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{{Short description|Confederate naval officer (1809–1877)}}
{{Infobox military person
| width_style   = person
| name          = Raphael Semmes
| image         = Raphael Semmes (cropped).jpg
| birth_date    = {{birth date|1809|09|27}}
| birth_place   = [[Nanjemoy, Maryland]], US
| death_date    = {{death date and age|1877|08|30|1809|09|27}}
| death_place   = [[Mobile, Alabama]], US
| allegiance    = {{ubl|{{flagu|United States|1861}}|{{flagu|Confederate States}}}}
| branch_label  = Branch
| branch        = {{ubl|{{flag|United States Navy|1861}}|{{navy|CSA}}}}
| serviceyears_label = Service&nbsp;years
| serviceyears  = 1826–1861 (USN)<br />1861–1865 (CSN)
| rank          = {{ubl|[[File:USN com rank insignia.jpg|35px]] Commander (USN)|[[File:Csn strap flag.png|35px]] Rear admiral (CSN)}}
| commands      = {{ubl|{{USS|Somers|1842|6}}|{{ship|CSS|Sumter||6}}|{{ship|CSS|Alabama||6}}}}
| battles_label = Wars
| battles       = {{ubl|[[Mexican–American War]]|[[American Civil War]]}}
}}

'''Raphael Semmes''' ({{IPAc-en|s|ɪ|m|z}} {{Respell|SIMZ}}; September 27, 1809 – August 30, 1877) was an officer in the [[Confederate Navy]] during the [[American Civil War]]. He had served as an officer in the [[US Navy|United States Navy]] from 1826 to 1860.

During the American Civil War, Semmes was captain of the cruiser {{ship|CSS|Alabama||6}}, the most successful [[commerce raider]] in maritime history, taking 65 prizes. Late in the war, he was promoted to [[rear admiral]]. He also acted as a [[Brigadier general (United States)|brigadier general]] in the [[Confederate States Army]] from April 5 to April 26, 1865, although this appointment was never submitted to or officially confirmed by the [[Confederate Senate]].

== Early life and education ==
Semmes was born in [[Charles County, Maryland]], on Tayloe's Neck.<ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.militaryimagesmagazine-digital.com/2023/11/15/semmes-an-iconography-of-rear-admiral-raphael-semmes-c-s-navy/ | title=An iconography of Rear Admiral Raphael Semmes, C.S. Navy | date=15 November 2023 }}</ref> He was a cousin of future Confederate general [[Paul Jones Semmes]] and of future Union Navy Captain [[Alexander Alderman Semmes]].{{citation needed|date= September 2013}}

He graduated from [[Charlotte Hall Military Academy]]<ref>Maryland. State Board of Education. ''Twenty-sixth Annual Report of the State Board of Education, Showing the Condition of the Public Schools or Maryland, for the Year Ending July 31, 1892''. Baltimore, MD: Press of Thomas & Evans, 1893, p. xlix.</ref>
and entered the U.S. Navy as a midshipman in 1826. Semmes first served on the ''Lexington,'' cruising the Caribbean and the Mediterranean until September 1826, when he was placed on leave for ill health. After a short convalescence, he served on the USS ''Erie'' for part of 1829 and on the USS ''Brandywine'' (formerly ''Susquehanna'')<ref name="auto">{{cite web | url=https://eu.ydr.com/story/news/history/blogs/yorkspast/2015/06/18/susquehanna-brandywine-lafayette/74059716/ | title=The Susquehanna becomes the Brandywine for Lafayette }}</ref> for the rest of 1829 and the first nine months of the following year. On September 29, 1830, he was posted to the USS ''Porpoise'' of the West Indies squadron, which was attempting to suppress piracy in the Caribbean.<ref>Confederate Raider – Raphael Semmes of the Alabama by John M Taylor p16 ISBN 0-02-881086-4</ref> Semmes then studied law and was admitted to the [[bar (law)|bar]]. He was promoted to lieutenant in February 1837.<ref>Fox, p. 23</ref>

== Career ==
During the [[Mexican–American War]], he commanded the {{USS|Somers|1842|6}} in the [[Gulf of Mexico]]. In December 1846, a squall hit the ship while under full sail in pursuit of a vessel off [[Veracruz, Veracruz|Veracruz]]. ''Somers'' capsized and was lost along with 37 sailors. Semmes then served as first lieutenant on the {{USS|Raritan|1843|6}}, accompanied the landing force at Veracruz, and was dispatched inland to catch up with Army forces proceeding to [[Mexico City]].<ref>Fox, pp. 26–27</ref>

