Memoirs Of Service Afloat, During The War Between The States

Although the American Civil War is not often thought of as a naval conflict, the Confederates did have a Navy which operated across the globe. The Federals blockaded nearly every Southern port, and the Confederacy invested much effort into trying to break the blockade. In addition, the South resorted to “commerce raiders” who attacked Federal merchant shipping, ranging across the Atlantic and Pacific. The most successful of these raiders was Raphael Semmes, who captained the steam-powered gunboat "Sumter" and then the raider "Alabama". "Memoirs of Service Afloat" is Semmes' autobiography, describing the birth of the Confederate Navy and his career as a commerce raider against the Federals. This edition is illustrated with six pages of photos. Also, this abridged edition omits the first six chapters of Semmes' original work which consist of legalistic defenses of the institution of slavery and of the Confederacy's secession and are not relevant to the naval history of the war.