The Prince George's enquirer and southern Maryland advertiser. (Upper Marlborough, Md.) 1882-1925, 1898-08-12
RAPHAEL SIMNES

Semmes. romantic as it is, filled with
daring exploits as it is, continues to be
read with a thrill Of racial pride in
spite Of the hatred in which he once
was held 10y the North and the terror
he once inspired.
Semmes was born in Maryland in
1909. He was appointed midshipman
when he was Is. in 1926, but it was
1886 before he cu'nr II the service. He
was made lieutenant the next year.
and during the siege of Vera Cruz
commanded a battery. He received
command Of the United States brig
Somers, named after the gallant hero
of Tripoli, but the Somcrs went down
in q gale. Somcrs seemed to be an ILL
fated name for American war vessels.
Until the Civil War broke out
Semmes was inspector of lighthouses
along the Gulf.
Raphael Semmes started in at once
to serve the Confederacy He made a
trip through the North and bought
war material and hired mechanics
skilled the construction of guns and
ordinance. Thousands of tons of Or
dinance and powder were shipped
South, and Semmes, on his return, re-
ceived command of the Sumter. She
was block kaded at Gibralter. so he sold
her and went to the Azores to take
command of the Alabama.
Then started career which can
scarcely be duplicated in the naval his
tory of the word. For two years the
Alabama sailed, sweeping the seas
with thoroughness which amazed the
world. With no ports save England's
or"n to him, he made cruise Of near
ly $4,000 miles, and his cruise was
marked and charted by burning ships.
The Alabama was no formidable ves-
sci. Her tonnage was but 1000. Her
speed was l3 knots, and her armament
was one S-inch shotgun aft, finch
l00-pounder forward and six-32-pound-
ers She cost S250,OOO. Her crew
were mostly hardy British tars, but Oh
the decks were good Americans, thor
ough scamen and daring fighters. The
crew numbered eighty-five men. The
Alabama was furnished by an English
member of Parliament. But her Ca
reer of daredevil recklessness, and her
final capture, is 4 story that has no
equal in the annals of the sea, save in
the eighteenth century exploits of the
freebooters.
In September, 1862, the Alabama
captured her first prize, the Ocmulgee,
4 whaler. The sea then was dotted
white with sailing vessels from New
England. They proved easy prey for
Semmcs. He first plundered a vessel
and then burned her. The Alabama
went everywhere. She sailed and
steamed up close to New York, and
there got newspapers from prizes. From
these newspapers Semmes took the list
of departing vessels, and laid in wait
for them. BY means Of these news
papers he also managed to elude the
fleet of pursuers.
Semmes kept book, in which he
entered the value of his prizes from the
captured manifests. The Confederate
Congress voted to give him half the
value of each vessel burned. The
prize money was divided according to
rank. Only one of the Alabama's Off
GERS ever realized Il cent, and he sold
his hypothetical share to British
spcculator for ) per cent. of its sup
posed value.
Semmes's career filled England with
wonder. As report after report came
in of captures and fights, as the little
sea hornet darted here and there, and
left in its wake long line of plunder-
ed ships and burned vessels, the Eng
lish were filled with desire to gain
privately from Semmcs's intrepidity
and rccklessacss. a syndicate was
formed to buy captured ships. 1t was
proposed to land them on the Hotten-
tot coast. AS a surety good English
gold was given Semmcs and his crew,
but the syndicate got no prizes.
SO Semmes made his $4,000 mile
cruise in two years. He had captur-
ed, single handed, sixty-three Ameri-
can vessels Fifty-three had been de-
stroycd, nine released on ransom bonds
and one made into tender. The AL
ALBANIA had inflicted and incredible loss
on American shippers. Suspected AL
abamas had been sighted by war YES
sells from the North time and again,
but never the sight of the hull of the
real vessel had been seen. Merchant
men were continually on the watch for
this ubiquitous vessel, and they trem-
blcd at the sight of every unknown
craft. 1t was an evil day for ship
ping. This spectre of the deep swept
the seas everywhere, and there seemed
to he no safety whatever.
But on June IL, 1864. the Alabama