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Confederate Raider 1861–65 PDF

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Contedera te Rai der 1861-65 CONTENTS INTRODUCTION 3 THE EARLY DEVELOPMENT 4 OF THE RAIDING FLEET JAMES BULLOCH'S BRITISH RAIDERS 8 ANGUS KONSTAM halls from the Orkney Islands and Is the author of over 20 books for THE BUSINESS OF COMMERCE RAIDING 15 Osprey. His other maritime titles Include Campaign 103: Hampton Roads 1862, New CREW 17 Vanguard 41: Confederate Ironclad 1861-65 and New Vanguard 56: Union River OPERATIONAL HISTORY OF THE Ironclad 1861-65. Formerly tho CONFEDERATE RAIDERS Curator of Weapons In the Royal Armourles at the Tower of • Tilt' principal raiders London, he also served as the • Auxiliaries and other potential comlllerre rai<kr~ Chief Curator of the Mel Fisher • Pri\'atcc-r~ Maritime Museum In Key West, Florida. He Is now based In London, where he combines a GUNNERY 41 freelance museum consultancy business with a career as a historian and writer. BIBLIOGRAPHY 43 COLOR PLATE COMMENTARY 44 INDEX 48 TONY BRYAN Is a freelance illustrator of many years experience. He Initially qualified In Engineering and worked for a number of years In Military Research and Development, and has a keen Interest In military hardware - armor, small arms, aircraft and ships. Tony has produced many illustrations for partworks, magazines and books, Including a number of titles In the New Vanguard series. OSPREY New Vanguard • 64 PUBLISHING Confederate Ra ider 1861-65 Angus Konstam • Illustrated by Tony Bryan First pybl•shed In Great Bntain on 2003 by Osprey Pubhsh•ng, Artist's note Elms Coun. Chapel Way, Botiey Oxford OX2 9LP. Un ted Kongdom Ema I. onfoOospreypubhshong.com Readers may care to note that the ongonal pa1nt ngs from wtuch the color plates ., thos book wete prepared are aVlll able fO<' pnvate sale All reproductoo 0 2003 Osprey Publlshong Ltd copynght whetsoever os reta ned by the Publishers A enQu1nes should be addressed to All "llhts reserved. Apart from any frur deaJong fO<' the pyrpose of pnvate study, research, cntlcosm 0<' revoew, as permotted under the Copynght, Desogns and Tony Bryan, 4a FO<"est View Onve. Wimbourne. Dorset BH21 7NZ. UK Patents Act. 1988, no pan of thos publication may be reproduced, stored on a retrieval system, or transm1tted in any form or by any means, electroniC, The Publishers regret that they can enter onto no correspondence upon this electrical, chem1cal. mechanical. opt1cal, photocopying. record1ng or otherwise, matter. Without the proor wntten permosston of the copyright owner. Enqutnes should be addressed to the Publishers. Key for Captions ISBN 1 84176 496 S CHC • Clyde Hen•ley CollectJon A CtP cataoogue record fO<" thos book os avrulable frO<"O the Brotosh ubtary EdotO<' S.mone Dr.,kwater Desogn Mel•ssa Orrom Swan Index by A •son Wonhtngton O"o•nated by The ElectroniC Page Company, Cwmbran, UK Pronted on China through Wor1d Pnnt Ltd. 03 04 05 06 07 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 FO<' a calalog of all books pybhshed by Osprey Mil•tnry and Av1Bllon please contact Osprey Otrect USA. c/o MBI Publ sh1ng. PO. Box 1, 729 Prospect Ave. Osceola WI 54020. USA E·ma I onfoOospreydorecl\JSa.com Osprey O•rect UK. PO. Box 140, WelltngborOUgh, Nonhants, NN8 2FA, UK E·matl .•n toOospreyd•reot.co.uk www.ospreypubhsh1ng.com CONFEDERATE RAIDER 1861-65 s INTRODUCTION hen tJ1e Confederate State~ ~eceded from the L' nion in 1861, me newly formed Confederate government \\'US ill prepared for me stmgglc ahead. The Confederate Sen etat') of the Navy, Stephen R. l\lallory, was faced with the dual problem~ ol defending the long Southern coastJine from naval attack, and taking the war to the enemy. Mallory hoped to cause sufficicntloo;ses to Uttion ),hipping to Ioree Union political leaders to me peace table. Even bdore tiH.: bombardment of Fort Sumter in Ap1il 1861, he had ckvdoped a three-pronged strategy to counter the Union threat. Firl>tly, he clectccl to usc 1hc limited industrial capacity of the Confederacy to produce ironclad warship~. which would ncturali:~c the potentially overwhelming ~ilt' of lite l'nion fleet. He also decided to arm tJ1ese naval lc\iatJ1ans \\ith rifled gum. cle),igned bv the Somlwrn ordnance expen.John ~1. Brooke. Secondly, he organin·d the dcfcmc of Soutlwrn port<., through the a-. me ol fortifications, mine), (then J...nm\11 "torpedoe-.''), and the ironclads. This combination pro\'erl n·mm kabh '>UCCC!.