Wolf of the Deep: Raphael Semmes and the Notorious Confederate Raider CSS Alabama

by Stephen Fox

The electrifying story of Raphael Semmes and the CSS Alabama , the Confederate raider that destroyed Union ocean shipping and took more prizes than any other raider in naval history.

In July, 1862, Semmes received orders to take command of a secret new British-built steam warship, the Alabama . At its helm, he would become the most hated and feared man in ports up and down the Union coast—and a Confederate legend. Now, with unparalleled authority and depth, and with a vivid sense of the excitement and danger of the time, Stephen Fox tells the story of Captain Semmes's remarkable wartime exploits. From vicious naval battles off the coast of France, to plundering the cargo of Union ships in the Caribbean, this is a thrilling tale of an often overlooked chapter of the Civil War.

Genres: History, Civil War, Nonfiction, American Civil War, Biography, Military History, Maritime

336 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2007

Reviews

[Steve Grant · Rating 4 out of 5]

Authoritative & very readable.
Captain Semmes emerges as something of a cypher in this book - a fighting philosopher with a bad marriage. The voyage of the Alabama is amazing, daring and destructive. There are a huge number of lessons and analogues here for our current global war. The CSS Alabama, with its attacks on civilian transportation and commerce, created an impact that was totally disproportionate to its real military value. But because it brought the war into the civilian sphere, and did so with theatricality, it was a massive propaganda weapon. Semmes put a face to the seeming skill and daring that the South was using to outwit and defeat the might of the North. Lincoln's government made a huge mistake in allowing the spin machine to create Semmes as a character in the public sphere, much as the Bush administration's mistake early on in focusing overmuch attention on OBL.

The book also demonstrates the outsized scale and ineffectiveness of the North's response to Semmes maritime terrorism. The Union seemed to send massive displays of power to everywhere the Alabama wasn't. They patrolled the whole of the coast and protected every harbor instead of taking the fight to the enemy. They could have used disguised merchant men, or hunted down his coaling tender. The Union needed to do the quiet an methodical work of counter-terrorism: taking the fight to the enemy on his home turf, denying him safe haven, creating an international coalition against him, using his likeliest targets as ambush points, choking off his lines of supply and moral support. Instead, the North engaged in security theater - big sorties of warships in the harbors of the North. It all cost a fortune, and it didn't catch the Alabama. Sound familiar?

Semmes emerges as cryptic, an intellectual turned instrument of vengeance. He doesn't seem to enjoy his work, but is capable of blood-thirstiness when he feels his duty requires it. He's a writer turned guerilla, and I'm curious about the fact that history seems to be full of these fighting writers: Mao, Guevara, Semmes... I don't know how many answers to those questions emerge from this portrait, but it remains a question worth asking.

[David · Rating 5 out of 5]

With as much as I've read about the American Civil War, when I found this book I realized that the focus of what I've been reading has been the land battles and troop movements. Wolf of the Deep: Raphael Semmes and the Notorious Confederate Raider CSS Alabama by Stephen Fox showed me a little-known aspect of the war that took place at sea. Just as the Confederate army under General Robert E. Lee had the Union army on the run initially, the CSS Alabama became a legend destroying Union shipping and capturing more prizes than any other raider in naval history. The ship itself, a specially built steam-powered warship, was built in British shipyards and its captain, Raphael Semmes, quickly became the most feared and hated man at sea. He roamed the world focusing mostly in the Caribbean and the coastal areas of America but also took prizes off the coasts of Europe and Africa as well as South America. He even ventured into the Pacific to the complete surprise of Yankee seamen. After capturing a ship, Semmes normally held the prisoners until his next port visit when he would release them. The cargo would be sold and the prize money would be divided among the crew after an amount was set aside for the Confederate cause. This book was hard to put down. It was well researched presenting a generally unknown chapter in the Civil War, and reads like a suspense novel at times.