Following the war, Semmes went on extended leave at [[Mobile, Alabama]], where he practiced law and wrote ''Service Afloat and Ashore During the Mexican War''.<ref>Fox, p. 28.</ref> He became extremely popular, and the nearby town of [[Semmes, Alabama]], was named after him. He also maintained a home in [[Josephine, Alabama]], on [[Perdido Bay]].<ref name="Burnette2007">{{cite book|author=O. Lawrence Burnette|title=Historic Baldwin County: A Bicentennial History|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=4TJZPSXl-rMC&pg=PA18|date=1 January 2007|publisher=HPN Books|isbn=978-1-893619-80-7|pages=18}}</ref> He was promoted to commander in 1855 and was assigned to lighthouse duties until 1860. After [[Alabama]] seceded from the [[Union (American Civil War)|Union]], Semmes was offered a Confederate naval appointment by the provisional government; he resigned from the U.S. Navy the next day, February 15, 1861.<ref>Fox, p. 38.</ref>

=== Confederate service ===
{{See also|Blockade runners of the American Civil War|Battle of Cherbourg (1864)}}
[[File:Captain Raphael Semmes and First Lieutenant John Kell aboard CSS Alabama 1863.jpg|thumb|Semmes and [[John McIntosh Kell]]]]

After appointment to the Confederate Navy as a commander and a futile assignment to purchase arms in the North, Semmes was sent to [[New Orleans]] to convert the steamer ''Habana'' into the cruiser/commerce raider {{ship|CSS|Sumter||6}}.<ref>Luraghi, pp. 8, 78</ref> In June 1861, Semmes, in ''Sumter'', outran {{USS|Brooklyn|1858|6}}, breaching the Union blockade of New Orleans, and then launched a brilliant career as one of the greatest commerce raider captains in naval history.<ref>[[John D. Winters]], ''The Civil War in Louisiana'', [[Baton Rouge]]: [[Louisiana State University Press]], 1963, {{ISBN|0-8071-0834-0}}, p.&nbsp;48</ref>

Semmes' command of ''Sumter'' lasted only six months, but during that time he ranged wide, raiding US 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' crew surveyed the vessel while in neutral [[Gibraltar]] and determined that the repairs to her boilers were too extensive to be completed there. Semmes paid off the crew and laid up the vessel.<ref>Fox, p. 47</ref> US Navy vessels maintained a vigil outside the harbor until she was disarmed and sold at auction in December 1862, eventually being renamed and converted to a blockade runner.<ref>Silverstone, p. 162</ref>

Semmes and several of his officers traveled 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 the Confederate commerce raider {{ship|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 US merchantmen and quickly destroyed {{USS|Hatteras|1861|6}}, off [[Galveston]].<ref>Luraghi, p. 228.</ref>

[[File:AlabamaSinkingHarpers23July1864.jpg|thumb|left|upright|1864 engraving of the sinking of CSS ''Alabama'']]

''Alabama'' finally sailed back to the Atlantic and made port in [[Cherbourg-Octeville|Cherbourg]], France, for a much-needed overhaul; she was soon blockaded by the pursuing Union steam sloop-of-war {{USS|Kearsarge|1861|6}}. 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 ''Kearsarge'' had, while in port at the Azores the year before, turned his warship into a makeshift partial ironclad; {{convert|30|ft}} of 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-painted wooden deal board covers.<ref name="Holloway">Holloway, Don, [http://donhollway.com/alabama-kearsarge/ "High Seas Duel"], ''Civil War Quarterly'', 2014</ref> ''Alabama''{{'}}s much-too-rapid gunnery and misplaced aim, combined with the deteriorated state of her gunpowder and shell fuses, enabled a victory for both of ''Kearsarge''{{'}}s {{convert|11|in|cm|adj=on}} [[Dahlgren gun|Dahlgren]] smoothbore cannon. While ''Alabama'' opened fire at long range, ''Kearsarge'' steamed straight at her, exposing the Union sloop-of-war to potentially devastating raking fire. In their haste, however, ''Alabama''{{'}}s gunners fired many shells too high.