~ful gi\'en the force-; arrayed against the Confednacv. linion n.mti'>LJ<ll<'g\ in\'oh·ed the -.IO\\ Mrangulation of the , outlwrn State'> through the imposition of a na\'al hlorJ...ack. In cflect this pre \'entecl the Confederates from gathering sufficient f'orn.:~ in am· one port to launch a co-ordinated naval altar\.. on the lJnion forces, although relatively ind f'eetive local auacks on Lhe blockading ~C]lladrons were uncleaLakcn. Finally, i 11 order to cause Captain Raphael Semmes, CSN, damage to the cnem\', the photographed in Southampton onlv ollemivc option avail (Great Britain), just days after able to l\lallorv was the usc the sinking of the CSS Alabama of commerce raiders. I le at the hands of the USS Kearsage (June 19, 1864). belil'\NI that northern Semmes went on to become a maritime commerce w<Ls Rear Admiral, and was granted .,mt eptible to attack tw Con the rank of Brlgadie,..General In fedct<llt' high-sea raidel'),, the Confederate Army during the and that the predominantly Appomattox Campaign of 1865. (Author's Collection) maritime cconoanie~ of New 3 England could be brought to their knees through the loss of their The CSS Alabama, a line shipping. This would then lead them to put pressure on Presidem Lincoln engraving first published in to sue for peace. Traditionally, this kind of strategy had involved the usc Harper's Weekly (1862). The original caption referred to the of "privateers;" ptivatcly owned high-seas raiders who operated under vessel as the "pirate Alabama, license from the government for the duration of the war, rather like alias 290," and noted that the IC'galized pirates. Wha1 Mallory envisaged was the crearion or a small fleet engraving was certified as an of raiders operated directly by the Confederate Navy, not by authotizcd accurate depiction of the raider ci,ilian captains and ship-owners. Mallory's employment of custom-buill by Captain Hagar of the Brlfliant, whose vessel was captured high-seas raiders would prove an eiTective stratagem, although it never by the Alabama on October 3, succeeded in bringing the Union govemment to Lhe peace table, largely 1862. (CHC) due to the single-minded drive of President Lincoln. The history of these ships, the men who commanded them, and the effect they had on the war is one or the most fascinating aspects of the naval history of the Civil War, and is undoubtedly the one which is considered the most romantic. THE EARLY DEVELOPMENT OF THE RAIDING FLEET In most maritime nations, the age-old stratagem of privatcering had fallen inlO disuse, despite its proven historical effectiveness. During the War of 1812 between the United States and Britain, both sides made extensive usc of privateers issuing "letters of marque" (privatccring licenses) throughout the war. In 1812, the British mercantile marine was the largest in the world, making the American dcpi0)'1llent of privateers an effective strategy. Unfortunately the American merchant fleet proved equallr vulnerable to attack, and the losses in11icted on 4 1'\ew England ship-owners led to the paralysis of American commerce. Evcntualh, 'ew England lobbyists forced the CS GoH'fiHllt·nt to negotiate a peace trean with (,real Britain. Stephen 1\Iallory wa~ \H!II aware of the dkrtiH:ness of p• ivattTring, however, his options were limited by intemarional opinion. In the clt:radc~ since the vVar of 1812 plivillccring had fallen into disme, and the 111:J.jority of maritime powers had outlawed the practice in the naval u·eal) J...nown as the Declaration of Pm;~ (I R56). This treat\· also limited the U\e of commerce raide1 of an\ t' pe. Although .\I all on reali1ed the impmtance of securing British or French ~upport for the Confederacy, he al~o kiWI\ his strategic options were limited. I Ic w<L<; oppmcd to the usc of privateers, and, although President L)avio; ~igncd several privatec•;ng "ktter.s of marque" during tl1e war, tht• commerce raiders emplorcd b)' Mallory would pr(•dorninantly be owned and operated b) the Confederaw 'aw. F01 ~lallon·. the opp01tunitie' presented w commerce raider' were consicl<'rable. During the L\\O decades preceding tl1c olllbreak of the war. the m<'rrantile fleet of the Unitt·d States had enjon·d a period of dramatic expansion. Between 1845 and 1861 bOLh thl· total tonnage and the numbcr of American-flagged vessels had doubled in size. By 18GO, the The Confederate privateer merchant fleet was growing I>\' an average of 100,000 tons per ycat. This schooner