[Jeff Jellets · Rating 5 out of 5]

”The most significant warship of the Civil War, and ultimately the most effect commerce raider in the entire history of naval warfare, was loose on the vast, concealing ocean,”

A captivating biography of man and ship, Stephen Fox’s Wolf of the Deep is a well-told and researched history of Captain Raphael Semmes and the Confederate cruiser CSS Alabama. Together, the pair’s worldwide depredations during the American Civil War fairly paralyzed Yankee shipping and created a nautical bogyman that shook the Union shipping industry to a near grinding halt.

Fox skimps neither on details nor wit, painting the full picture of the impact the Alabama and her infamous Captain had on both domestic and international relations, including the dance of spies, industrialists, and stool pigeons in merry-old England that helped birth the ship and give succor to her captain. And while historical details are plentiful, Fox’s tale collects no dust; this is a rip-roaring tale of nautical warfare -- an adventure novel as much as historical nonfiction – that sings of cannon-fire, the sting of salt air and frothy water, and the acrid smoke of burning merchantmen slipping as blackened hulks to a watery grave.

There is a wonderful balance in Fox’s work. His depictions of both Semmes and the Alabama are rich enough to bring both to life on the book’s pages; at the same time, there is no avoiding that Semmes -- in defending a government that practiced slavery -- ultimately ends up on the wrong side of history. Fortunately, Fox lets Semmes speak for himself – pirate-soldier, hero-villain, cavalier-brigand Fox’s captures the conflicted duality of the man and his mission and presents it ‘as it was’ for the reader.

Somehow … I’ve ended up with quite a pile of maritime Civil War books; here’s hoping the rest are half as good as this one.

[Josh Bradham · Rating 2 out of 5]

Got a bad rating from me because of Stephen Fox's going off the rails near the end of chapter 9 and just starts going off about slavery instead of talking about well what the book was about

[Ken · Rating 4 out of 5]

One of the most fascinating historical accounts that I've ever read. Well researched and dense but riveting and easily readable.

Beginning with no knowledge of Seemes' or the Alabama (and cautious picking the book up), I'm glad I chose to read and learn about this part of Civil War history. The author elicits no underlying sympathies of the Confederate cause but simply values human endeavors and the need for preserving history. It's a fascinating and compelling history of the worldwide journey of the strange Captain Semmes and the raider that escaped the Union ships for so long.

I would also highly recommend the book if you want to learn more about the fraught British/American Civil War relations, Naval history, and the dangerous life of 19th century seafarers.

[Paul Wesner · Rating 4 out of 5]

A detailed history of Raphael Semmes and the CSS Alabama taken mostly from Semmes's personal diary. The author holds the man to be impressive but condemns him for backing the southern cause, nevertheless the history is presented fairly and plainly.

[Sean · Rating 4 out of 5]

A good relatively short biography on the ship, the captain, and the broader context all this is taking place in. Anther good place to hear about the story is from the "Portraits of Blue and Grey" history podcast.

[Cullen Bohannon · Rating 1 out of 5]

After an otherwise seemingly well researched work and objective view - Fox makes some incredibly asinine and highly misguided statements in the penultimate chapter. I wish he would have done so earlier to save me the time of reading.

[Paul Dwigans · Rating 5 out of 5]

Well written, little known history of the American Civil War at sea.

[Mike · Rating 5 out of 5]

Good read about a little known part of the civil war. Or at least for me.

[Miles Smith · Rating 3 out of 5]

A good standard history of Rafael Semmes and the CSS Alabama.

[Sara · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5

[Alaina · Rating 4 out of 5]

Pretty good. A little sugar coated but good. Story of the Alabama, confederate privateer ship from shipwright to sinking.

[Ben Worsham · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great read for the Civil War fan or someone with the interest in merchant raiders.

[Jim Gallen · Rating 5 out of 5]

"Wolf Of The Deep" tells the tale of the C.S.S. Alabama and its legendary captain, Raphael Semmes. From 1862-1864 the Alabama left a trail of burning wrecks across the oceans of the globe as it sought to apply pressure to break the will of the North to carry on its war against Southern Independence. Built in Birkenhead, England, it was born in the midst of diplomatic chess games between the Confederate agent, James Bullock, uncle of Theodore Roosevelt, and U. S. Ambassador, Charles Francis Adams, son of John Quincy Adams, as Bullock maneuvered to acquire the ship while Adams interceded with the British government to prevent its delivery. Bullock won the race as the ship slipped away to the Azores where it was fitted for its voyage. With its largely non-American crew it began its cruises during which it preyed on Union shipping.