At {{convert|1000|yd}}, ''Kearsarge'' turned broadside to engage and opened fire. Soon the heavy {{convert|11|in|cm|adj=on}} Dahlgren cannon began to find their mark.<ref name="Holloway" /> After receiving a fatal 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 engagement.

As the commerce raider was going down by the stern, ''Kearsarge'' stood off at a distance and observed at the orders of her captain, [[John Ancrum Winslow]], who 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 ''Kearsarge''{{'}}s Winslow of the traditional surrender ceremony of having it handed over to him as victor. Semmes was eventually rescued, along with 41 of his crewmen,<ref>Canon, Jill. ''Civil War Heroes''. Bellerophon Books, Santa Barbara, Calif., 2002, p. 39.</ref> by the British yacht ''Deerhound'' and three French pilot boats. He and his men were taken to England where all but one recovered; while there they were hailed as naval heroes, despite the loss of ''Alabama.''<ref>Fox, pp. 230-1</ref>

[[File:RARaphaelSemmes.jpg|thumb|upright|left|Raphael Semmes]]
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 boxed-in [[James River Squadron]] from his flagship, the heavily armored ironclad {{ship|CSS|Virginia II}}.

With the fall of [[Richmond, Virginia|Richmond]], in April 1865, Semmes supervised the destruction of all the squadron's nearby warships and thereafter acted as a [[brigadier general]] in the [[Confederate States Army]], the implication being that he was appointed to that grade.<ref name=Allardice>Allardice, Bruce S.'' More Generals in Gray.'' Baton Rouge: Louisiana State University Press, 1995. {{ISBN|978-0-8071-3148-0}}. pp. 206–207.</ref> Historians John and David Eicher show Semmes as appointed to the grade of temporary brigadier general (unconfirmed) on April 5, 1865.<ref name=Eicher>Eicher, John H., and [[David J. Eicher]], ''Civil War High Commands.'' Stanford: Stanford University Press, 2001. {{ISBN|978-0-8047-3641-1}}. p. 478.</ref>

Semmes' appointment as a brigadier general was at most an informal arrangement made four days before General [[Robert E. Lee]]'s surrender of the [[Army of Northern Virginia]] at the [[Battle of Appomattox Courthouse]] on April 9, 1865. That appointment was not and could not have been submitted to or confirmed by the Confederate Senate, since the [[Second Confederate Congress]] adjourned for the last time on March 18, 1865.<ref name=Allardice /> Historian Bruce Allardice notes that Semmes was vague about this appointment in his memoirs and considered his naval rank of rear admiral to be the equivalent of a brigadier general.<ref name=Allardice />

After the destruction of the naval squadron, Semmes' sailors were turned into an infantry unit and dubbed the "Naval Brigade"; Semmes was then placed in command. His intention for the brigade 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 General [[Joseph E. Johnston]]'s army in North Carolina.<ref>Spencer, W. "Raphael Semmes: The Philosophical Mariner, [[Tuscaloosa, Alabama|Tuscaloosa]]: [[University of Alabama Press]], 1997, {{ISBN|978-0-8173-0844-5}}, p. 185</ref> A few men of the Naval Brigade were able to join with Lee's rear guard and fought at the [[Battle of Sailor's Creek]].

Semmes and the Naval Brigade were surrendered to Union Major General [[William T. Sherman]] with Johnston's army at [[Bennett Place]] near [[Durham, North Carolina|Durham Station]], North Carolina; he was subsequently paroled on May 1, 1865.<ref name=Eicher /> Semmes' parole notes that he held commissions as both a brigadier general and rear admiral in the Confederate service when he surrendered with General Johnston's army.<ref name=Allardice /><ref name="semmes186" /> He insisted on his parole being written to include the brigadier general commission in anticipation of being charged with piracy by the United States government.<ref name=Allardice /><ref name="semmes186">Spencer, W. "Raphael Semmes: The Philosophical Mariner, [[Tuscaloosa, Alabama|Tuscaloosa]]: [[University of Alabama Press]], 1997, {{ISBN|978-0-8173-0844-5}}, p. 186.</ref><ref>Spencer, W. "Raphael Semmes: The Philosophical Mariner, [[Tuscaloosa, Alabama|Tuscaloosa]]: [[University of Alabama Press]], 1997, {{ISBN|978-0-8173-0844-5}}, p. 189, 194</ref>

=== After the war ===
[[File:Admiral Semmes House 02.jpg|thumb|[[Raphael Semmes House]] at 804 Government Street in [[Mobile, Alabama]], occupied by him 1871–1877, listed on the [[National Register of Historic Places]]]]

The U.S. briefly held Semmes as a prisoner after the war, but released him again on a second parole, then later rearrested him for [[treason]] on December 15, 1865. After a good deal of behind-the-scenes legal and political machinations, all charges were eventually dropped, and he was released on April 7, 1866.

