The Cruise Of The Alabama And The Sumter Scholars Choice Edition

Author : Raphael Semmes
Publisher :
ISBN 13 : 9781331738787
Total Pages : 344 pages
Book Rating : 4.7/5 (387 download)

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Download or read book The Cruise of the Alabama and the Sumter, Vol. 1 of 2 written by Raphael Semmes and published by . This book was released on 2015-07-19 with total page 344 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Excerpt from The Cruise of the Alabama and the Sumter, Vol. 1 of 2: From the Private Journals and Other Papers of Commander R Semmes, C. S. N. And Other Officers The Question at issue - An unexpected point of attack - Captain Semmes - The President's instructions - Creating a navy - from the old to the new - An important mission - Appointed to the Sumter - True character of the Confederate "pirate." The President of the American States in Confederation was gathering an army for the defence of Southern liberty. Where valour is a national inheritance, and an enthusiastic unanimity prevails, this will not prove a difficult task. It is otherwise with the formation of a navy. Soldiers of Southern blood had thrown up their commissions in a body; but sailors love their ships as well as their country, and appear to owe some allegiance to them like wise. Nevertheless, if Mr. Davis had not a great choice of officers, he had eminent men to serve him, as the young history of the South has abundantly shown. To obtain experienced and trusty seamen was easier to him in such a crisis than to give them a command. The Atlantic and the ports of America were ruled at that time absolutely by President Lincoln, The South had not a voice upon the sea. The merchants of New York and Boston looked upon the war as something which concerned them very little. Not a dream of any damage possibly to be inflicted on them, disturbed the serenity of their votes for the invasion of the South. Their fleets entered harbour proudly; their marine swam the ocean unmolested. Though there was war imminent, the insurance offices were content to maintain their terms upon a peace standard. What, indeed, was to be feared? The South had not a single vessel. Here and there a packet-steamer might be caught up and armed, but what would they avail against such fleet and powerful ships as the Brooklyn, the Powhattan, and dozens of others? There was, then, a condition of perfect security, according to the ideas of all American commercial men. About the Publisher Forgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books. Find more at www.forgottenbooks.com This book is a reproduction of an important historical work. Forgotten Books uses state-of-the-art technology to digitally reconstruct the work, preserving the original format whilst repairing imperfections present in the aged copy. In rare cases, an imperfection in the original, such as a blemish or missing page, may be replicated in our edition. We do, however, repair the vast majority of imperfections successfully; any imperfections that remain are intentionally left to preserve the state of such historical works.