Semmes was a devout scion of the Southern Maryland Catholic aristocracy who left the U.S. Navy to serve the nascent Confederate service. A small, bookish man, he was not the one who would have been picked out of the crowd as a terror of the seas, especially by his pre-war naval colleagues. To the surprise of all who knew him, his seamanship, leadership daring would make him known and feared the world over.

The voyage of the Alabama lasted only 22 months during which it took over 60 Northern ships and cargos worth millions of dollars. Challenging only two Union Naval vessels, its career caused many to view the ship and Semmes as pirates. In truth they carried out a campaign against enemy commerce of a type that was and would remain a feature of warfare. Cruises through the North and South Atlantic were extended as far as Singapore with celebrated visits to South Africa that are recalled in song to this day.

I was generally familiar with the story of the Alabama, but this book brought to light some matters of which I was unaware. The crew was largely foreigners who were hired on the promise of pay and booty rather than Confederate volunteers. The ship itself was powered by both steam and sail. After seizing cargo and provisions, it generally burned its captures rather than towing them into port for sale. By the time of its sinking it was a ship in peril. Its leaking joints wearing out equipment and the rising mutiny in its crew forced it to seek repairs and rest in Cherbourg in June 1864. Unable to receive needed repairs there, Semmes, who had already asked for relief, took her out to meet the Kearsarge in the deadly battle that put an end to the Alabama's reign of terror.

After the sinking Semmes would be saved and whisked, along with other officers, to England. After the war he would return to his home in Mobile where he would try his hand at various businesses and spend time under arrest for avoiding capture at the time of the sinking. An unreconstructed rebel, he eventually he would write his memoirs and undertake a lecture tour to tell the story, as he saw it, of the greatest naval raider in history.

The record of The Alabama would lead to extended litigation by the United States against Great Britain for damages for the destruction caused by the ship. Ultimately a recovery was obtained.

Author Stephen Fox has provided us with a well written account of a captivating tale of the sea. With interest never flagging, the reader is drawn in to the tale and the people of the "Wolf of the Deep."

[Nick · Rating 4 out of 5]

In a way, this is the biography of a ship as well as a biography of its captain. It is difficult to separate the two, they are so deeply entwined.

Raphael Semmes was a successful commerce raider early in the Civil War, before the Alabama was even launched. That is why he was given the command of this innovative ship. It was a forerunner of later German commerce raiders, designed not so much to stand and fight as to be able to overpower merchant vessels and run away from more heavily armed fighting ships. During its entire time afloat, it only fought two real battles, winning one and losing one, but that was not its purpose. The ship was built to disrupt Union merchant traffic over as much of the seas as it could, and it achieved that.
Semmes is too often seen as a shadowy figure in history, but this book explains much more of his character, both good and bad. We get insights into his personal life, much interrupted by his desire for a good ship to command, and a place to become someone special.
The Alabama is put into historical perspective, and it is interesting to see just how disruptive this single ship could be, in those pre-radio days, as the sightings and rumors of sightings could fail to narrow down her location. She literally outsailed the news.
By the time of her historic battle with the Kearsarge, the Alabama was a shadow of her initial self, and in a way that battle was a very sad event for that reason. The "wolf of the deep" was an aging, crippled one when finally brought to bay, and did not have another fight in her. This book helps to explain why this was so, for reasons ranging from simple mechanical wear to the reasons for the low morale of her crew by that point.
What the book really brought home were the reasons why Great Britain had to pay so much in reparations after the Civil War, as the evidence built of her complicity in the ship's success as a commerce raider.
The text is a bit dry, and in a few cases wanders away from its primary focus, but overall this is a very good book.

[Jim · Rating 3 out of 5]

A good biography of Raphael Semmes, Captain of the CSS Alabama & CSS Sumter. The author presents a balanced look at Semmes. I learned a few new things, like Semmes' wife had a daughter from an affair while Semmes was serving during the Mexican War. They reconciled.