In October 1866, the Louisiana State Seminary (today's [[Louisiana State University]]) offered Semmes a position as Professor of Moral Philosophy and English Literature. The position paid $3,000 per year. Semmes assumed this role on January 1, 1867. His fellow faculty-members described him as "dignified and easy to talk with". His teaching consisted mainly of formal lectures, with very little open discussion or questions. After only five months on campus, Semmes resigned from academia to take over as editor of the ''Memphis Bulletin'' newspaper in [[Memphis, Tennessee]].

He defended his actions of warfare at sea and the political actions of the seceded southern states in his 1869 ''Memoirs of Service Afloat During The War Between the States''.<ref>{{cite book
 | last1 = Semmes
 | first1 = Raphael
 | author-link1 = Raphael Semmes
 | title = Memoirs of Service Afloat, During the War Between the States
 | year = 1869
 | url = https://archive.org/details/memoirsservicea02semmgoog
 | series = Civil War unit histories: Confederate States of America and border states
 | location = Baltimore
 | publisher = Kelly, Piet & Company
 | publication-date = 1869
 | access-date = 16 October 2019
}}</ref> The book was viewed by some, including ''[[Putnam's Magazine]]'', as one of the most cogent but bitter defenses of the South's "[[Lost Cause]]".<ref>
Fox, pp. 247–249.</ref> Semmes is credited with helping to popularize the term “[[Names of the American Civil War#War Between the States|War Between the States]]".<ref>{{cite web |last1=Coski |first1=John |title=Myths & Misunderstandings: The Name of the War |url=https://acwm.org/blog/myths-misunderstandings-name-war/ |website=American Civil War Museum |date=5 December 2017 |access-date=6 September 2020}}</ref>

In 1871, the citizens of Mobile presented Semmes with the [[Raphael Semmes House]], an 1858 brick townhouse at 804 Government Street. He lived there until he died in 1877, from complications that followed food poisoning from eating some contaminated shrimp. Semmes was interred in Mobile's [[Old Catholic Cemetery (Mobile, Alabama)|Old Catholic Cemetery]].<ref name=Eicher />
<!-- Possibly salvagable content from OR material purge. Slot into appropriate locations earlier in article?

== Semmes' European tour and visit to Paris after the 1864 sinking of the ''CSS Alabama'' ==
[[File:Boat of the British yacht "Deerhound" rescuing Captain Raphael Semmes, 1864.jpg|thumb|Boat of the British yacht ''Deerhound'' rescuing Captain Raphael Semmes, from the sinking of the Confederate warship / commerce raider ''CSS Alabama'' after its engagement with the ''USS Kearsarge'', June 1864]]

On 19 June 1864 the ''CSS Alabama'' was sunk by the  ''USS Kearsarge'', off the coast of [[Cherbourg, France|Cherbourg]] on the [[Normandy]] peninsula of [[France]]. Semmes was rescued from the waters of the [[English Channel]] by the yacht ''Deerhound'' of the Royal Mersey Yacht Club of [[Tranmere, Birkenhead]].<ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.acwrt.org.uk/post/menage-a-trois-the-deerhound-story | title=Menage a Trois -The Deerhound Story | date=5 March 2013 }}</ref>

