy and was responsible for all ordnance of the Alabama. After her sinking off the coast of France, he headed back home to the Confederate States. Cuddy drowned on January 19th, 1865, in Liverpool Bay while on the blockade runner Lelia's maiden voyage to North Carolina. She was heavily laden with cargo, encountered a storm and sunk. Twelve out of the fifty~one on board survived.
Officer And Crewmen On Deck ~ C.S.S. Alabama
Midshipman
Edwin Maffitt Anderson
Anderson was born in Georgia. He joined the Confederate Navy with his cousin Eugene Anderson Maffit in 1861 and appointed
Midshipman. After serving at the Savannah Station, he took command of one of the 32~pounders in Lieutenant Wilson’s division. He later was navigator aboard the blockade runner, C.S.S. Owl under the command of his uncle, Captain John N. Maffitt. When the war ended he held the rank of Lieutenant. He died in 1923 at Savannah, Georgia.
Edwin Maffitt Anderson
Anderson was born in Georgia. He joined the Confederate Navy with his cousin Eugene Anderson Maffit in 1861 and appointed
Midshipman. After serving at the Savannah Station, he took command of one of the 32~pounders in Lieutenant Wilson’s division. He later was navigator aboard the blockade runner, C.S.S. Owl under the command of his uncle, Captain John N. Maffitt. When the war ended he held the rank of Lieutenant. He died in 1923 at Savannah, Georgia.
Midshipman
Eugene Anderson Maffitt
Maffitt enlisted in the Confederate Navy with his cousin, Edwin Maffit Anderson, in 1861. They served together at the Savannah Station until transferred to the C.S.S. Alabama. He was in charge of two 32~pounder guns in Wilson’s division. After the Alabama was sunk he was rescued by the British vessel Deerhound. In December 1864 he was captured on an English steamer docked at Portland, Maine and was imprisoned at Fort Warren until 1866. After the war he resided in Wilmington, North Carolina where he died in 1886.
Eugene Anderson Maffitt
C.S.S. Alabama ~ Singapore Harbor ~ 1863
3rd Lieutenant
Joseph David Wilson
Wilson, was a graduate of the U.S. Naval Academy in 1857. He first served on the C.S.S. Sumter and afterward the C.S.S. Alabama in 1862. He was given command of the aft~gun division. He was known as “Fighting Joe” for his truculent eagerness and fighting spirit. After the sinking of the Alabama, he returned to the Confederate States and commanded the gunboat, C.S.S. Hampton. He died in 1880 near Ellaville, Florida.
4th Lieutenant
Arthur Sinclair, Jr.
Sinclair, was born in Virginia and his father and grandfather had been high ranking officers in the U.S. Navy. He joined the Confederate Navy as a masters mate and promoted to lieutenant in 1863 by Captain Semmes. He served on the C.S.S. Virginia {Merrimac} in 1862 prior to his service upon the Alabama. After the war, he wrote a 350~page book about his time served with Semmes and crewmen, Two Years on the Alabama. it was published in 1895 and 1896. Sinclair died in1925 in Baltimore, Maryland.
5th Lieutenant ~ Irvine Stephens Bulloch
Lieutenant Bulloch was the half brother of Captain James D. Bulloch. He enlisted in the Confederate States Navy as a Midshipman in 1861. Irvine was born in Roswell, Georgia to James Stephens Bulloch and Martha Stewart Elliott. His family moved to Roswell, Georgia in 1839 where he grew up in the mansion known as, Bulloch Hall.
He served on other vessels before the C.S.S. Alabama as, "Sailing Master", in charge of navigation. In 1861, Bulloch served as a Midshipman aboard the C.S.S. Nashville, visiting the port of Southampton, England. The Nashville returned to the Confederate States, and the James River Squadron, where she was renamed the...Rattlesnake.
Bulloch was then assigned overseas duty and shipped out to England where he joined the Alabama. He was the youngest officer to serve upon the famous raider and is credited for firing the last two shots as the Alabama went down off the coast of France.
After the Alabama was sunk, Bulloch served on the C.S.S. Shenandoah as, "Master and Watch" Officer. He was an “acting” Lieutenant...receiving his commission in 1865 and may well have been the last man to be commissioned in the Confederate Navy.
At war's end, Lieutenant Bulloch along with his half brother Captain James Duwoody Bulloch remained in Liverpool. They had both been denied amnesty by the U.S. Federal Government. Irvine and his brother James operated as cotton brokers.
Bulloch died July 14th, 1898 at Selby Tower, Llandrillo-yn-Rhos, Colwyn Bay, Wales. He succumbed to Bright's Disease {kidney disease} and Cerebral Hemorrhage. He was fifty~six years old.