There are chapters on how the Alabama was viewed in the North, in the South and in England. The impressions of various visitors to the Alabama are quoted to provide glimpses of the state of the ship & crew. Semmes was largely isolated from his crew and didn't know a lot of what went on. Lack of gunnery & weapons practice (due in part to Semmes' worries about what his sailors might do if they were armed) and problems w/ the gunpowder on the Alabama helped due them in during their battle w/ the Kearsarge.

The author didn't think much of U.S. Secretary of the Navy Gideon Welles and the naval commanders who were trying to catch the Alabama. The U.S. Navy spent a lot of time going on wild goose chases and didn't deploy ships along trade routes & whaling routes that were obvious targets for the Alabama. The exception of the Kearsarge, which was cruising off Belgium when it got a tip about the Alabama being in port in Cherbourg. There's a good description of the battle between the Kearsarge and the Alabama. The book ends with a chapter about the French Navy discovering the Alabama and recovering some items from the Alabama.

This book is worth reading.

[Jonathan Gillespie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Though definitely on the dry side, Stephen Fox's portrayal of the naval career of Raphael Semmes--the most successful commerce-raider captain in history--is rich with detail and exhaustively researched. Fox does a wonderful job of exploring the Alabama's influence on the broader world during the Civil War, especially its impact on Anglo-American relations. To say this ship--as the author claims--was the most significant vessel of the war is not an inaccurate statement.

What would I have liked? More description of the naval engagements themselves, particularly the ship's final battle, and it would have been nice if Fox had kept his personal feelings on the conflict off the pages--there are a lot of sideways comments about the war, the South, and Semmes himself, and many of the comments are reductionary in nature. For someone who has so labored on assembling this book's sources, it's amazing such broad statements are made about the South's multi-layered motives in this war.

Still, this is a fine book, and at times one feels almost transported aboard the Alabama itself. Even if Fox doesn't find a lot to like about Semmes (and all readers will find their points of contention with the Captain), there's no doubt that this is one of the finest books written about the Civil War's nautical component. Anchors aweigh.

See more of my reviews on my official site.

[George · Rating 4 out of 5]

A very interesting account of the history of the CSS Alabama, and its captai, Raphael Semmes, covering a part of the Civil War largely forgotten today and little covered. Raphael Semmes, a US Naval Academy graduate was not highly regarded within the US Navy, but he became the most successful raider in history, leading his Confederate officers and British crew in a series of attacks against the US merchant fleet from Newfoundland to Singapore over several years before finally being sunk by the USS Kearsarge off Cherboug in 1864.

The author does a fine job discussing why the Alabama was so successful, as in most respects this British built ship was one of the fastest and most technologically advanced warships of its day. Northern newspapers found on captured ships provided timely intelligence over and over. However, Captain Semmes remains the most significant element in all this. For me, one of the most interesting aspects of the campaign was just how bloodless it really was, as the Alabama did not sink its merchant prey until after each ship had struck, usually without ever being fired on directly.
One of the more colorful aspects of the Union efforts to counter the Alabama center on the efforts to outfit Commodore Vanderbuilt's personal yacht to hunt for the Alabama. In the end, the Alabama was the Confederacy's most successful venture.

[Grace · Rating 4 out of 5]

I don't often see books on the subject of Civil War Naval History, so I was immediately interested in this title. The USS Alabama was a Confederate ship built in England which went on to wreak havoc with both commercial and naval vessels from the Union states. The captain of the Alabama, Raphael Semmes was seen as a pirate by the Union, but in the Confederate States, he was considered a hero.

This is a biography about Semmes and his exploits on the sea. Much of Semmes' diary and his later books on the subject are used to tell this intriguing story. Also included was much detail about daily life on a sailing ship/steamer, the tasks which men were assigned, and how their rank affected their duties and determined their living quarters. It told of the conduct of Semmes' men, and how they were very near mutiny. In addition, as the captain of a ship, Semmes paid great attention to the weather and described in detail some of the wonders of nature which he witnessed.