Semmes' journals were fortunately saved from the waters of the English Channel by the ''Alabama'' crewman Michael Mars and later returned to him aboard the ''Deerhound''.<ref>{{cite web | url=https://sites.google.com/site/290foundation/michael-mars-aka-maher | title=Michael Mars (Aka Maher) – 290 Foundation | access-date=2022-10-14 | archive-date=2022-10-14 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221014104242/https://sites.google.com/site/290foundation/michael-mars-aka-maher | url-status=dead }}</ref> Semmes was then taken by [[John Lancaster (MP)|John Lancaster]], a member of the [[British Parliament]] and its [[House of Commons (United Kingdom)|House of Commons]], the owner of the ''Deerhound'', to the [[Southampton, England|Port of Southampton]] in [[England]], where according to Semmes' published memoirs, he was met by the Reverend Francis Tremlett, [[vicar]] of the local parish of the [[Church of England]].<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.gutenberg.org/files/34827/34827-h/34827-h.htm#CHAPTER_LIV|title=The Project Gutenberg eBook of Memoirs of Service Afloat, During the War Between the States, by Raphael Semmes|website=www.gutenberg.org|accessdate=Oct 23, 2022}}</ref> Vicar Tremlett was also a member of the Royal Mersey Yacht Club of Tranmere Birkenhead.<ref>The Colonel and the Vicar by Edward Raynor p181 and p244 ISBN 978-0-9965472-4-6</ref>

The following evening, Semmes dined with shipbuilder  [[John Laird]], the Member of Parliament and the House of Commons for Birkenhead, and the owner of the firm and shipyard which built the ''CSS Alabama'' (and by literary association, also the builder of the fictional [[Captain Nemo]]'s submarine, the ''[[Nautilus]]'', in the novels of French author [[Jules Verne]]). Laird was also a member of the Royal Mersey Yacht Club of Tranmere, Birkenhead.<ref>{{cite web | url=https://royalmersey-yc.co.uk/about/history/ | title=History – Royal Mersey Yacht Club | date=28 February 2014 }}</ref>

According to the Semmes biographer Stephen Fox, once Semmes had recovered at the [[Belsize Park]] parsonage, in [[London]], the Reverend Francis Tremlett then obtained a forged British passport for Semmes under the name of "Raymond Smith" and together with Tremlett's sister, Louisa and two other friends, they took Semmes across the Channel on a [[Europe|European]] tour to [[Belgium]] and the [[Switzerland|Swiss]] [[Alps]].<ref name=Fox2007>{{cite book | last=Fox | first=Stephen R. | title=Wolf of the deep : Raphael Semmes and the notorious Confederate raider CSS Alabama | publisher=Vintage Civil War Library | publication-place=New York | date=2007 | isbn=978-1-4000-9542-1 | oclc=244105145 | page=232}}</ref>

Fox writes in his biography of Semmes ''Wolf of the Deep'' (2007):<ref name=Fox2007 />

{{blockquote|"On the fifth of September they took a train from Geneva to Paris, “where we remained for a week and did the city.” On September 15 the rest of the party left for England. Semmes remained in Paris for a few days longer, perhaps preferring the more discrete safety of travelling alone after the conspicuous company of his English friends. While he stayed on, Semmes received a letter from his faithful clerk, Breedlove Smith, in Liverpool asking for instructions. “My movements will be so uncertain for some weeks yet,” Semmes wrote him, “that I think that you had better not wait longer for me, but make the best of your way home by the first opportunity that offers.”"

– ''Wolf of the Deep''. Stephen Fox (2007)}}

== Seward's accusation of the Birkenhead yacht ''Deerhound'' ==
[[File:William-seward-1849-or-50.jpg|thumb|William Seward (1801–1872)]]

On July 8, 1864, Abraham Lincoln's Secretary of State, William Seward wrote a strongly worded letter to the American ambassador in London<ref name="history.state.gov">{{cite web | url=https://history.state.gov/historicaldocuments/frus1864p2/d67 | title=Papers Relating to Foreign Affairs, Accompanying the Annual Message of the President to the Second Session Thirty-eighth Congress, Part II – Office of the Historian }}</ref> Charles Francis Adams complaining about the activities of the yacht ''Deerhound'' of the Royal Mersey yacht Club of Tranmere, Birkenhead. Seward was adamant that missing ‘valuables’ from the CSS ''Alabama'' were last accounted for being loaded on to the ''Deerhound'' a vessel that would ultimately be bound for Birkenhead, England. Seward wrote:

{{blockquote|"…the presence and the proceedings of a British yacht, the Deerhound, at the battle, require explanation. On reading the statements which have reached this government, it seems impossible to doubt that the Deerhound went out to the place of conflict by concert and arrangement with the commander of the Alabama, and with at least a conditional purpose of rendering her aid and assistance. She did effectually render such aid by rescuing the commander of the Alabama and a portion of his crew from the pursuit of the Kearsarge, and by furtively and clandestinely conveying them to Southampton, within British jurisdiction...."

