The Rebel Raiders: The Astonishing History of the Confederacy's Secret Navy

by James Tertius de Kay

During its clandestine construction in Liverpool, it was known as “Number 290.” When it was finally unleashed as the CSS Alabama, the Confederate gunship triggered the last great military campaign of the Civil War; a maritime adventure unparalleled in our history; an infamous example of British political treachery; and the largest retribution settlement ever negotiated by an international tribunal: $15,500,000 in gold paid by Britain to the United States. This riveting true story of the Anglo-Confederate alliance that led to the creation of a Southern navy illuminates the dramatic and crucial global impact of the American Civil War.

Like most things in the War between the States, it started over cotton: Lincoln’s naval blockade prevented the South from exporting their prize commodity to England. In response, the Confederacy came up with a unique plan to divert the North’s vessels and open the waterways–a plan that would mean covertly building a navy in Britain, a daring strategy that involved an unforgettable cast of colorful characters.

James Bulloch–Northerner by circumstance, Southerner by birth, he risked his life to enter England and build a fleet under the very noses of Northern spies; Lord John Russell–the British foreign secretary who was suspected of subverting his own legal system to allow the secret ships; Charles Francis Adams–son and grandson of presidents, who exhausted every avenue to stop the Confederate-British collusion; Raphael Semmes–the fanatically loyal Southern captain who disabled or destroyed sixty Northern ships before meeting his match near Cherbourg, France; and The Alabama–a wooden gunship that took to the sea named for a Southern state to wreak havoc on the Northern cause.

With The Rebel Raiders, naval historian James Tertius deKay brings to dazzling life an amazing, little known piece of history that is at once an important work of Civil War scholarship and a suspenseful tale of military strategy, international espionage, and a legal crisis whose outcome still affects the world.

Genres: History, Civil War, Nonfiction, Military History, American Civil War, Nautical, 19th Century

272 pages, Hardcover

First published May 28, 2002

About the author

James Tertius deKay is also the author of Monitor: The Story of the Legendary Civil War Ironclad and the Man Whose Invention Changed the Course of History and Chronicles of the Frigate Macedonian. He lives in Stonington, Connecticut.

Reviews

[Kendrick Hughes · Rating 5 out of 5]

absolutely a must read, fascinating account of britains duplicity during the war

[Elmwoodblues · Rating 4 out of 5]

If I told you this book was about a lone armed ship, using age-of-sail shape-changing ruses and false flags to raid other boats at sea, to usually burn or release them at 'ransom', you might dismiss it as another pirate read. If I went on about the aspect of a single military ship hunting alone, avoiding better-armed enemy warships and targeting merchantmen, you might think back to the last U-boat story you read. If I were to add the details of starving English mill-workers, duplicitous bankers and statesmen, a nascent IRA, and the arguable beginnings of United Nations-type tribunals, you would be right to assume a dog's breakfast of a book, with better ways to spend a summer.

With 'The Rebel Raiders', however, author James Tertius de Kay presents events both familiar and new: from the bombardment of Fort Sumter, to Kaiser Wilhelm recommending the accounts of a Confederate Navy captain to his admirals, these 252 pages introduce seminal events at a measured, logical pace. We see the self-serving legal interpretations of greedy British businessmen and statesmen at the beginnings of the Civil War, and follow that thread to the dramatic changing international calculus of some of these same statesmen, as they shift their tactics to reflect the realities of the day and the Prussian Army arriving at the gates of Paris.

Perhaps many American readers will come to this as I did, accepting of the 'special relationship' between the US and the UK as mostly having always been there (except for, you know, that 'Revolutionary War' and all...), but 'Rebel Raiders' also serves to remind us, in a time perhaps when some of us need hopeful reminding, that alliances can be slippery things, and world events are rarely shaped by individuals.

Oh, and: it is a decent naval war story, as well.

[Mark · Rating 2 out of 5]

Smoothly-written and engaging; a decent introduction to an important facet of the naval Civil War. The book is curiously unbalanced, though, in that it is principally about the CSS Alabama, with very brief mentions of several other Confederate raiders; also, though structured around three individuals (James Dunwoody Bulloch, Raphael Semmes, and Charles Francis Adams), the lion's share of the pages (approx. 130) go to Semmes' time on the Alabama, with sixty-odd going to Bulloch and some forty in the "Adams" section (which is really principally about the postwar "Alabama Claims" rather than about Adams).



A good read, but if you want to have a thorough understanding of the Confederate raiders, Bulloch's operations in Europe, and the Union's attempts to thwart both, don't stop with this one. Fortunately, de Kay is an interesting enough writer that you may very well be inspired to continue on, and he provides a good summary of other works on the subject to point the way.

[Brian · Rating 5 out of 5]

The confederacy's navy during the civil war is a very impressive display of piracy on the high sees. While most of the attention always focuses on the iron ships it is often forgotten that there were several others out there raiding the north's commerce. This book puts quantifiable numbers and daring high sees escapades onto the same page. It is a very fast read and one that gives a new perspective on the civil war. The South's daring strikes and the north's eventual efforts to hunt down and put a stop to these raiders are cataloged here and make for interesting reading. There is also a very interesting subset that looks at European policies towards the United States during this time period and a perspective that is not often gathered can be seen here. This is a must have for true civil war buffs.

[Marie Carmean · Rating 5 out of 5]

What a wonderful book! This account of the history of the Confederate Navy was a fascinating and at times exciting read. I could hardly put it down. Even though I have read pretty extensively about the War, I learned many amazing facts that I did not know concerning Britain's support of the Confederacy and about the activities of the incredible warship Alabama. Highly recommend this book to anyone who cares about learning our history and the real people who formed it, or who just enjoys an interesting and fascinating time reading.

[David R. · Rating 5 out of 5]

A highly readable account rich in personalities and insights. deKay masterfully tells his story: how a state with no navy in two short years nearly destroyed the merchant marine of another. I have only one complaint: the title is misleading. deKay really tells the story of one ship (the Alabama). He ignores the other commerce raiders and speaks hardly at all of other Confederate initiatives.

[J. · Rating 5 out of 5]

A well researched book that reads quickly because of the fine writing. I hope to read more by the author.