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Two Years on the Alabama
Built in secrecy in Liverpool, England, through the arrangement of Confederate agent Commander James Bulloch, it was built for the fledgling Confederate States Navy which was sorely in need of ships.
Under the command of Raphael Semmes it would spend the next two years terrorising and attacking Union shipping to help the Confederacy break the stranglehold which it found itself in.
Through these two years it completed seven highly successful expeditionary raids, and it had been at sea for 534 days out of 657, never visiting a single Confederate port. They boarded nearly 450 vessels, captured or burned 65 Union merchant ships, and took more than 2,000 prisoners without a single loss of life from either prisoners or their own crew.
Fifth Lieutenant Arthur Sinclair, who served under Semmes on the Alabama for the entirety of its existence, documents a fascinating first-person account of life on board this Confederate raider.
As they crisscrossed over the oceans Sinclair notes the ships they attacked, prisoners they took and various places they visited, from Brazil to South Africa.
Powered by both sail and steam, the Alabama was one of the quickest ships of its era, reaching speeds of over 13 knots. But in the quest for speed there had been sacrifices, notably the lack of heavy armor-cladding and larger guns, which were to prove fatal during the Battle of Cherbourg in 1864 against the U.S.S. Kearsage.
Two Years on the Alabama is an excellent account of naval operations of the confederacy during the American Civil War. It provides brilliant details into the revolutionary changes that were occurring in late-nineteenth century maritime developments.
After the Alabama was sunk Sinclair was rescued by the English yacht Deerhound and taken to Southampton. He later served as an officer of the inactive cruiser CSS Rappahannock at Calais, France. Following the Civil War, he primarily lived in Baltimore, Maryland, where he was a merchant. In 1896 he published Two Years on the Alabama. Arthur Sinclair died in Baltimore in November 1925.
Under the command of Raphael Semmes it would spend the next two years terrorising and attacking Union shipping to help the Confederacy break the stranglehold which it found itself in.
Through these two years it completed seven highly successful expeditionary raids, and it had been at sea for 534 days out of 657, never visiting a single Confederate port. They boarded nearly 450 vessels, captured or burned 65 Union merchant ships, and took more than 2,000 prisoners without a single loss of life from either prisoners or their own crew.
Fifth Lieutenant Arthur Sinclair, who served under Semmes on the Alabama for the entirety of its existence, documents a fascinating first-person account of life on board this Confederate raider.
As they crisscrossed over the oceans Sinclair notes the ships they attacked, prisoners they took and various places they visited, from Brazil to South Africa.
Powered by both sail and steam, the Alabama was one of the quickest ships of its era, reaching speeds of over 13 knots. But in the quest for speed there had been sacrifices, notably the lack of heavy armor-cladding and larger guns, which were to prove fatal during the Battle of Cherbourg in 1864 against the U.S.S. Kearsage.
Two Years on the Alabama is an excellent account of naval operations of the confederacy during the American Civil War. It provides brilliant details into the revolutionary changes that were occurring in late-nineteenth century maritime developments.
After the Alabama was sunk Sinclair was rescued by the English yacht Deerhound and taken to Southampton. He later served as an officer of the inactive cruiser CSS Rappahannock at Calais, France. Following the Civil War, he primarily lived in Baltimore, Maryland, where he was a merchant. In 1896 he published Two Years on the Alabama. Arthur Sinclair died in Baltimore in November 1925.
257 pages, Kindle Edition
First published April 1, 1989
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Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews
June 5, 2024
A sterling example of a book I would never have read if it were not for my Book Group; I was quite sure that this was going to be a NFR, but I kept going with it because I respect the Book Group Member who chose it. There is a great deal of nautical language, as would be expected, much of it totally incomprehensible to a modern reader, and of course the attitudes of the author are representative of the times. Women are mysterious creatures who have delicate sensibilities when they are ‘ladies’, and are less delicate when they are ‘black-eyed Susan’ tempting ‘Jack’ (the author’s catch-all name for the non-officer class of sailor) to remain on shore. Other nationalities are doubtful (Johnny Crapaud for the French) except for the Brits who are of course allies; people of colour tend to be classed as Hottentots or simple minded. As for the treatment of the natural world! It is simply there to provide provisions (understandable when your diet at sea is ‘salt horse’ and ‘hardtack’) or sport (killing dolphins etc).
The destruction of ships with fire got rather repetitive, but I’m sure it is an accurate record of the career of ‘The Alabama’. I hadn’t realised the degree of maritime trading in the 19th century, or at least I hadn’t thought about it. So it proved an interesting and thought-provoking read in the end. Thank you Hugh for your recommendation!
The destruction of ships with fire got rather repetitive, but I’m sure it is an accurate record of the career of ‘The Alabama’. I hadn’t realised the degree of maritime trading in the 19th century, or at least I hadn’t thought about it. So it proved an interesting and thought-provoking read in the end. Thank you Hugh for your recommendation!