"Moreover, we are informed from Paris, that the Deerhound, before going out, received from Semmes, and that she subsequently conveyed away to England, a deposit of money, and other valuables, of which Semmes, in his long piratical career, had despoiled numerous American merchantmen.”…The President will expect you to carefully gather information, to weigh it well, and then to make a proper representation to her Majesty’s government upon the whole subject I have thus presented."

– Office of the Historian, Department of State, United States}}

Arthur Sinclair, an officer on board the CSS ''Alabama'', in his 1896 memoirs ''Two Years on the Alabama'' gave more information on William Seward's "valuables" prior to docking at Cherbourg:

{{blockquote|"...our strong box was liberally filled with sovereigns at this visit, the proceedings of the wool sale in England, part cargo of the ''Tuscaloosa'', transferred at Angra Pequefia some months since. The Alabama is now as wealthy as a bold buccaneer."

– Arthur Sinclair, ''Two Years on the Alabama'' (1896)<ref>Arthur Sinclair Two Years on the Alabama (1896) ISBN 978-1-298-78931-0</ref>}}
-->

== Legacy ==
[[File:Confederate States Naval Ensign after May 26 1863.svg|thumb|Semmes' Confederate ensign]]

Semmes is a member of the [[Alabama Hall of Fame]]. One of the streets on the current Louisiana State University campus once carried his full name,<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://articles.nola.com/opinions/index.ssf/2017/11/lsu_has_too_many_confederates.amp|title=LSU has too many Confederates {{!}}. LSU changed the street name, however, to Veterans Drive in November 2017. Opinion|work=NOLA.com|access-date=2017-11-03|language=en|archive-date=2017-11-02|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171102212524/https://articles.nola.com/opinions/index.ssf/2017/11/lsu_has_too_many_confederates.amp|url-status=dead}}</ref> as does Semmes Avenue in [[Richmond, Virginia]].<ref>{{Cite news|url=http://www.richmond.com/realestate/features/great-homes/semmes-avenue-the-residential-market-heats-up-along-a-former/article_e8ef373c-a543-11e7-abd9-d786b4500b8a.html|title=Semmes Avenue: The residential market heats up along a former streetcar line|last=Correspondent|first=Doug Childers/Homes|work=Richmond Times-Dispatch|access-date=2017-11-03|language=en}}</ref> A life-sized statue of Admiral Semmes was removed by the city of Mobile early on June 5, 2020.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.aol.com/article/news/2020/06/05/alabama-city-removes-confederate-statue-without-warning/24512990/|title=Alabama City Removes Confederate Statue Without Warning|last= Associated Press|work=AOL|access-date=2020-06-05|language=en}}</ref> The [[Semmes, Alabama|City of Semmes]] in western Mobile County is named after him, as well as a hotel in downtown Mobile, The Admiral Hotel.{{citation needed|date=June 2020}}

When Semmes returned to the South from England, he brought a ceremonial ''[[Stainless Banner]]'' (the second national flag of the Confederacy, used 1863–1865) 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 September 19, 1929.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.sothebys.com/en/auctions/ecatalogue/2011/fine-books-and-manuscripts-n08755/lot.157.html|title=Auctions: Confederate Flag from the CSS Alabama|year=2011|website=Sotheby's|access-date=2017-11-02}}</ref> Today, the [[battle ensign]] resides in the collection of the [[Alabama Department of Archives and History]] among its Confederate Naval collection, listed as "Admiral Semmes' Flag, Catalogue No. 86.1893.1 (PN10149-10150)". Their provenance reconstruction shows that it was presented to Semmes by "Lady Dehogton and other English ladies" in England sometime after the sinking of the ''Alabama''.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Flag: Admiral Semmes' Flag Catalogue No. 86.1893.1|url=https://archives.alabama.gov/referenc/flags/092.html|access-date=2020-06-11|website=archives.alabama.gov|archive-date=2021-02-18|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210218043321/https://archives.alabama.gov/referenc/flags/092.html|url-status=dead}}</ref>