Savannah was typical of the majority of "private was a boom period. and po• L'i -.uch as ~cw York, Bo,ton, San Franri~co men-of-war" who patrolled and cw Orleans were filled '' ith shipping fl,ing tl1e A.me•;can flag. 1 he the Southern coastline during total <,ite of the Ame•;can nwrrhant marine was abo close to m·t•• taJ..ing 1861. She carried a single the merchant lla\)' of Britain, \d1ich until that point had been the lc~rge-.t 18-pdr. smoothbore gun. This flag-caJT)ing merchant fleet en-r seen on th<' world's oceans. sketch was drawn after her capture by the USS Parry on Mallorv\ distrust for comnwrrial privatecrs stemmed fi·om the lark of June 3, 1861. (CHC) comrol he could enforce on their activities. At a time when world opinion could be colored b\ a ~ingle - cn·n t. both .\ tallorv .md P1 e~ident Da,;-. were aware that the ultimate f.1te of the Confecleraq· reMcd on it:-. recog111Lton bv the European powers. The use of ~tate-owned commerce raickr~ rather than pri \oHl'l'l ensured th.n ~lallon could retain a greater degree or control on:r tht·ir act ivi Lies. Also, ptivateering re((uired the exi~1enre of f'Jit'ndh ports lot the pri \-:tteel"'i to take the it p1 ite), ba(k to. As the leading Eutopean powerll L'Jilo•ced sttict neulrality, their pom W<'l"l' placed off-limit!. to Confederate privateets. while the increasing dlec ti\l'ne~ of the blnck<tdt· of tht' Soutl1 denied the u~e of Southern ports to p•;. vatt'tTs. Eve11tually, l hese 5 r limitations led LO the collap!>e of tht· limited Confederme pri\<llcering fleet. B, collU<tM. the high-seas raider<~ planned by Mallon needed no home pon, as they were designed to destroy commerce. nor to capture prizes. A~ ~uch they were a ~u-ategic weapon, forcing the llnion to devote comiderable enerh'" to countering them, while <'X tending the ~cope and impact of thc ''a1 beyond the coastal waters of the Americas. ,\bow all. these ConicdcttJ.te raiden, \\ere designed lO operate in or accordance with the tt'mls the Declaration of Pari~>, and thcrcb)· avoided any potential conflict of interei>L5 with Btitain and Ftt~.ncc. :\tallon· ,,-;1s aiM> well aware that the ship building capacitY of the Confederan wa., limited, and that the few h1cilities <l\dilahk would be hard-pressed to meet the needs of his ironclad program, let alone furnish the South with a fleet of commerce raiders. Conseqm~n tly. hc initiated hi-, policy by ~ending two Confed('ratc agents lO Europe, with the intention of ming foreign .,hipvard!> lO produce tJ1e com mer <"l' 1< tidcrs he ICCJllired. From that point on, although a handful of Confederate raider'> were built 01 converted in Southern pons, the 111ajority o! the.: raider fleet wotlld come from Olltside the Confcckracy. These two Confederate agenL~, the former naval ollicer Jame~ D. Bulloch and James Dunwoody Bulloch, the the ~en1ng ofliCt'l l.ieutenantjames \. :-.Jm Ul cs~. both planned lO stan enterprising Confederate naval their search in lkitain, where tlwre wa'> \\idespread '>ympmh~ for the agent In Britain. His remit was later extended to cover ship 'outhern cau~c ..\ l> a neutral countn, lkiti~h shipbuilder:-. were unable or procurement throughout Europe. lO build warships !or foreign power~ without the approval the Bulloch was responsible for the g-overnment. Unkss the.: British goV<'nnnetll recognized the Confederate building of both the CSS Florida States, this approval would not be f'orthcoming. This ensured that and the CSS Alabama. (Author's Bulloch and 1'\onh were forced to di)>RUi~c tJ1eir e!Tons from botJ1 Union Collection) .,pic1> and Btiti'>h olliciaJ... In tJ1e Conkckr an, :\lall01; cnhMed the help of the naval officer Raphael Scrnrn<'~> to locate ,·e~~eb that could be comened into commerce raider<>. I le found the ·1~7-ton passenger packet Habana in New Orleans, L()llisiana. This vcs~d had been built in Philadelphia in IR!l7, and had served the past thre<' >·<'ars sailing between cw Orleans am! llavana, Cuba. On cmnw~· recommendation the Confederate govemmcnt ptn ( haM:~d tJ1e pad,et in April 1861, and \\Ork began on her conversion into the Confedcraq \ firM commerce raider. Two month~ later, in June 1861, ~he was commi~>siorwd into ~erYicr a.!\ the CSS Swntn; and Sennnc1> wa~ named as her connnander. The SumlPI slipped Lhrough the Union blockade off the Mis~is!.ippi Delta in late june, and began the fit ~t commcrce-raiciing cruise of the war. This eight-month spree r e\ulted in the capture of 18 L'nion p1 itt''>. Four momhs later a second raider set sail from Charleston, South Carolina. The (' ' · .