December 4, 2016
Legally, they weren't really pirates. They acted like privateers. Almost a letter of marque. We'll settle for Man-o'-Warsmen since that's what they would have preferred, I think. The legitimacy of their papers aren't really relevant since the threat of their 100-pound payloads often proved convincing enough.
Put into service by the nascent Confederate States of America, they set themselves upon the seeking out, capture and (usually by burning) destruction of enemy (US of A) merchant shipping.
It's not really a sea-going story so much as a memoir with some after-the-fact political whitewashing for effect. These sailors never did wrong, never complained, never sailed slow, never missed a shot, never missed stays, never turned down battle and never molested the women. Always gallant, always smiling, polite and cheerful, their enemies were unarmed and under-armed merchant and packets that the Alabama would chase, detain, search, pillage and almost always burn. A sophisticated, mustache-twirling wolf among sheep, indeed.
One cannot argue with the evidence that commercial shipping to and from the northern states was severely disrupted during this time, even if you discount their own crowing somewhat. If that was their goal, they were successful. In seeking out like-sized man-o'-war for combat, they were not.
Their only action ended in disgrace and took place near the end of the war. Whether the captain truly thought the Alabama would prevail, thought they would be blockaded until grounding on their own beef bones or if he knew the war was over and this was akin to Pickett's Charge, the Alabama ended up .
This view of the world's navy doesn't much match with O'Brian's of several decades earlier, but don't read it for that reason. Read it because it's a first-person account of a bit of history that most people never knew about: that the Confederate States were the terror of the high seas for a few years in the sixties.
Put into service by the nascent Confederate States of America, they set themselves upon the seeking out, capture and (usually by burning) destruction of enemy (US of A) merchant shipping.
It's not really a sea-going story so much as a memoir with some after-the-fact political whitewashing for effect. These sailors never did wrong, never complained, never sailed slow, never missed a shot, never missed stays, never turned down battle and never molested the women. Always gallant, always smiling, polite and cheerful, their enemies were unarmed and under-armed merchant and packets that the Alabama would chase, detain, search, pillage and almost always burn. A sophisticated, mustache-twirling wolf among sheep, indeed.
One cannot argue with the evidence that commercial shipping to and from the northern states was severely disrupted during this time, even if you discount their own crowing somewhat. If that was their goal, they were successful. In seeking out like-sized man-o'-war for combat, they were not.
Their only action ended in disgrace and took place near the end of the war. Whether the captain truly thought the Alabama would prevail, thought they would be blockaded until grounding on their own beef bones or if he knew the war was over and this was akin to Pickett's Charge, the Alabama ended up .
This view of the world's navy doesn't much match with O'Brian's of several decades earlier, but don't read it for that reason. Read it because it's a first-person account of a bit of history that most people never knew about: that the Confederate States were the terror of the high seas for a few years in the sixties.
September 20, 2017
Great Book
Written in a typical fashion of the times. It may seem a bit arcane to a new reader. But sticking it out and finishing the cruise as it were, is a rewarding experience. Taken back to a time of realism, with a helping of romanticism, the writer shows us life on board the Confederate raider Alabama. Readers in our time must take time in reading the narrative and build in their minds the pictures the author presents, as the words are very factual and not flowing with adjectives and allegory as maybe is more popular in today's writing.
Excellent book, great read.
Written in a typical fashion of the times. It may seem a bit arcane to a new reader. But sticking it out and finishing the cruise as it were, is a rewarding experience. Taken back to a time of realism, with a helping of romanticism, the writer shows us life on board the Confederate raider Alabama. Readers in our time must take time in reading the narrative and build in their minds the pictures the author presents, as the words are very factual and not flowing with adjectives and allegory as maybe is more popular in today's writing.
Excellent book, great read.
September 9, 2016
This is a reprint of Lieutenant Arthur Sinclair IV (CSN)'s excellent 1895 memoir aboard the Confederate commerce raider Alabama. Not entirely sure why this ISBN shows John Y B Hood as the author but nevertheless a wonderful first hand account of the ill-fated ship.
March 25, 2017
Very detailed and easy to follow. Good history.
May 30, 2009
A bit of a tough read because of the repetitive nature of the capture of unarmed vessels. Great historical perspective... and the last combat will have you sitting on the edge of your seat.
April 2, 2017
Great sea novel of historical war cruise
Very little has been written about Civil War naval operations especially highlighting any CSA success. Sinclair's writing makes you feel like you were part of Alabama's crew. I loved living it.
Very little has been written about Civil War naval operations especially highlighting any CSA success. Sinclair's writing makes you feel like you were part of Alabama's crew. I loved living it.
Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews