Raphael Semmes Raphael Semmes ( September 27 , 1809 – August 30 , 1877 ) was an officer in the United States Navy from 1826 – 1860 and the Confederate States Navy from 1860 – 1865 . During the American Civil War he was captain of the famous commerce raider CSS " Alabama " , which took a record sixty - five prizes . Late in the war he was promoted to rear admiral and also served briefly as a brigadier general in the Confederate States Army . Admiral / General Semmes is the only North American to have the distinction of holding both ranks simultaneously . Biography . Semmes was born in Charles County , Maryland , a cousin of future Confederate general Paul Jones Semmes and Union Navy Captain Alexander Alderman Semmes . He graduated from Charlotte Hall Military Academy and entered the U . S . Navy as a midshipman in 1826 . Semmes then studied law and was admitted to the bar . During the Mexican - American War , he commanded the brig USS " Somers " in the Gulf of Mexico . The ship was lost in a storm off Veracruz , Mexico , in December 1846 ; Semmes was commended for his actions during the loss of the " Somers . " Following the war , Semmes went on extended leave at Mobile , Alabama , where he practiced law . He became extremely popular , and the nearby town of Semmes , Alabama was named after him . He was promoted to the rank of commander in 1855 and was assigned to lighthouse duties until 1860 . When Alabama seceded from the Union in January 1861 , Semmes resigned from the United States Navy and sought an appointment in the fledgling Confederate States Navy . Confederate States service . In April 1861 Semmes was accepted into the Confederate Navy as a commander and was sent to New Orleans , Louisiana to convert the steamer " Habana " into the cruiser / commerce raider CSS " Sumter " . In June 1861 , Semmes , in " Sumter " , outran the Union sloop - of - war USS " Brooklyn " , breached the Union blockade at New Orleans , and then launched a brilliant career as one of the greatest commerce raider captains in naval history . Semmes ' command of CSS " Sumter " lasted only six months , but during that time he ranged wide , raiding U . S . commercial shipping in both the Caribbean Sea and Atlantic Ocean ; his actions accounted for the loss of 18 merchant vessels , while always eluding pursuit by Union warships . By January 1862 " Sumter " required a major overhaul ; Semmes attempted to have her repaired in neutral Gibraltar , but the arrival of pursuing Union warships ended her raiding career when they took up blockading stations . Semmes was forced to sell his ship , and he and his crew then traveled on to England where he was promoted to captain . He then was ordered to the Azores to take up command and oversee the coaling and outfitting with cannon of the newly built British steamer " Enrica " as a sloop - of - war , which thereafter became world - famous as the Confederate commerce raider CSS " Alabama " . Semmes sailed on " Alabama " from August 1862 to June 1864 . His operations carried him from the Atlantic to the Gulf of Mexico , around Africa ' s Cape of Good Hope , and into the Pacific to the East Indies . During this cruise , " Alabama " captured 65 U . S . merchantmen and quickly destroyed the Union warship USS " Hatteras " off Galveston , TX . " Alabama " finally sailed back to the Atlantic and made port in Cherbourg , France for a much - needed overhaul ; she was soon blockaded by the pursuing Union steam sloop - of - war , USS " Kearsarge " . Captain Semmes took " Alabama " out on June 19 , 1864 and met the similar " Kearsarge " in one of the most famous naval engagements of the Civil War . The commander of the " Kearsarge " had , while in port at the Azores the year before , turned his warship into a makeshift partial ironclad ; the ship ' s port and starboard midsection were stepped - up - and - down to the waterline with overlapping rows of heavy chain armor , hidden behind black wooden deal - board covers . But " Alabama " s much - too - rapid gunnery and misplaced aiming , combined with the deteriorated state of her gunpowder and cannon fuses , ensured a victory for both of the " Kearsarge " s accurate , long - range 11 - inch Dahlgren cannons . After receiving a fatal Dahlgren shell to the starboard waterline , which tore open a portion of " Alabama " s hull , causing her steam engine to explode from the shell ' s impact , Semmes was forced to order the striking of his ship ' s Stainless Banner battle ensign and later to display a hand - held white flag of surrender to finally halt the combat . As the commerce raider was going down by the stern , " Kearsage " stood off at a distance and observed at the orders of her Captain John Ancrum Winslow ; Winslow eventually sent rescue boats for survivors after taking aboard " Alabama " survivors from one of the raider ' s two surviving longboats . As his command sank , the wounded Semmes threw his sword into the sea , depriving " Kearsage " s Captain Winslow of the traditional surrender ceremony of having it handed over to him as victor . Semmes was eventually rescued , along with forty - one of his crewmen , by the British yacht " Deerhound " . He and the forty - one were taken to England where all but one recovered ; while there they were hailed as naval heroes , despite the loss of " Alabama " . From England , Semmes made his way back to America via Cuba and from there a safe shore landing on the Texas gulf coast ; it took his small party many weeks of journeying through the war - devastated South before he was finally able to make his way to the Confederate capital . He was promoted to rear admiral in February 1865 , and during the last months of the war he commanded the James River Squadron from his flagship , the heavily armored ironclad CSS " Virginia II " . With the fall of Richmond , Virginia , in April 1865 , Semmes supervised the destruction of all the squadron ' s nearby warships and was then appointed a brigadier general in the Confederate States Army . His sailors were turned into an infantry unit and dubbed the " Naval Brigade . " Their intention was to join Lee ' s army after burning their vessels . Lee ' s army , however , was already cut - off from Richmond , so most of Semmes ' men boarded a train and escaped to join Joseph E . Johnston ' s army in North Carolina . A few men of the Naval Brigade were able to join with Lee ' s rear guard and fought at Sayler ' s Creek . Semmes and the Naval Brigade surrendered to William T . Sherman and were paroled at Durham Station , N . C . Semmes ' parole notes that he held commissions as both a brigadier general and rear admiral in the Confederate service when he surrendered with Gen . Johnston ' s army . He insisted on his parole being written this way in anticipation of being charged with piracy by the U . S . government . After the war . Semmes was briefly held as a prisoner after the war but was released on parole ; he was later arrested for treason on December 15 , 1865 . After a good deal of behind - the - scenes political machinations , all charges were eventually dropped , and he was finally released on April 7 , 1866 . After this release , he worked as a professor of philosophy and literature at Louisiana State Seminary ( now Louisiana State University ) , as a county judge , and then as a newspaper editor ; his controversial military service was always a factor in forcing his job changes . Semmes later returned to Mobile and resumed his legal career . He defended both his actions at sea and the political actions of the southern states in his 1869 " Memoirs of Service Afloat During The War Between the States " . The book was viewed as one of the most cogent but bitter defenses written about the South ' s " Lost Cause . " In 1871 the citizens of Mobile presented Semmes with what became known as the Raphael Semmes House , and it remained his residence until his untimely death in 1877 from complications due to food poisoning ; he was then interred in Mobile ' s Old Catholic Cemetery . Raphael Semmes is a member of the Alabama Hall of Fame . One of the streets on the current Louisiana State University campus carries his full name in his honor , as is Semmes Avenue in Richmond , Virginia . Admiral Semmes ' battle ensign . The Alabama Department of Archives and History has among its collection an important Confederate naval battle ensign listed as " Admiral Semmes ' Flag , Catalogue No . 86 . 1893 . 1 ( PN10149 - 10150 ) . " Their provenance reconstruction shows that it was presented to Semmes in England sometime after the sinking of the " Alabama " by " Lady Dehogton and other English ladies . " Such presentations of ceremonial colors were uncommon to ship ' s captains of the Confederate Navy , but a few are known to have received such honors . This Stainless Banner Second National Flag of the Confederacy is huge and made of pure silk , giving it an elegant appearance . Although this battle ensign is in a remarkable state of preservation , its very large size and delicate condition has precluded any up - close measurements , so its various details and dimensions are unavailable . When Semmes returned to the South from England , he brought this ceremonial " Stainless Banner " with him . It was inherited by his grandchildren , Raphael Semmes III and Mrs . Eunice Semmes Thorington . After his sister ' s death , Raphael Semmes III donated the ensign to the state of Alabama on 19 September 1929 .