I listened to it on audio book, however, and found the voice of the reader to be very monotonous. That may be just my opinion however, because the reader, Barrett Whitener, has apparently won many awards for his reading of audio books.

[Tom]

As a biography it is incomplete, but no matter. We learn little of Raphael Semmes growing into a man or of his 35 years in the U.S. Navy other than it was in no way exceptional due to his lack of political sensitivity and the clogged pipeline of promotions. But soon after the Civil War began and he was assigned to Captain the CSS Sumter and then the new construction raider CSS Alabama and he came into his own. For over four years he operated with as much independence and success as any navy man ever has. You wonder what it was that so totally prepared him to play the role that he was assigned so well.

In addition to that story the author presented a view of the Civil War and its impact from a different perspective. There is the change in support from the UK as the Confederate side loses momentum and much more detail on living conditions in the deep south than you generally find.

All in all it is a great read. For what it is worth, I recommend it. This book pairs well with "The Secret Service of the Confederate States in Europe" by James D. Bulloch which tells of the building of the Confederate Raiders.

[Liam · Rating 5 out of 5]

"At the port of Philadelphia, the value of exports in U.S. vessels fell from $8.8 million in 1862 to $3.4 million in 1864, while those in foreign ships zoomed from $2.7 million to $10.2 million. Other ports recoreded similar declines. 'Our commerce will soon be entirely in the hands of foreigners,' wrote a well-connected Bostonian to Gideon Welles, 'unless our trade is protected by every means within the power of the Government.'" (99-100)

"All classes of Singapore society made their way to New Harbour, three miles by road from town. Even the local Asian populations, usually not concerned with any matter outside their ken, came to behold the famous cruiser. They aptly called here kappal hantu, the ghost ship." (187)

[Jan · Rating 5 out of 5]

I thought this book was just a terrific examination of piece of Civil War History must people don't know about - at least in the north. This is a really complete and rich profile of Raphael Semmes and an examination of what the raider meant in its era - what the world looked like at the time, and why this was such a big blow and big deal to the north. All with great context and perspective. Rich in character and detail. Just a really great read. I stumbled upon this book when I was googling some extraneous civil war detail and I consider it a great find.

[Anne Hendricks · Rating 5 out of 5]

My favorite naval biography of a Confederate hero: if you are a Confederate history buff, you MUST invest in the Wolf of the Deep. You will learn about the Maryland background on Semmes to becoming the baddest ass of the Confederate Navy.

I cannot think of a better compliment to Semmes - or to Mr. Fox's book. Superior research, excellent writing for novice to expert alike, and just a great read.

I will read more of Fox's biographies! If you look at the picture on the cover, that is John McIntosh Kell, his Georgia wingman.

[Leon · Rating 3 out of 5]

There is a statue of Raphael Semmes at the foot of Government Street in Mobile, Alabama. For as long as I have been around it has been there, and Semmes himself an historical figure of notoriety in the Confederate South. Not until reading Wolf of the Deep did I understand what Semmes and the CSS Alabama did during the Civil War. Stephen Fox turned that statue of Semmes into a flesh and blood character.

[Grant · Rating 5 out of 5]

I've visited Civil War sites throughout the U.S. most of my life, and I've always heard about how destructive Raphael Semmes and the Alabama were without getting too many of the details.

I recommend reading this book with a globe (or Google Earth) at hand. The author does a great job of keeping the narrative grounded in the Civil War timeline so that you know exactly "where you are" in the war while the Alabama is wreaking havoc in the Caribbean, Africa, Singapore, etc.

[Elh52 · Rating 4 out of 5]

While West Point and the Army do a thorough job of memorializing army officers who served the Confederacy; Annapolis and the Navy have basically stricken Confederate naval officers from the records. You would think they never existed. That's the Navy for you. So I never knew much about Raphael Semmes. If you're into this sort of thing, this is a great story well told.

[Mom · Rating 4 out of 5]

/Extremely readable history-lots of fascinating facts about the War seen from the Confederacy. I was amazed at how far the ship traveled, and the effect that it had on the Union.

[Clark]

My dad wanted me to read it, but it was actually quite good.

[Brian]

Very detailed and easy to read