Lieutenant Bulloch was the half brother of Captain James D. Bulloch. He enlisted in the Confederate States Navy as a Midshipman in 1861. Irvine was born in Roswell, Georgia to James Stephens Bulloch and Martha Stewart Elliott. His family moved to Roswell, Georgia in 1839 where he grew up in the mansion known as, Bulloch Hall.
He served on other vessels before the C.S.S. Alabama as, "Sailing Master", in charge of navigation. In 1861, Bulloch served as a Midshipman aboard the C.S.S. Nashville, visiting the port of Southampton, England. The Nashville returned to the Confederate States, and the James River Squadron, where she was renamed the...Rattlesnake.
Bulloch was then assigned overseas duty and shipped out to England where he joined the Alabama. He was the youngest officer to serve upon the famous raider and is credited for firing the last two shots as the Alabama went down off the coast of France.
After the Alabama was sunk, Bulloch served on the C.S.S. Shenandoah as, "Master and Watch" Officer. He was an “acting” Lieutenant...receiving his commission in 1865 and may well have been the last man to be commissioned in the Confederate Navy.
At war's end, Lieutenant Bulloch along with his half brother Captain James Duwoody Bulloch remained in Liverpool. They had both been denied amnesty by the U.S. Federal Government. Irvine and his brother James operated as cotton brokers.
Bulloch died July 14th, 1898 at Selby Tower, Llandrillo-yn-Rhos, Colwyn Bay, Wales. He succumbed to Bright's Disease {kidney disease} and Cerebral Hemorrhage. He was fifty~six years old.
Bulloch Brothers 1865
Lieutenant Irvine Stephens Bulloch is pictured Here with his half brother Captain James Dunwoody Bulloch in 1865. James is seated upon the left. He was assigned to Liverpool as a secret service agent at the onset of the war. Captain Bulloch arranged for the construction and purchase of the Alabama and other Confederate commerce raiders. He was considered by Union State Department officials as the most "Dangerous Man In Europe."
Lieutenant Irvine Stephens Bulloch is pictured Here with his half brother Captain James Dunwoody Bulloch in 1865. James is seated upon the left. He was assigned to Liverpool as a secret service agent at the onset of the war. Captain Bulloch arranged for the construction and purchase of the Alabama and other Confederate commerce raiders. He was considered by Union State Department officials as the most "Dangerous Man In Europe."
Martha "Mittie" Bulloch 1855
Martha "Mittie" Bulloch
~ Sister Of ~
Captain James Bulloch
&
Lieutenant Irvine Bulloch
Martha "Mittie" Bulloch married Theodore Roosevelt Sr. on December 22nd, 1853. They had four children one of them being future "Rough Rider" and President, "Teddy" Roosevelt. She was also the parental grandmother of Elanore Roosevelt.
Martha, through out the war had great concern for the well being of her two brothers James and Irvine. Her emotional crisis was tempered by her eldest daughter Bamie who helped Martha manage family affairs during the crisis.
Martha died on February 14th, 1884 at forty~eight years old of Typhoid fever. She is buried at Green~Wood Cemetary in Brooklyn, New York. In her son Theodore's autobiography he had this to say of his mother..."My mother, Martha Bulloch, was a sweet, gracious, beautiful Southern woman, a delightful companion and beloved by everybody. She was entirely 'unreconstructed'
to the day of her death."
Theodore Roosevelt
“It has been my very great good fortune to have the right to claim my blood is half southern and half northern, and I would deny the right of any man here to feel a greater pride in the deeds of every Southerner than I feel. Of all the children, the brothers and sisters of my mother who were born and brought up in that house on the hill there, my two uncles afterward entered the Confederate service and served with the Confederate Navy. One, the younger man, served on the Alabama as the youngest officer aboard her. He was Captain of one of her broadside 32-pounders in her final fight, and when at the very end the Alabama was sinking and the Kearsarge passed under her stern and came up along the side that had not been engaged hitherto, my uncle, Irvine Bulloch, shifted his gun from one side to the other and fired the two last shots fired from the Alabama. "
Theodore Roosevelt
Georgia ~ 1905
Theodore Roosevelt
Georgia ~ 1905
Chief Engineer ~ Miles J. Freeman
Freeman was from Wales and the Chief Engineer of the merchant steamer Habana at New Orleans. When she was purchased by the Confederacy for conversion to a cruiser, Captain Semmes convinced him to assist refitting that vessel as the CSS Sumter. Freeman was commissioned as First Assistant Engineer and then Chief Engineer once the Sumter was transformed and cruise ready. After Sumter was laid up at Gibraltar in 1862, he served in the same capacity on the CSS Alabama. He was captured when the Alabama was sunk and was held as a prisoner of war at Fort Warren, Massachusetts, until the end of the war. After the war, he worked as an engineer for a steamship line out of New York.