== References to Semmes in literature ==

In 1998, William Butcher identified a possible link between the [[Birkenhead, England]]-built CSS ''Alabama'' and [[Captain Nemo]]'s ''[[Nautilus (fictional submarine)|Nautilus]]'' from the 1869 [[Jules Verne]] novel ''[[Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Seas|Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea]].'' Butcher said, "The Alabama, which claimed to have sunk 75 merchantmen, was destroyed by the Unionist Kearsarge off Cherbourg on 11th June 1864….This battle has clear connections with Nemo’s final attack, also in the English Channel."<ref>William Butcher Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Seas – Jules Verne – Google Books Explanatory Notes Page 422 {{ISBN|0-19-282839-8}}</ref> Verne had himself made a comparison between the ''Alabama'' and the ''Nautilus'' in a letter to his publisher Pierre-Jules Hetzel in March 1869.<ref>Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Seas – Jules Verne – Google Books Explanatory Notes Page 422 {{ISBN|0-19-282839-8}}</ref> 

Writing in the April 2025 edition of Foundation – The International Review of Science Fiction, John Lamb stated there were many links between the fictional Captain Nemo, the ''Nautilus'' and Raphael Semmes the Confederate Captain of the commerce raider CSS ''Alabama'' in the American Civil War. Lamb wrote

Both the ''Alabama'' and the ''Nautilus'' were mainly built in Birkenhead. Both Semmes and Nemo were gifted natural historians. Nemo’s motto was ‘Mobilis in Mobile’ while Semmes was from Mobile Alabama. Semmes was branded a pirate by Abraham Lincoln, who put a bounty on Semmes’s head, and Semmes was chased around the seas by Admiral Farragut of the US Navy. Nemo, conversely, was branded a pirate by Captain Farragut of the US Navy, who put a bounty on Nemo’s head, and Nemo was chased around the seas by the ship Abraham Lincoln. Both Semmes and Nemo encounter an imaginary island, sail through a patch of white water, encounter fake Havana cigars, mention coral mausoleums, shelter in an extinct volcanic island, and have their final battle off Cherbourg. Semmes had a portrait of the Confederate President, Jefferson Davis, in his cabin while Nemo had a portrait of the Union President, Abraham Lincoln, in his. The ''Alabama'' was bankrolled from the Confederate headquarters at Nautilus House Liverpool.<ref>Foundation. The International Review of Science Fiction (April 2025). P116-127.  </ref> 


Some have argued that there is a Semmes connection to [[Robert Louis Stevenson|Robert Louis Stevenson's]] 1883 adventure novel ''[[Treasure Island]]''.<ref name="julesverneandtheheroesofbirkenhead.co.uk">{{cite web|url=https://julesverneandtheheroesofbirkenhead.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2022/07/31.-Jules-Vernes-Twenty-Thousand-Leagues-Under-the-Sea.-compressed.pdf|title=Jules Verne and the Heroes of Birkenhead. Part 31. Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea – Part One|website=julesverneandtheheroesofbirkenhead.co.uk|access-date=7 October 2022|archive-date=10 August 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220810163051/https://julesverneandtheheroesofbirkenhead.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2022/07/31.-Jules-Vernes-Twenty-Thousand-Leagues-Under-the-Sea.-compressed.pdf|url-status=dead}}</ref>

In [[Harry Turtledove]]'s series [[Southern Victory|''Southern Victory'']], Raphael Semmes is the grandfather of Gabriel Semmes, the President of the Confederate States of America.

Semmes is the namesake of the protagonist of [[E. O. Wilson]]'s [[Anthill (novel)|''Anthill'']] and [[Scott O'Dell]]'s ''The 290''.

In [[Margaret Mitchell]]'s novel ''[[Gone with the Wind (novel)|Gone with the Wind]],'' he is briefly mentioned in chapter 9, during the scene at the Atlanta bazaar.

== Dates of rank ==
* Midshipman, USN – April 1, 1826
* Passed midshipman, USN – April 26, 1832
* Lieutenant, USN – February 9, 1837
* Commander, USN – September 14, 1855
* Resigned from USN – February 15, 1861
* Commander, CSN – March 26, 1861
* Captain, CSN – July 15, 1862
* Rear admiral, CSN – February 10, 1865

