Rare American Civil War document. OCLC finds no physical copies of this imprint. A collection of 17 correspondence concerning the escape of Confederate POWs and rules of war. The CSS Alabama was a notorious Confederate commerce raider, considered the most successful in maritime history, commanded by Captain Raphael Semmes. A British made sloop, it was powered by steam and sail. Between 1862 and 1864, Capt. Semmes travelled tens of thousands of miles around the world, hunting for Union merchant ships. He captured or sank well over 50 and took hundreds of prisoners, earning the moniker, Pirate Semmes in northern publications. By some estimates he captured close to $6 million in prizes in 22 months.

After 2 years at sea, Semmes’ luck finally ran out when he was forced to dock in the neutral French port of Cherbourg, for desperately needed repairs to the Alabama. Captain John A. Winslow (a onetime friend and fellow Mexican War veteran), commander of U.S.S. Kearsarge, had been searching for Capt. Semmes for months and raced for Cherbourg as soon as news of the Alabama reached him.

On June 19, 1864, rather than surrender, Semmes replenished his munitions and challenged Winslow to a naval battle. Large crowds gathered on shore and a number of boats went out to sea, to watch the spectacle. One was the British yacht Deerhound, owned by John Lancaster, a Confederate sympathizer.

U.S.S. Kearsarge sank the Alabama just outside French territorial waters. The surviving crew, including Capt. Semmes, were picked up by the Deerhound and taken to Southampton to a hero’s welcome.

Captain Winslow wanted the survivors to be arrested and taken back to America to face charges. They were let go and eventually made their way back to Richmond in the waning days of the war. Semmes was detained in December 1865 by U.S. marines, and held for 4 months, but was released due to lack of evidence of piracy and public pressure. The documents printed here concern the rescue and release of Capt. Semmes and his men. The authors include Charles Francis Adams, U.S. Ambassador to the U.K., Son of John Quincy Adams and grandson of John Adams, Captain John A. Winslow describing the sinking of Alabama, detailed extract of the battle by John Lancaster and the British Foreign Minister, Earl Russell. Includes names of rescued Confederate officers.

 

NORTH AMERICA. NO. 3. (1865.) CORRESPONDENCE ARISING OUT OF THE CONFLICT BETWEEN THE "KEARSARGE" AND THE "ALABAMA": PRESENTED TO THE HOUSE OF COMMONS BY COMMAND OF HER MAJESTY, IN PURSUANCE OF THEIR ADDRESS DATED MAY 19, 1865. London: Printed by Harrison and Sons. 1865. First edition. Folio. 13 x 8 ½ inches. 15pp. Self-wraps. letterpress sewn pamphlet, likely disbound. String broken, most leaves loose including front cover. Collated complete. Paper is fragile (pulp paper) with minor chips at margins. Call number to lower inner corner of title. Corner of page 7-8 folded. Good. See images.

[American Civil War - Naval Operations]