Raphael Semmes SERVICE AFLOAT SUMTER AND ALABAMA DURING THE WAR BETWEEN THE STATES 1896 Rare Decorative Gilt Chromolitho Plates Frontispiece Portrait United States Military History Civil War Confederate Navy Commerce Raider Steamship

Title: Service Afloat; or, the Remarkable Career of the Confederate Cruisers Sumter and Alabama, During the War Between the States
Author: Raphael Semmes ‾ Raphael Semmes was an officer in the Confederate navy during the American Civil War. Prior to this, he had been a serving officer in the United States Navy from 1826 through 1860.

During the Mexican–American War, he commanded the USS Somers in the Gulf of Mexico. In December 1846 a squall hit the ship while under full sail in pursuit of a vessel off Veracruz. Somers capsized and was lost along with 37 sailors. Semmes then served as first lieutenant on the USS Raritan, accompanied the landing force at Veracruz, and was dispatched inland to catch up with the army proceeding to Mexico City.

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. He became extremely popular, and the nearby town of Semmes, Alabama was named after him. Semmes also maintained a home in Josephine, Alabama on Perdido Bay. He was promoted to the rank of commander in 1855 and was assigned to lighthouse duties until 1860. Following Alabama′s secession from the Union, Semmes was offered a Confederate naval appointment by the provisional government; he resigned from the Navy the next day, February 15, 1861.

During the American Civil War, Semmes was captain of the cruiser CSS Alabama, the most successful commerce raider in maritime history, taking 65 prizes. Late in the war, he was promoted to rear admiral and also acted briefly as a brigadier general in the Confederate States Army. His appointment, or arrangement to act, as a temporary brigadier general from April 5 to April 26, 1865, was never submitted to or officially confirmed by the Confederate Senate.
Publisher: P. J. Kenedy / Excelsior Publishing House
City: New York
Year: 1896
Binding Style: Hardcover
Pagination: 833 pages
Width: 6.75″ Height: 9.5″
Book Details: Decoratively bound in blue pictorial cloth with gilt and green embellishment, this rare antique volume features eight tissue‾guarded chromolitho plates and a frontispiece portrait of Raphael Semmes. “…The following pages may, therefore, be said to be the first attempt to give anything like a truthful picture of the career of the author upon the high seas, during the late war, to the public. In their preparation the writer has discarded the didactic style of the historian, and adopted that of memoir writing, as better suited to his subject. This style gave him more latitude in the description of persons and events, and relieved him from some of the fetters of a mere writer of history. There are portions of the work, however, purely historical, and these have been treated with the gravity and dignity which became them. In short, the author has aimed to produce what the title of his book imports—an historical memoir of his services afloat during the war.” (From the Preface)
Condition / Notes: This decorative volume shows well, with some age/wear indications, including mild shelfwear, with fading to the cloth. The hinges are cracked and the binding is shaken, however it remains sound. Text and illustrations are clear and crisp through mild/moderate age toning/foxing, heavier on the endpapers and preliminary pages. There is writing by a previous owner to the front free endpaper.

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