View source for Charles Read (naval officer)

{{Short description|American naval officer}}
{{hatnote|For other people named Charles Read, see [[Charles Read (disambiguation)]].}}
{{Infobox military person
|name= Charles Read
|image=Charles William Read.jpg
|caption=Read in uniform, {{circa|1860|lk=yes}}
|birth_name = Charles William Read
|nickname="Savez"
|birth_date= {{birth date|1840|5|12}}
|birth_place= [[Satartia, Mississippi]], U.S.
|death_date= {{Death date and age|1890|1|25|1840|5|12}}
|death_place= [[Meridian, Mississippi]], U.S.
|placeofburial= Rose Hill Cemetery, Meridian, Mississippi, U.S.
|allegiance= [[United States]]<br/>[[Confederate States of America|Confederate States]]<br/>[[United States of Colombia|Colombia]]<br/>[[Peru]]
|branch=[[United States Navy]]<br/>[[Confederate States Navy]]<br/>[[Colombian Navy]]<br/>[[Peruvian Navy]]
| branch_label = [[Military branch|Branch]]
|serviceyears=1860–1861 (U.S.)<br/>1861–1865 (C.S.)
|rank= [[Midshipman]] (U.S.)<br/>[[Lieutenant]] (C.S.)
|commands=[[CSS McRae|CSS ''McRae'']]<br/>[[CSS Arkansas|CSS ''Arkansas'']]<br/>[[CSS Florida|CSS ''Florida'']]<br/>[[CSS Clarence|CSS ''Clarence'']]<br/>[[CSS Tacony|CSS ''Tacony'']]<br/>[[CSS Archer|CSS ''Archer'']]<br/>[[CSS Scorpion|CSS ''Scorpion'']]<br/>[[CSS Webb|CSS ''Webb'']]
|battles= {{tree list}}
* [[American Civil War]]
** Battle of Ship Island
** [[Battle of the Head of Passes]]
** [[Battle of Baton Rouge (1862)|Battle of Baton Rouge]]
** [[Battle of Portland Harbor]]
** [[Battle of Trent's Reach]]
* [[War of the Pacific]]
{{tree list/end}}
| battles_label = Battles
}}

'''Charles William Read''' (May 12, 1840 – January 25, 1890), known commonly as "'''Savez'''", was an officer in the [[Antebellum era|antebellum]] [[United States Navy]] and then in the [[Confederate Navy]] during the [[American Civil War]]. He was nicknamed the "Seawolf of the Confederacy" for his exploits and daring.

==Early life and career==
Charles William Read was born in [[Satartia, Mississippi]] in 1840.<ref>{{cite book | last = Shaw | first = David W. | title = Sea Wolf of the Confederacy: The Daring Civil War Raids of Naval Lt. Charles W. Read | publisher = Free Press | year = 2004 | isbn = 9781574092073 | 
url = https://books.google.com/books?id=-EFxptX0ZHQC&pg=PR6}}</ref>  He was appointed to the [[United States Naval Academy]] in 1856 and graduated in 1860. He served briefly aboard [[USS Powhatan (1850)|USS ''Powhatan'']] after graduation.

==American Civil War==
[[File:The photographic history of the Civil War - thousands of scenes photographed 1861-65, with text by many special authorities (1911) (14739814426).jpg|thumb|left|Read (seated, center) with fellow prisoners at Fort Warren]]
At the outbreak of the [[American Civil War]] Read resigned his commission with the [[United States Navy]] and accepted a position with the [[Confederate States Navy]]. Read was initially assigned to the {{Ship|CSS|McRae}} at [[New Orleans, Louisiana]] as a midshipman and participated in the battle between batteries on [[Ship Island]] and the {{USS|Massachusetts|1860|6}} on July 9, 1861.<ref name="ROCSN">{{cite book | title=Register of Officers of the Confederate States Navy |others=Office of Naval Records and Library United States Navy Department | publisher=J.M. Carroll & Company | location=Mattituck, NY | year=1983 | isbn=0-8488-0011-7}}</ref> On October 12, 1861, he participated in the attack on the Union blockading squadron at [[Head of the Passes]] on the [[Mississippi River]].<ref name="ROCSN"/> When the commander of the CSS ''McRae'' was wounded on April 24, 1862, Read took command of the ship.<ref name="ROCSN"/>

Read then served as executive officer of the {{ship|CSS|Arkansas}} during its actions against a blockading fleet of over 30 ships on the [[Mississippi River]] near [[Vicksburg, Mississippi]] on 13 July 1862. Read served as acting commander of the ''Arkansas'' during her final battle supporting the [[Confederate States Army|Confederate Army]] assaulting [[Baton Rouge, Louisiana]] on 6 August 1862. After the sinking of the ''Arkansas'', Read travelled by foot to [[Port Hudson, Louisiana]] and assisted with the emplacement of shore guns there.