Freeman was from Wales and the Chief Engineer of the merchant steamer Habana at New Orleans. When she was purchased by the Confederacy for conversion to a cruiser, Captain Semmes convinced him to assist refitting that vessel as the CSS Sumter. Freeman was commissioned as First Assistant Engineer and then Chief Engineer once the Sumter was transformed and cruise ready. After Sumter was laid up at Gibraltar in 1862, he served in the same capacity on the CSS Alabama. He was captured when the Alabama was sunk and was held as a prisoner of war at Fort Warren, Massachusetts, until the end of the war. After the war, he worked as an engineer for a steamship line out of New York.
1st Assistant Engineer
William Param Brooks
Brooks was born in Charleston, South Carolina on March 27th, 1832. As was Miles J. Freeman, Brooks as well was an engineer on the Habana. She was refitted as the cruiser C.S.S. Sumter for the Confederate Navy at the outbreak of the war. Brooks served upon the Sumter until she was trapped by three Federal Cruisers at Gibraltar while making repairs in February 1862.
Afterwards, Brooks was ordered to London to await further orders and on April 9th took passage on the Euphrosyne to London. The first voyage attempted by the Euphrosyne was thwarted by a storm forcing the Captain to return to Virgo Bay in Spain. The second attempt was met by yet another storm sinking the ship. All 50 passengers and crew were rescued. Shortly thereafter, Brooks boarded another vessel around April 28th bound for London. He was ordered to Liverpool and there was assigned as one the engineers to fitting out the C.S.S. Alabama in the Azores and arrived there on August 20th.
Brooks served on the Alabama until she was sunk in 1864. He was recused by a French Pilot Boat under the command of Monsieur Mauger. In gratitude for the French commaner's assistance that day, the Confederate Government paid Mauger the sum of 500 Francs given him personally on July 15th from two of the officers he had saved, Lieutenant Richard Fielder Armstrong and Engineer Brooks. Mauger accepted the money on behalf of his men and shared it amongst them.
Brooks remained in France after the loss of the Alabama until receiving orders to return to England for service on the C.S.S. Stonewall. After the war he enlisted in the the Spanish Navy as an engineer and was highly decorated for saving his ship in a storm. Brooks worked 11 years as an inspector of shipping for the Spanish Government, he resigned his post and returned home to Savannah, Georgia, where he was Chief Engineer on board the Ocean Steamship Company's vessel Tallahassee. He held that posistion until his death on April 19th, 1889 at his residence at 228 Anderson Street, Savannah, Georgia.
William Param Brooks
Brooks was born in Charleston, South Carolina on March 27th, 1832. As was Miles J. Freeman, Brooks as well was an engineer on the Habana. She was refitted as the cruiser C.S.S. Sumter for the Confederate Navy at the outbreak of the war. Brooks served upon the Sumter until she was trapped by three Federal Cruisers at Gibraltar while making repairs in February 1862.
Afterwards, Brooks was ordered to London to await further orders and on April 9th took passage on the Euphrosyne to London. The first voyage attempted by the Euphrosyne was thwarted by a storm forcing the Captain to return to Virgo Bay in Spain. The second attempt was met by yet another storm sinking the ship. All 50 passengers and crew were rescued. Shortly thereafter, Brooks boarded another vessel around April 28th bound for London. He was ordered to Liverpool and there was assigned as one the engineers to fitting out the C.S.S. Alabama in the Azores and arrived there on August 20th.
Brooks served on the Alabama until she was sunk in 1864. He was recused by a French Pilot Boat under the command of Monsieur Mauger. In gratitude for the French commaner's assistance that day, the Confederate Government paid Mauger the sum of 500 Francs given him personally on July 15th from two of the officers he had saved, Lieutenant Richard Fielder Armstrong and Engineer Brooks. Mauger accepted the money on behalf of his men and shared it amongst them.
Brooks remained in France after the loss of the Alabama until receiving orders to return to England for service on the C.S.S. Stonewall. After the war he enlisted in the the Spanish Navy as an engineer and was highly decorated for saving his ship in a storm. Brooks worked 11 years as an inspector of shipping for the Spanish Government, he resigned his post and returned home to Savannah, Georgia, where he was Chief Engineer on board the Ocean Steamship Company's vessel Tallahassee. He held that posistion until his death on April 19th, 1889 at his residence at 228 Anderson Street, Savannah, Georgia.
Flag ~ C.S.S. Alabama
Ensign Flag ~ C.S.S. Alabama
"Yet while a plank to us is left
'til death we will defend her;
Facing the foe, down, down we'll go
But still cry No Surrender!"
~Nautical Song: Alabama, by E.King {1864}
'til death we will defend her;
Facing the foe, down, down we'll go
But still cry No Surrender!"
~Nautical Song: Alabama, by E.King {1864}