\'ashvillt \\'<li> o• iginally a t'\e" York .!\iclewheel pa~\engcr steamer, which had been impounded in Charleston during the auack on Fort Sumter. The eight year old vessel wa~ convened into a warship with th<' addition of a pair Commander Raphael Semmes, ol 12-pdr. howiller~. and was commissioned into the Confederate Na'" CSN (center), surrounded by the in October. J lt:t original mission was LO ferrr a Confederate diplomatit officers of the CSS Sumter, mission to Europe, but at the la~t minute she was re-designated a photographed in Gibraltar after commt•t-cc raider. Following her breakout from Charle\ton, sht· an;,ed the completion of their cruise In in the British port of Sou1hnmpton, where she caused something of a January 1862. Note that all the officers are shown wearing diplomatic furore "hen she became the first warship to sail into n old-style US Naval uniforms. European port A};ng the Confederate Hag. This resulted in the tatit (CHC) recognition of"Conl'ccleratc warships as bona fide bdligerents in F:uropc, not as outlaw 'esse b. a stance that was argued b\' Union diplomats. It :-.oon became apparent to . tephcn Mallory that apart from the CS · Sumterand the CSS .\'r15hvillf, there were no ,·esscls in any Soutlwrn port that were ideall~ suited for ~en·ice a' high-!'leas commerce t<tidct~. Gin·n that the Union blockade of the Southern coastlint' was deemed an illegal act b) the ConfederaCY. and f~teed with the seeming reluctance of the ~:uropean maritime powers to recognize the Confederacr Mallory and President Davi~ considered the issuing of privatecring "letters ol marque." Onh a fe" private \hip 0\mcrs considered suth a \'enture, a' 11siug ships as blockacte runners was more profitable. llowever, thell' \H'I'e a few notable exceptions. In :--Jew Orleans the ironclad gunboat J'vlanas!.to was convened from a mercharH ,·essel, but wa~ purchased b\ the Confederate go\'crnment before it could begin her privateering nuise. Slighth more successful wa!> the 1.mall. ew York .st('amer Calhoun. which was converted into a privateer in a . ew Orkans yard in ~lay 181i 1. (), cr the next ~ix month~ she cmiscd in tlw waters of the Gulf of ,\1exico <L~ a liccn~ed privateer, before being purchased by the Confederate :-\aw as a gunboat in Novetllber I H61. 7 Only one other official commerce raider began her career in me The CSS Sumter, from an Americas. The specially commissioned, London-built blockade runner engraving published in Harper's Edith was purchased by the Confederate government in 1864, in Weekly, 1862. A slow and somewhat unseaworthy raider, Wilmington, North Carolina. Commissioned as me CSS Chickamauga in she nevertheless demonstrated October me same year, she slipped through the Union blockade to cruise the potential of commerce raiding in the North AtJantic. I lowever, she turned out to be a poor raiding vessel, to the Confederate government. and returned to port after only t\vo months. With tJ1e CSS Sumter an (Author's Collection) honorable exception, the conversion of existing vessels into commerce raiders was less than successful, partially due to tJ1c strengthening of the Union blockade in 1861 and 1862. Consequently, nearly all Confederate efforts to create a fleet of commerce raiders would revolve around the purchase or constntction of ships in Europe. JAMES BULLOCH'S BRITISH RAIDERS Given that tJ1c Confederate 'avy was forced to look towards Europe for the supply of suitable commerce raiders, the naval mission of James Bulloch and James North became of paramount importance. While orth concentrated on the purcha~e of ironclad warships (with a singular lack of success), Bulloch, a civilian in the Naval Department and a matemal uncle of future American President Theodore Roosevelt, cleYoted his energies to the commissioning of commerce raiders. He took passage to Liverpool in Great Britain, a port renowned for its shipbuilding excellence and the entreprenewial skills of its shipbuilde1~~ and ship owners. Arriving in the city on June 4, 1861, he quickly established contact~ with local companies. Confederate currency was not recognized in Britain, so Bulloch had to wait until quanti Lies of gold were shipped to his British bank before Liverpool shipbuilders would consider 8 undertaking any pr<{jecl. Once his funding was secured, Bulloch still had

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