Read was soon ordered to [[Mobile, Alabama]] and was assigned to the {{ship|CSS|Florida}} which set sail on 15 January 1863. He transferred to the {{ship|CSS|Clarence}}, a captured prize of the ''Florida'', and set out on his own.  During this raiding mission, which lasted from 6 June 1863 to 27 June 1863, Read transferred his command to prize vessels twice more, once to the {{ship|CSS|Tacony}} and finally to the {{ship|CSS|Archer}}.<ref>Phil Leigh. [https://opinionator.blogs.nytimes.com/2013/05/10/charles-reads-raider/ Charles Read's Raider], ''The New York Times'', May 10, 2013</ref>

At the end of the raid, Lieutenant Read had captured or destroyed twenty-two [[United States]] vessels. He and his crew were captured off [[Portland, Maine]] on June 27, 1863, while attempting to take the {{USRC|Caleb Cushing}}. Read was held at [[Fort Warren (Massachusetts)|Fort Warren, Massachusetts]], until he was exchanged at Cox Wharf, Virginia, on October 18, 1864.<ref name="ROCSN"/>

After his release, Read participated in naval and land operations on the [[James River (Virginia)|James River]], he commanded the {{ship|CSS|Scorpion}} and two other [[torpedo boat]]s at the [[Battle of Trent's Reach]]. In January 1865, he was assigned to the {{ship|CSS|Webb}} at [[Shreveport, Louisiana]] with the intention that she become a raider in the [[Pacific Ocean]].  Read did not reach the ''Webb'' until 22 April 1865.  Read attempted to break out to the [[Gulf of Mexico]] but grounded in shallow waters near New Orleans on April 23, 1865.  Read fired the ship to prevent its capture by Federal forces.  Read surrendered to Federal naval authorities in New Orleans and was transported again to Fort Warren. He was released on July 24, 1865.<ref name="ROCSN"/>

==Later life==
In 1867, Read was second officer aboard a ship involved in an effort to help Cuban rebels overthrow the Spanish government of the island. Read and others were arrested by the US government but were quickly released.

He was later hired by Charles Flynt to train [[Peru]] in the use of [[Torpedo|torpedoes]]. Read was commissioned as a [[Commander]] in the Peruvian Navy and much like [[John Randolph Tucker (naval officer)|John Randolph Tucker]], received disdain from within the [[Peruvian Navy]] due to their jealousy of a foreigner being hired in a position of command.<ref>{{cite book |last=Clayton |first=Lawrence A. |date=1999 |title=Peru and the United States: The Condor and the Eagle |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=QZJ8z7jRhdYC |location=p.64 |publisher=University of Georgia Press |isbn=9780820320243 }} [https://archive.org/details/peruunitedstates00clay/mode/2up/search/Read Alt URL]</ref>

Read earned his nickname "Savvy" or "Savez" due to his constant use of the term.

Charles Read died on January 25, 1890, in [[Meridian, Mississippi]], and was interred at Rose Hill Cemetery.<ref>{{cite web |title=Lt. Charles Read |url=https://www.hmdb.org/m.asp?m=111031 |website=www.hmdb.org |publisher=The Historical Marker Database |access-date=21 January 2024}}</ref>

==See also==
*[[Commerce raiding]]

==References==
{{Reflist|30em}}

==Further reading==
* Campbell, R. Thomas, ''Sea Hawk of the Confederacy: Lt. Charles W. Read and the Confederate Navy'', {{ISBN|1-57249-178-7}}
* Jones, Robert A., ''Confederate Corsair: The Life of Lt. Charles W. "Savez" Read'', {{ISBN|0-8117-1532-9}}
* Shaw, David W., ''Sea Wolf of the Confederacy: The Daring Civil War Raids of Naval Lt. Charles W. Read''

== External links ==
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* {{Find a Grave}}
* [https://www.hmdb.org/m.asp?m=111031 Charles Read] at [[Historical Marker Database]]
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Read, Charles William}}
[[Category:1840 births]]
[[Category:1890 deaths]]
[[Category:American Civil War prisoners of war]]
[[Category:Confederate States Navy officers]]
[[Category:People from Meridian, Mississippi]]
[[Category:United States Navy officers]]