== References ==
=== Citations ===
{{Reflist}}

=== Sources ===
{{refbegin}}
* Allardice, Bruce S.'' More Generals in Gray.'' Baton Rouge: Louisiana State University Press, 1995. {{ISBN|978-0-8071-3148-0}}.
* Delaney, Norman C. {{"-}}'Old Beeswax': Raphael Semmes of the ''Alabama''{{-"}}. Harrisburg, PA, Vol. 12, #8, December 1973 issue, ''[[Civil War Times Illustrated]]''. No ISSN.
* Eicher, John H., and [[David J. Eicher]], ''Civil War High Commands.'' Stanford: Stanford University Press, 2001. {{ISBN|978-0-8047-3641-1}}.
* Fox, Stephen. ''Wolf of the Deep: Raphael Semmes and the Notorious Confederate Raider CSS ''Alabama'' ''. Vintage Books, 2007. {{ISBN|978-1-4000-9542-1}}.
* Gindlesperger, James. ''Fire on the Water: The USS ''Kearsarge'' and the CSS ''Alabama'' ''. Burd Street Press, 2005. {{ISBN|978-1-57249-378-0}}.
* Luraghi, Raimondo. ''A History of the Confederate Navy''. Naval Institute Press, 1996. {{ISBN|1-55750-527-6}}.
* Madaus, H. Michael. ''Rebel Flags Afloat: A Survey of the Surviving Flags of the Confederate States Navy, Revenue Service, and Merchant Marine''. Winchester, MA, [[Flag Research Center]], 1986. {{ISSN|0015-3370}}. (An 80-page special edition of ''The Flag Bulletin'' magazine, #115, devoted entirely to Confederate naval flags.)
* Semmes, R., CSS, Commander. ''The Cruise of the ''Alabama'' and the ''Sumter'' ''(two volumes in one), Carlton, Publisher, New York, 1864.
* {{cite book |last=Semmes |first=Raphael |title=Memoirs of Service Afloat During the War Between the States |author-link=Raphael Semmes |ref=Semmes2 |publisher=Kelly, Piet & Co., Baltimore; reprinted by Blue & Grey Press |page = [https://archive.org/details/memoirsservicea01semmgoog/page/n853 833] |year=1987 |edition=reprint |orig-year=1869 |isbn=1-55521-177-1 |url = https://archive.org/details/memoirsservicea01semmgoog }}
* Secretary of the Navy. ''Sinking of the ''Alabama'': Destruction of the ''Alabama'' by the ''Kearsarge'' ''. Washington, D.C., Navy Yard, 1864. (Annual report in the library of the [[Naval Historical Center]].)
* Silverstone, Paul H. ''Civil War Navies, 1855–1883''. Naval Institute Press, 2001. {{ISBN|1-55750-894-1}}.
{{refend}}

== Further reading ==
* Semmes, Raphael. ''The Cruise of the Alabama and the Sumter'', 2001. {{ISBN|1-58218-353-8}}.
* Taylor, John M. ''Confederate Raider, Raphel Semmes of the Alabama'', 1994. {{ISBN|0-02-881086-4}}.

== External links ==
{{Commons category-inline}}
* {{Gutenberg author |id=4940| name=Raphael Semmes}}
* {{Internet Archive author |sname=Raphael Semmes}}
* {{CathEncy|wstitle=Raphael Semmes}}
* [http://www.encyclopediaofalabama.org/face/Article.jsp?id=h-1359 Raphael Semmes article, Encyclopedia of Alabama] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090315042556/http://www.encyclopediaofalabama.org/face/Article.jsp?id=h-1359 |date=2009-03-15 }}
* {{Cite Appletons'|wstitle=Semmes, Raphael|year=1900 |short=x |notaref=x}}

{{Expeditionary Raids of the CSS Alabama}}
{{American Civil War|state=collapsed}}
{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Semmes, Raphael}}
[[Category:1809 births]]
[[Category:1877 deaths]]
[[Category:American pirates]]
[[Category:Burials at the Catholic Cemetery (Mobile, Alabama)]]
[[Category:Catholics from Alabama]]
[[Category:Charlotte Hall Military Academy alumni]]
[[Category:Confederate States Army generals]]
[[Category:Confederate States Navy admirals]]
[[Category:CSS Alabama]]
[[Category:Military personnel from Mobile, Alabama]]
[[Category:People of Alabama in the American Civil War]]
[[Category:People of Maryland in the American Civil War]]
[[Category:United States Navy officers]]
[[Category:United States Navy personnel of the Mexican–American War]]
[[Category:People from Charles County, Maryland]]
[[Category:Military personnel from Maryland]]
[[Category:Catholics from Maryland]]
[[Category:Southern Historical Society members]]